Where Do The Moguls Go At Night?... Quiz

Answer: Mounds of snow created by skiers and snowboarders turning in the same place continually

When skiers and snowboarders make turns in the same places, it causes mounds of snows to build up. These can be of differing heights. Traversing mogul fields can be challenging, especially for inexperienced skiers or snowboarders.

Moguls skiing is one of the six disciplines in the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup. The idea is to zip down a prepared mogul field in the fastest time.

Mogul skiing is technically and physically punishing. You may sometimes see former mogul racers sitting together comparing their most recent knee reconstruction operation.

Answer: Altemark Ski

In the beginning there were two planks of wood often the same height or taller than the skier. Other types followed.

The most recent development (from our list) was the parabolic ski. Parabolic skis differ from from the traditional type by being wider at the tip and tail than in the centre. They are also known as "carving skis" since they are shorter and turn more easily than the traditional type. (Although 'old timers' will tell you that the original skis also carved, if you used them right.)

Mono skis are (or were since I haven't seen any in ages) a wider single plank of wood with the two bindings bolted together.

The first snowboards appeared in the mid 1960s after a Michigan engineer called Sherman Poppen fashioned together two skis into a wider platform for his daughter. In the years that followed came friction between skiers and the (often much younger) snowboarders. In the USA, snowboards were banned from some mountain resorts for many years.

Altemark skis I have made up, but you sometimes see Telemark skis in Europe. Unlike other skis, they have bindings that swivel at the toe, allowing the heel to rise freely. Telemark skis preceded fixed-bindings skis. The technique of a proficient Telemark skier is a beauty to behold.

Answer: T-Bar

Thankfully, this type of tow is gradually being confined to the garbage bin of snowsport history.

A T-Bar looks like an inverted 'T' at the base of a long pole that is attached to a cable. T-Bar riders travel uphill side by side, one on each arm of the 'T'. That can be fine in theory, but not good if the two people are of different heights. Confident people could ride T-Bars on their own.

T-Bars were pretty much a European thing, and mostly in Austria.

Answer: Water and oxygen

That artificial snow is produced by pumping water into the air at very low temperatures so that it falls as snow crystals.

In Austria, Italy, and France chemicals or other artificial additives are prohibited. Swiss resorts sometimes add bacteria. The cannon are generally not used at temperatures above -4 degrees Celsius.

The main environmental complaints about snow cannon are the amount of water they use and the power needed to pump the water and compressed air.

While artificial snow does help piste coverage when the natural white stuff is in short supply, it gives a totally different 'feel' to slope users. In addition, skiing through the minute crystals as they are pumped into the air is not a pleasant experience.

There would not be any point using glycol since it is more commonly used as a de-icer.

Answer: Whistler-Blackcomb

The Whistler-Blackcomb ski area is located in British Colombia, Canada. Whistler opened in 1966: initially it had been planned as a host for the 1968 Winter Olympics, although that did not come about.

The separate Whistler and Blackcomb ski areas merged in 1997. In 2008 they were joined together by a new gondola. The resort at the time had a skiable area of 8,171 acres, with 37 lifts and more than 200 pistes.

The combined area was at one time the 11th largest area in the world. Caveat: separate ski areas have evolved and combined on occasions over the years and new lifts and pistes have created larger resorts. As an example, La Plagne and Les Arcs were separate neighbouring resorts in France until a new cable car linked them in 2003 to form the Paradiski area, making it the fourth largest in the world at the time.

Answer: Serbia

At nine kilometres in length, the Zlatibor Gold Gondola took the previous record away from the 7.4km Tianmen-Shan cable car in China.

The new Serbian system was designed to carry 1,000 passengers an hour over a 531 metre height difference from the centre of Zlatibor to the Tornik mountain peak. It cost 13 million Euro to build.

Answer: Double black diamond

Double back diamond slopes are intended for the most skilled ad experienced skiers. The three other grades from easiest are Green Circle, Blue Square, and Black Diamond. Australia and New Zealand also use the terms.

In Europe the degree of difficulty from easiest is green, blue, red, black.

Meanwhile, the steepest slope in the USA is 'Rambo', at Crested Butte Ski Resort in Colorado. It has a 55-degree gradient.

And as an aside, the ski company at La Plagne in France must have had a sense of humour when they named one slope "Banzai" and another "Hari-Kiri". (From memory both are red.)

Answer: Switzerland

Placed on the Schilthorn summit, the Piz Gloria is 2,790 metres (9,153 feet) above sea level. Opened in 1969, the restaurant revolves through 360 degrees, giving a view over 200 peaks.

The name Piz Gloria predates the restaurant's construction. It was described by Ian Fleming in his book in 1963. When the movie was being made, the restaurant had not been finished, but the producers pumped money into the project to complete it.

As well as that magnificent view, the restaurant became the location of 007 memorabilia.

Answer: Oslo

Although the Norwegian city that is now Oslo was founded in 1040AD, it was destroyed by fire in the 17th Century. A new city was built and was named Christiana by King Christian IV.

Christiana, or Kristiania, remained the name until Oslo was readopted in 1924.

Beginners formerly were taught a type of stem or wedge turn that was developed in the 19th Century by the Norwegian skier Sondre Auverson. He named it after the city of Christiana. Auverson was the first skier to use the technique in competitions and it led him to many victories.

Nowadays the stem Christie, AKA wedge turn, has lost popularity, with most beginners learning parallel turns early on. Still, the stem turn can be the skier's friend when the pistes get steep or icy.

Answer: Gerald Ford

Ford had a chalet at Beaver Creek, the location of some of the most expensive properties in Colorado.

Ford had a seven-bedroom chalet, complete with the presidential seal inlaid on the entrance floor. It was his home for some 40 years. He and his wife Betty lived there for five months each year.

Ford was an accomplished skier, starting from his days at Yale Law School in 1939. He bought his Beaver Creek home in the late 1960s, although - reportedly - the Secret Service was later less than enamoured of a location that could be easily seen from the pistes.

In retirement, Ford spent a great deal of time skiing - until his knees gave way in 1984 - and playing golf, as well as entertaining guests.