Sicktionary: Shaun White is Put to the Test

SNOWBOARDER MAGAZINE’S February 2008 Sicktionary

Shaun White has probably spent more time on his skate and snowboards since he was born than just about anyone in history, and it shows. Yet how much of what goes on around him does he really take in? Some would argue that Shaun White is the most influential rider in the history of our sport, but that being said, the question remains—how much of our sport’s culture has Shaun himself been influenced by and retained? This month’s Sicktionary is a little Snowboarding and Skateboarding Aptitude Test, or SSAT, if you will. How well would you have fared?
-Pat Bridges

How many people can ride a T-bar?
Shaun White: Two. My mom tried to ride one in Europe and it slipped out and hit her lip, cracking a tooth.

Correct. T-Bars are surface lifts that carry two people.

What is bevel?
I am pretty sure it is the angle you want your rails.

Correct. It is when you tune your edges to be something other than 90 degrees to help with jibbing or turn initiation.

Name the four ski areas in the US that still don’t allow snowboarding?
Deer Valley. There is one in Aspen, right? Ummm. One in the East Coast. I don’t know. The DC Mountain Lab—I’ve never been allowed to ride there.

Wrong. While Deer Valley, Utah doesn’t allow snowboarding, the other three are Taos, New Mexico; Mad River Glen, Vermont; and Alta, Utah. The DC Mountain Lab is the exclusive playground of DC’s elite team.

What is a seatbelt grab?
I know this because I did those. Your front hand all the way over—a switch crail.

Wrong. A front-hand tailgrab reaching across the front of your body.

What is a Michael Jackson?
I know this—the Thriller. It is when you get up and slide on your toes on a box.

Correct. This is a box trick invented by Tahoe rider Ricky Tucker.

What is a wildcat?
A Cab seven that you don’t even grab. Or is that a wet cat. A wet cat is a seven where you let go of the grab halfway. No… It is a backflip on a quarterpipe like Sluggo does on a skateboard. Don’t they have that crew The Wildcats in Canada? Isn’t that their move?

Correct. A Wildcat is a straight tip-to-tail frontside grab backflip where your body doesn’t square up with the snow, otherwise known as a heave-ho.

Which one of these riders have won the US Open halfpipe: Jimi Scott, Shaun Palmer, Jeff Brushie, or Noah Salasnek?
I know Jimi Scott won. Wait—Jimi Scott taught me McTwists while he was hammered. You can read more about that in my Minor Threat trick tip. I am sure Brushie had to have won one. I think you’ve got me on this one. You know, I thought Tom Petty was a skater forever. Then I heard his music.

Correct. Jimi Scott won the US Open in 1996.

Who is Travis Rice’s board sponsor?
I don’t know…Gnu? It’s not Palmer. It’s not Burton or Forum. Rossignol? Morrow? I know it is not Capita. I say Rossignol.

Wrong. Though Travis came up on Rossignol, he currently rides a Lib Tech on all occasions.

Which of the poles is on a continent?
The South Pole is on Antarctica.

Correct. The North Pole isn’t on a continent.

How many 180s are there in a 900?
We have a 720 with an extra 180, and a 720 is two 360s, so…five.

Correct. Somehow this logic helped Shaun arrive at the correct answer.

What stance is Andy Finch?
He did a frontside air over three dudes planting on my backside wall, so he is goofy.

Correct. Again, the logic confounds but the answer is sound.

Which girl got a bronze medal in the Torino halfpipe?
[Silence…] It was a European girl. It wasn’t Kjersti—I know her. It wasn’t Torah. It wasn’t Stine.

Wrong. Though Shaun knows Kjersti, he doesn’t know she medaled in Torino.

How do you spell “Caballero”?
I’d have to write it down. Wait, “c-a-b-i-l-a-i-r-o.” Wait, is the first “i” silent? I just call it a gay twist.

Wrong. Though a gay twist is a Caballerial with a mute grab.

Name the ski area where the KT-22 chair can be found?
I know Payday is at Park City. Then there is First Timer’s, down by the halfpipe at Park City. What is the sh*tty, slow two-seater at Breck—Chair Five?

Correct. The sh*tty two-seater at Breck is Chair Five, though the KT-22 is the chair at Squaw Valley so named because someone made twenty-two kick turns down its face.

Who did the first backflip on a snowmobile?
I am pretty sure it was Rippey, [though] I think he got broke the first time. He made all of the sled dogs look like pussies.

Correct. With a little help from above, the Ripster pulled the backie.

What state is Mount Baker in?
Washington. No! Yeah—but not that other Washington.

Correct.

Where is the Palmer Snowfield?
I have no idea. Is that where Danny grew up? Actually, I went to Mountain Creek. It was cool—they had a dragon rail. When was the last time you saw a dragon rail?

Wrong. The Palmer Snowfield is located at Mt. Hood in Oregon.

Who founded Windell’s Snowboard Camp?
Tim Windell. I always see him roll up to the skate camp when I am shredding. I was never a night camper there, because my mom wouldn’t let me. She would see kids eating cat food for stickers. Guys would dip tampons in jelly and make kids suck ’em dry for stickers. My mom said, “No thanks.” I would show up, eat, and skate, and then sleep in a van up by Timberline.

Correct.

How many times has Danny Kass won the US Open?
I know he didn’t win it the last two years. Maybe two or three times before that.

Wrong. Danny Kass has won the US Open a record four times.

What country is the Dingo from?
Australia.

Wrong. Luke “The Dingo” Trembath is actually a thirty-four-year-old former roadie from Des Moines, Iowa, which is in America. He picked up the Australian accent while on tour with Australia’s hard rock answer to Hansen, Silverchair.

Torah Bright belongs to what religion?
She is down with the Mormons. She took me to the temple. It was cool.

Correct. Torah belongs to the Mormon faith.

What is a ho-ho?
It’s not a skate trick. I keep thinking of pop tarts. Those are skate tricks, right? Is it a nose stall? A snowboard blunt? No…it is a handplant. I get confused because there is the eggplant in skating. I think the ho-ho is a snowboarding plant.

Wrong. A ho-ho is a skateboarding handplant originally done by Steve Schneer in the mid-eighties.

How many degrees are there in a wet-cat McTwist?
Of rotation? It is a 900. It is like when people first did back nines, but we didn’t know what to call it. I am just guessing here.

Correct. Todd Richards invented the wet-cat McTwist in the Killington halfpipe in 1997. It is a McTwist to late backside 360.

Do you know Gator’s real name?
I have no idea. How did the name Gator come about? It is way better than Tomato. I have gotten some good nicknames lately, like The Red Zeppelin. That one rules. I like The Animal, too.

Wrong. Gator’s real name was Mark Rogowski.

Which company did Danny Way have a pro model snowboard on?
A pro-model snowboard? World Industries. Did they make boards? That seems like a skate-snow company he would be down with.

Wrong. Danny Way had a pro model on Type A snowboards. Rob “Sluggo” Boyce had a pro model skateboard and snowboard on World Industries.

Who was the Thrasher Skater of the Year who had a pro model snowboard on Lamar?
Sluggo?

Wrong. 1992 Thrasher Skater of the Year John Cardiel had a successful series of pro-model snowboards on Lamar in the early to mid-nineties.

What is the temperature in Fahrenheit degrees that water freezes at?
Isn’t it like thirty something? Sh*t…

Wrong. Water freezes at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, or zero degrees Celsius.

More Sicktionary Terms:
Sicktionary: Your Guide to Snowboarding Terms - SLC
Sicktionary: Your Guide to Snowboarding Terms- Superpark Terms
Sicktionary: Your Guide to Snowboarding Terms - Pipe Pro
Sicktionary: Your Guide to Snowboarding Terms - Quebec
Sicktionary: Your Guide to Snowboarding Terms - Ski Lifts

Related Links:
Shaun White: Rider Profile