Tubbing Dictionary

Big Tree, The - Starting point for night tubbing on Thaynes Canyon trail.

Big Rock, The - First official resting place when hiking up Thaynes Canyon trail.

Bungee Cord - Elastic or rubber strands with hooks on the ends. Used to secure the tubber to the tub allowing maximum air off of jumps and high banking turns with out losing your tub. "Better bungee yourself in"

Cross Bungee - Two bungee cords connected with a ring in the middle.

Engineering Project - 1. Portion of Thaynes Canyon trail requiring tubbers to move snow to the east side of the trail so they did not fall is the ravine below when tubbing down. 2. The first stop when night tubbing down Thaynes Canyon . 3. An action that requires a tubber to move snow to make the trail better.

In Your Face - Brush or tree limbs that hit a tubbers face when tubbing. Also a face plant after a jump.

Overmittens - Mittens made to cover your gloves and long enough to tighten about mid-forearm. Helpful because they prevent snow from going up one's coat sleeve and they hide the trashed gloves you ruined before you had overmittens.

Pad - Homemade cushion made to sit or kneel on when tubbing.

Rookies - A tubber without a pad and tow-rope.

Snowshoers - People who waste their time walking downhill in snow.

Suicidal - Trail of extreme vertical drop including various obstacles (fallen trees, boulders, injured tubbers, et al.).

Trail Maintenance - Any act of removing an obstacle other than snow from the trail. Removing snow from the trail is done by the rookies with their bodies ex machina.

Tow Rope - Rope used to pull the tub behind you while hiking.

Tub - n. 'tub - a modified sled of sorts, approximately 150 cm in length, congruent with modern tubbing standards, created originally using a Coleco toboggan (hence "tub"), later enhanced using a Paris toboggan and most recent ly a Torpedo toboggan. v. ask a tubber.

Tubber - n. 'tub·ber (rhymes with "rubber") - not confused with tuber (a potato relative or someone who sits on an innertube), one who tubs.

Tubbing - v. 'tub·bing - Some define tubbing as the supreme expression of the divine desires of mankind. Best described to those unfamiliar with the sport as the highest form of sledding in which the tubber pulls his t ub up a snowy incline, and descends therefrom using graceful motions to maneuver the tub in an artistic and powerful form.

This definition of tubbing is at best disputable. Some would define tubbing as simply a tub in motion, thereby including nearly all variants (and mutants) of tubbing. This crude definition may serve for a time, though it is clear that the community s hould split over the issue. As it stands there are at least 5 accepted forms of tubbing, with new forms being added every several years.

The purists argue that if you're not sitting, you're not tubbing. The hikers maintain that just as riding a ski lift to the top of a mountain is not hiking, neither is it tubbing, as hiking is an integral part of tubbing.

Tubbing, Downhill - n. - somewhat of a misnomer since personal uphill effort is implicit in tubbing, downhill tubbing is usually done in locations where a snowmobile or truck or other form of t ransport is available for the uphill portion of the run.

Tubbing, Night - n. 'nit tub·bing - tubbing at night, historically dating to the middle Tracy era, began as strategically located lanterns placed in trees indicating clearly, under otherwise unmanageable darkness and ab surdity, trees in the tub path most likely to cause pain when struck head on.

Later inventors used headlamps to guide them to the most painful trees.

Yes - sb. - Exclamation of sheer joy at the commencement of a good run, especially so when neck-deep powder scrambles furiously to get out of your way. (fr. OF Ouì, L. Yeah! origin uncertain.).


Last updated 3 January 2000