Ski slopestyle: Graham Bell's guide Off-Axis The big difference between the old school discipline of aerials and slopestyle is that the spins and flips are performed in a compact, crouched position and off axis, ie on an axis that's neither horizontal nor vertical. Leftside and Rightside Describes which direction a skier spins off a jump or onto a jib feature. It's important to show the judges a good variation in the direction of spins. Switch When the skier is going backwards. A switch trick means that the rider has taken off, rather than landed, backwards. Spins Are measured in degrees of rotation - 180, 360 etc, with the numbers often shortened to just the first digits. When spinning on to boxes or rails, skiers spin through 90 degrees less, because the skis travel sideways down the rail, eg 450 on 270 off. Corked spins Off axis spins that orientate the skier sideways or partially upside down in the air, with their head and shoulders dropped below the level of their feet. Eg, in a triple cork 1440 the skier performs four full rotations and is upside down three times. Nose butter Skidding the tips of the skis across the lip of the jump on take off. Grabs Where skiers take hold of the skis and which hand is used dictates the type of grab. Common names include Japan, mute, safety and tail. 2014 Olympic ski slopestyle The 635m course in Rosa Khutor has a 151m vertical. It starts with rails and jibs at the top before featuring three kickers which get progressively bigger so riders build momentum and execute their biggest and best jumps at the bottom of the course. The women's ski slopestyle takes place on 11 February 2014. The first finals run is at 1.30pm, the second at 2pm. Read more Graham Bell's guide to snowboard slopestyle Graham Bell's guide to ski cross Graham Bell's guide to snowboard cross