The terrain park provides skiers, snowboarders and snow-bikers with an opportunity to get bragging rights by showing off their tricks. The parks evolved from the skate park concept, and share many of its features.
When terrain parks first appeared in the 1980s, most resorts banned jumping and aerial maneuvers. This changed in the 1990s, when resorts built multiple parks, some catering to novice park rats, and others designed for aerial enthusiasts.
Terrain Park Features
Terrain parks have three types of features:
1. Jibs: When riding a jib feature, your skis remain parallel or perpendicular to the snow. These features often resemble the stair handrails, benches and tables used in urban snowboarding.
2. Jumps: Terrain park jumps can range from five feet to over 100 feet. In contrast to jibs, which are made from steel and plastic and manufactured outside the resort, snow and dirt make up a terrain park jump.
3. Verticals: Half-pipes, quarter-pipes and super-pipes fall into the terrain park vertical classification. Pipes form a U-shape in the snow, and allow skiers and riders to slide up one side, turn around, slide down, then ride up the other side. Some resorts, such as Big Sky Montana, have a natural half pipe. 
The Right Stuff for the Park
Playing in the terrain park demands body awareness, agility, balance, coordination and overall athleticism. Ski and ride instructors teach terrain park skills in four progressions.
- The Switch Progression develops basic balance and mobility. You´ll learn to ski or ride switch – or backwards – and eventually add switch take-offs and landings.
- The Rail Progression teaches you to slide along the rails while maintaining balance.
- The Air Progression teaches safe take-offs, landings and tricks in the air.
- The Half Pipe Progression teaches skiers and riders to stay centered and perpendicular to the pipe walls. It also teaches you how to generate momentum, I order to create seamless transitions from one wall to the other.
All the Right Gear
When you first begin to play in the park, your all-mountain skis work fine on the basic features. Once you decide to join the international community of park rats, the right skis will enhance your skills. Twin tip skis, turned up at both the tip and the tail, facilitates easy forward and backward skiing. The turned-up tail also allows you to exert less pressure on the back of your skis. This in turn makes it easy to safely land from twisting jumps.
Etiquette
The National Ski Area Association, in conjunction with Burton Snowboards, created the following terrain park rules of etiquette:
1. MAKE A PLAN:
Every time you use freestyle terrain, make a plan for each feature you want to use. Your speed, approach and take off will directly affect your maneuver and landing.
2. LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
Scope around the jumps first, not over them. Know your landings are clear and clear yourself out of the landing area.
3. EASY STYLE IT
Start small and work your way up. (Inverted aerials not recommended).
4. RESPECT GETS RESPECT
From the lift line through the park.