Two years ago, few people had heard the terms 'bonking,' 'riding fakey' and doing a 'stale roast beef.'

Those who are still unfamiliar with those terms probably haven't been near a ski slope lately. They are part of the vocabulary of snowboarding -- a trend that is sweeping the nation and has caught on at Tussey Mountain Ski Area in Boalsburg.

"There's been snowboarding around here for 10 years, but in the past two years it's just taken off," said Paul Engle, director of marketing and sales at Tussey.

Engle has been snowboarding for 11 years and follows the more traditional form style called 'alpine,' which has its roots in skiing.

"I started by buying an old wood board. Back then they had fins on them, which were hard on the slopes," he said. "That's the main reason that until about the mid-to-late '80s a lot of resorts wouldn't allow them."

He said the boards manufactured today do no more damage to the slopes than skis, adding that at Tussey skiers and snowboarders can use the same slopes.

But it isn't always a peaceful coexistence.

"Part of the perceived problem is that the boarders haven't grown up skiing so they don't know a lot of the right-of-way rules," said Kim Seevers, director of skiing.

She said many of the people who have recently started snowboarding are considered freestylers.

"There is a lot of crossover from skateboarding, it's the same basic type of movement," she said, adding that the similarity attracts a young crowd.

Doug McKay (senior-recreational science) snowboards at Tussey and said he sees a strong rivalry between skiers and snowboarders.

"When snowboarding emerged, it was almost like an intrusion. Most skiers are very traditional and don't like to see change," McKay said. "I'ts just like how surfers reacted to boogie boarding."

From the bottom of the slope it is difficult to tell who is on skis and who is on boards. But as they reach the bottom leaving observers in a wake of snow, it is evident that ill feelings or not, skiers and snowboarders alike thrive on the white powder.

Brian Spear, ski school director, said it will take time for snowboarding to gain legitimacy.

"Right now it has sort of an image problem," he said. "But once all of these young guys are 30 years old and have calmed down but still like snowboarding, they'll come back and teach their kids. It's going to become much more accepted," he said.

The rivalry is not just between young and old. Justin Bregar, 14, of State College, said he skis and has had many bad encounters with snowboarders. He said unexperienced snowboarders present a danger to skiers.

"There are a lot less bad skiers than there are bad snowboarders," he said.

Spear said it is important that people take lessons so they know what they are doing before they attempt snowboarding the slopes on their own. One of the most important things is how to fall because, as opposed to skiing, the biggest threat of injury is to the hands and wrists and not the legs, Spear said.

He tells his snowboard students that it is much easier to excel at snowboarding than at skiing, because once someone learns the basics there are no intermediate steps to get stuck in before they are masters.

Scott Tucker, an employee of Appalachian Ski and Outdoors, 324 W. College Ave., said that after trying snowboarding 11 years ago, he never skied again.

"It's just a very different sensation, it includes your whole body," he said.

But snowboarding and skiing do not have to be exclusive.

"I'm not converted, I still ski," Spear said. "So, you see, it's not taking over, it's not an invasion, but it has brought out some new faces to the mountain."