In an earlier episode, we talked about the butterfly mating behavior known as hilltopping, in which male butterflies try to appeal to females by flying as high as possible. A listener in Fairbanks, Alaska, reports that the term hilltopping is used among sledheads, or “snowmobile enthusiasts,” to mean a different kind of showing off — riding up a hill on a snowmobile as high as possible before falling back. This move is also called hightopping. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Hilltopping/Hightopping on a Snow Machine”
We had a conversation not long ago about the term hilltopping, which applies to butterflies’ mating behavior.
Well, we heard from Frida, who listens to us in Fairbanks, Alaska, and she wrote us about the behavior that’s also called hilltopping, the behavior of sledheads.
They’re snowmobile riders.
Snowmobile riders.
Yeah, they’re called sledheads.
And Frida writes, in Alaska and maybe elsewhere, snowmobile riders compete in hilltopping.
They ride as far up a slope as possible or as far as they dare before turning around or tumbling down.
The paths are narrow loops straight up the slope with a narrow turn at the top, then straight back down, hopefully.
And it’s sometimes called high topping, but they also refer to it as hilltopping.
So it’s sort of another kind of way of showing off for people you’re interested in.
That sounds exciting and dangerous.
I bet it’s both.
And cold.
I bet there are videos on YouTube of snowmobiles hilltopping.
Snowmobile slang.
We love slang from all different walks of life, whether it’s baseball, medicine, your workplace.
Let us know about it.
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The address is words@waywordradio.org.
