| Alpine skiing (or downhill skiing) is a recreational | | | | black-diamond (expert) trail at another mountain. In |
| activity and sport involving sliding down | | | | Europe the system is based on colour alone. North |
| snow-covered hills with long, thin skis attached to | | | | American green circles, blue squares, black diamonds, |
| each foot. | | | | and double blacks correspond to European blue, red, |
| Alpine skiing evolved from cross-country skiing when | | | | black, and yellow trails, respectively. |
| ski lift infrastructure was developed at mountain | | | | Competitions |
| resorts to tow skiers back to the top of slopes, thus | | | | Various alpine skiing competitions have developed in |
| making it possible to repeatedly enjoy skiing down | | | | the history of skiing. Broadly speaking, competitive |
| steep, long slopes that would be otherwise too tiring | | | | skiing is broken up into two disciplines: racing and |
| to climb up. The sport is popular wherever the | | | | freestyle. |
| combination of snow, mountain slopes, and a | | | | Racing involves making fast turns around gates in an |
| sufficient tourist infrastructure can be built up, | | | | attempt to attain the fastest overall time down one |
| including parts of Europe, North America, Australia | | | | or two runs of a race course. Elite competitive skiers |
| and New Zealand, the South America Andes, and | | | | participate in the annual World Cup series, as well as |
| East Asia (mainly South Korea and Japan, although | | | | the quadrennial Olympic Games and the biennial World |
| the popularity of skiing is increasing in China as well). | | | | Championships. Slalom, giant slalom (GS), super giant |
| The main technical challenges faced by skiers are | | | | slalom (super-G), and downhill are the four racing |
| simply how to control the direction and speed of | | | | disciplines, with downhill being the fastest event and |
| their descent. Typically, novice skiers use a technique | | | | slalom being the most technical. There is also a |
| called the "snowplough/snowplow" to turn and stop | | | | "combined" event that includes one downhill run and |
| by pointing one or both skis inward, but more | | | | two slalom runs on a single day. In 2005, the FIS |
| advanced skiers use more difficult but more elegant | | | | ƒâ€šÃ‚©ration Internationale de Ski) introduced |
| and speedier methods. Modern advanced skiing | | | | a new event to the World Cup calendar called the |
| technique is dominated by "carving." To carve, a skier | | | | super combined, or super combi, consisting of one |
| rolls his or her knees from side to side while keeping | | | | shortened downhill run and just one slalom run. That |
| the upper body and hips facing down the hill, so that | | | | year, the FIS also introduced an alpine team racing |
| only the knees and feet are turned. This method of | | | | event at the World Championships in Bormio, Italy. |
| turning allows modern skis to turn using the radial | | | | Freestyle skiing incorporates events such as moguls, |
| properties of the edges of the ski without skidding | | | | aerials, and sometimes "new-school" events such as |
| or slowing down, creating a smooth arc. | | | | halfpipe, big air, slopestyle, and skiercross. Together |
| As skiers gain confidence, they may tackle steeper, | | | | with extreme skiing, new-school freestyle skiing is |
| longer and more uneven slopes (including off-piste | | | | also sometimes known as freeskiing. Until relatively |
| and ungroomed runs) at higher speeds. In North | | | | recently, freestyle competitions also included an |
| America the easiest slopes are marked by green | | | | event called ballet, later renamed "acro-ski." |
| circles, and are typically fairly flat and smooth. | | | | In addition to racing and freestyle, other types of |
| Sometimes known as bunny hills, they are usually | | | | alpine skiing competitions exist. One discipline |
| groomed by specially equipped snowcats every night. | | | | administered by the FIS but not usually considered |
| A blue square marks slopes of medium difficulty; | | | | part of racing is speed skiing, in which competitors |
| they are steeper than green circles and may be left | | | | strive to achieve the highest total speed in a straight |
| in a natural state rather than machine-groomed. A | | | | line, with no gates or turns. Numerous non-FIS |
| black diamond slope is steeper than a blue square and | | | | competitions have emerged over the years. More |
| often involves challenging terrain such as moguls, | | | | traditional events include gelandesprung jumping (ski |
| double fall lines, or gladed sections. A double black | | | | jumping for distance on alpine equipment), and |
| diamond is for experts only; these trails are steep, | | | | "powder 8" contests; among the more recent |
| rarely groomed and often left in a completely natural | | | | introductions are "big mountain" or "extreme skiing" |
| state. There is no standard for these designations, | | | | contests, in which athletes start at the top of a |
| however, and each ski resort determines them | | | | mountain and ski a route down that involves wide, |
| relative to their own terrain difficulty. So, for | | | | fast turns as well as cliff drops. The competitors are |
| instance, a blue-square (mid-level) trail at one ski | | | | judged on the technical difficulty of their routes and |
| mountain may be markedly more difficult than a | | | | any tricks they perform on the way down the hill. |