What Is Alpine Skiing (And How Do I Do It?)

What do you imagine when you hear the phrase “Alpine skiing?” Do you see flashes of the French and Swiss Alps, with professional skiers nearly falling down the slopes of mountains at near-suicidal angles?

Well, you’re not too far off (though you might be thinking a little too dangerously about it), as Alpine skiing – while not limited to the Alps in Europe – is defined by an advanced type of skiing that scales down slopes. Simply, in other words, Alpine skiing is defined as downhill skiing, in the way that most people generally view the winter sport of “skiing” itself. To many, this type of skiing involves certain risks that aren’t worth the effort, while others find this sport thrilling and well worth the investment.

You don’t have to scale and zap down mountain edges in order to engage in Alpine skiing; instead, if you have been skiing downhill, you’ve most likely been involved in “Alpine skiing.”

Alpine or downhill skiing is characterized by longer skis that give a greater amount of control, since downhill skiing (as opposed to other types of skiing such as cross-country skiing) means making use of your natural speeds as you travel with the force of gravity. For many people, downhill skiing is a difficult skill to master, and learning how to do it initially can be a very cumbersome process.

Like many other skills, Alpine or downhill skiing requires plowing through the “learning curve” in order to access a place in which you are more comfortable undertaking a ski hill. Learning curves refer to periods of time in which, at the novice level, the skill is exceedingly and even frustratingly difficult. However, many skiers find that they accept this part of the learning curve because of the rewards and thrills of skiing downhill.

What are the other types of skiing that someone can engage in? If you’re not a thrillseeking type, or simply don’t want to get invested in downhill skiing, you can tackle other ski-related winter sports. Cross-country skiing is a more long-distance form of skiing that takes away the risks involved with Alpine skiing and placing more emphasis on athletic endurance.

Other types of skiing involve include more acrobatic feats such as ski jumping – commonly seen at the Winter X Games – and even water skiing, which is the most popular form of summer skiing.

If you’re interested in getting involved with one of these forms of skiing, or Alpine skiing specifically, do more research and take a lesson or two to try it out – you might learn more than you ever expected.

Photo Credits: BadSwan

Originally posted 2009-06-23 05:27:11.

This post involves:

alpine skiing, downhill skiing, europe, learning curve, swiss alps, thrillseeking, winter x games

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ski basics, ski tips

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