Sunday, November 1, 2015

Alpine Skiing vs. Nordic Skiing

When people mention skiing the first thing they think about is usually alpine skiing, also known as downhill skiing. The term skiing though is very broad and can refer to either alpine skiing, nordic skiing, or telemark skiing. This blog post is going to focus on the differences and similarities between alpine skiing and nordic skiing. Across all three types of skiing there is one common similarity: they all involve two skis, a pair of bindings, and a pair of boots. For each various type of skiing the skis, boots, and bindings are all different. When it comes to alpine skiing because it is all downhill the skis are taylor made for going fast downhill and have sharp edges for slicing into the snow. Nordic skiing on the other hand takes place on flatter, less mountainous terrain so as one would imagine it is very much like hiking on skis. Due to this fact nordic skis are much thinner and lighter for fast, quick "strides" up small hills or on flat ground. Because nordic skiing takes place on flatter ground the bindings can only have a toe attachment to allow the heel to move up and push the ski forward. With alpine skiing because it is all downhill gravity moves the skis forward so you don't need toe attachment only bindings and instead have heel and toe attachment bindings where your whole foot is immobilized in the binding. Since the bindings differ between alpine and nordic skiing so do the boots which attach into the bindings. Just as it is with the bindings, nordic ski boots are much lighter and more streamlined in comparison to alpine ski boots. Nordic ski boots almost resemble hiking boots in that they have either laces or velcro straps and have a very similar shape. Alpine ski boots on the other hand are entirely different. They are much heftier and more insulated, and have a hard plastic polymer shell.

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