Alpine Race Skiing vs. Nordic Race Skiing

There are two forms of ski racing, alpine ski racing and nordic ski racing. Alpine ski racing is obviously all downhill, while nordic ski racing takes place on flat or uphill terrain. Within each different form of ski racing there are various events that people compete in. The four major events in alpine ski racing are, in order of course length, slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom, and downhill. All four of these alpine ski racing events share one thing in common: they all involve a course set up with gates of a various sort. Giant slalom, super giant slalom, and downhill all share the same type of gate known as a flex gate. Each gate in the giant slalom, super giant slalom, and downhill is composed of two flex poles set up eighteen inches apart from one another with a "flag" or other piece of fabric wrapped around the two poles in the middle. The slalom discipline involves a gate solely composed of one flex pole that is either blue or red. The distance between each gate also gets progressively farther as you move up from slalom through downhill. The average course lengths for slalom, giant slalom, super giant slalom, and downhill are 600 m, 900 m, 2000 m, and 3500 m respectively. Some of the most famous race courses include the Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek, Chamonix France, Lake Louis Canada, Kitzbuehel Austria, and Val d'Isere France. These are also some of them most technically challenging courses in the world with some of the steepest pitches and sharpest turns. When it comes to the gear that racers wear during the various races, the one thing that pretty much all racers share in all the races are the skin tight suits. Racers can wear the same suit for all four races with minor adjustments made to the padding configuration of the suit depending on the race event. If one is racing in the slalom event then more padding in the thigh area will be wanted, while in the other three events it's better to have padding in the shoulder and upper arm area. Some of the more distinctive gear for the various events include slalom shin guards to protect your shins and ski pole guards to crossblock the gates. Many slalom racers also elect to use a face guard which is attached to the helmet. In giant slalom and super giant slalom curved poles that contour around the skier provide increased aerodynamics and reduce drag. Giant slalom and super giant slalom skiers also wear arm guards to protect their forearms when they hit the gate. Downhill skiers generally don't wear any additional protection due to their lack of contact with the gates.