What are the types of skiing and how to choose one

As with almost all sports, the generic term “skiing” hides a dozen categories, each with its unique characteristics. However, if you’re just getting started with this outdoor activity, it’s easier to get confused than to figure it out. In this article, we will understand the main types of skiing and help you choose the right one, dividing all this diversity into five main categories.

What is alpine skiing

Alpine skiing is the first and main type of skiing, which is actually synonymous with the term. When we say “skiing,” we are usually referring to alpine skiing. It is also the most popular type of skiing, also called downhill skiing or alpine downhill skiing. The name, as is clear, refers to the Alps — the main mountain and ski region of Europe and the world.

Alpine skiing uses special skis and rigid boots, which are completely fixed to it to stabilize the foot position as much as possible which prevents injuries. Among the other equipment is a special ski wind- and water-proof uniform, helmet, mask or goggles, poles, and more. When skiing all day from morning to evening skiers also often use a small backpack, where they put personal belongings and snacks.

As the name suggests, alpine skiing is skiing down steep mountain slopes. So this type of skiing is mostly practiced within the ski resorts, where to get up to the slopes, you use a system of ski lifts, and to get down from them the slopes — a system of marked and paved or not runs of varying difficulty levels, which distinguishes the four main: for beginners (green), easy (blue), medium (red) and black (difficult, expert). The color gradation is given for the Alps and Europe — in other parts of the world it may be slightly different, and there may be additional colors.

The types of Alpine skiing

By type, alpine skiing is divided into five main categories tied to the respective competitive disciplines practiced in the World Tours, World Championships, and the Olympic Games, as the largest sportive events:

Downhill skiing — actually skiing from steep slopes through a series of turns and jumps along a marked trail of several kilometers at speeds over 50–70 km per hour.
Super G — the same as downhill skiing but with more turns, which slows down the skier, but requires more maneuverability — you must not suffer from vertigo.
Slalom and giant slalom — the object of the race is to slam into every pole hard enough to make it move a bit and still be able to hold a straight line.
Combined — going as fast as possible in the downhill and showing control in the slalom at the same time or the most difficult type of Alpine skiing competition.

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What is cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is the second most popular type of skiing and, perhaps, more common than the first. It is also equally called nordic skiing because this sport is practiced mainly in the northern countries: Canada, Scandinavia, Finland, and Russia, where there are no such high steep mountains as the Alps, but there are long winters and a lot of forest areas.

For cross-country skiing, you also use special boots similar to alpine, which are attached to the skis only at the toe but not the heel, so the latter is always free, which actually allows you to go on skis for long distances. Cross-country ski boots are also less massive, and older models may be made of leather, fabric, and other soft materials rather than plastic or carbon-like modern ones. Cross-country skiers also use poles but usually not a helmet, as well as much lighter clothing than for alpine skiing.

Unlike the latter, cross-country skiing can be practiced anywhere. It is moving mostly on flat or hilly areas on marked and specified tracks or in the wilderness using your navigation skills as well. There are also tracks for cross-country skiing in all major ski resorts, but usually, they are less — for example, 10–20 km of runs compared to 100–200 km in the case of the alpine slopes.

The types of cross-country skiing

There are two main types of cross-country skiing, which are very easy to understand (and practice after a bit of learning and training):

Classic skiing — you move straight ahead as in walking, hiking, or running, using poles to push off the ground and give yourself motion Until the next spurt.
Skate skiing — you move to the right and left at an angle of about 30 degrees, like skating, using the edge of the skis, and also helping yourself with the poles.

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What is telemark skiing

Telemark skiing is a less popular type of skiing compared to the previous two, which, however, connects the two main features of each. But first — an unusual word in the name is the historic Telemark region in southeastern Norway, where the sport was invented. After merging with neighboring Vestfold, it became known as Vestfold og Telemark. The word itself means the “mark of the Thelir”, the ancient North Germanic tribe in the Viking Age between 793 and 1066.

While doing telemark skiing, you use skis and boots more like alpine than cross-country. But the boot itself is attached to the skis only on the toe in order to also be able to move not only strictly forward but also to the right and left, which gives more freedom of movement. At the same time, because of this technique, telemark skiing is a more challenging sport that requires much more skill, physical strength, and endurance as well as a lot of training. It is also more injury prone.

Like alpine skiing, telemark is practiced on the slopes within ski resorts on marked trails or beyond their boundaries as part of backcountry skiing, which you will learn about immediately next.

The types of telemark skiing

The two main types of telemark skiing are derived from the nature of the attachment of the boot to the skis:

75 mm binding also known as Nordic Norm (again because of the region) is a classic binding that was invented and used for more than the past 100 years.
NTN, which stands for the New Telemark Norm, is an advanced 75 mm or more modern and flexible binding that gives you even more freedom of movement.

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What is backcountry skiing

Backcountry skiing is the most interesting and also the most complicated part of the skiing classification and the one that causes the most confusion among beginner skiers. It is a collective term for various additional types of skiing that go beyond the three traditional ones mentioned above. The term 'backcountry' is more developed in North America; in the Alps, and the rest of Europe it is more often called 'off-piste skiing'.

However, backcountry skiing uses boots and other skiing equipment from all of these types, combining them in one way or another. In particular, with backcountry, you use special bindings that can switch between free-heel and fixed-heel modes so you can ascend slopes with your heels unlocked, using also special sticky ski skins that give traction. You also can use all sorts of additional climbing gear including ski crampons, boot crampons, an ice axe, rope, and others — like in normal summer mountaineering, and most importantly avalanche safety kits (avalanche sensors, heating systems, shovels, etc.) — that is the main kind of danger of this type of skiing.

But the main difference between backcountry skiing is the fact that it is practiced in the most remote parts of the ski resorts, as well as beyond their limits, where the pistes are worse and less often monitored, or they may not exist at all. In fact, this type of skiing involves completely free skiing off the slopes, which gives maximum freedom of movement, not only in terms of fixing the boots to the skis but also the territory.

The types of backcountry skiing

Backcountry skiing is often confused with several concepts that in fact are its main varieties, so remember their basic differences:

Ski touring or alpine touring, or French 'randonnée' — skiing for one or more days with an overnight stay in mountain huts without using ski lifts.
Ski mountaineering (skimo) or ski alpinism — the same ski touring but with the purpose of climbing to the mountain tops to get the maximum altitude difference.
Heli-skiing is when you use a helicopter instead of ski lifts that take you to the top of the mountain, a slope, or a pass to descend from them.
Freeride skiing is primarily backcountry snowboarding but also skiing performed on any natural, un-groomed terrain, without a set course, goals, or rules.
Extreme skiing is any kind of backcountry skiing that involves increased difficulty (terrain, weather...) and, as a consequence, the real danger to life.

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What is freestyle skiing

Freestyle skiing is another popular type of skiing, which involves doing jumps and various acrobatic tricks in the air. In other words, you do whatever you want during a few seconds of flying, while lifting above the ground with your skis — spreading them wide, crossing them, rotating 360 degrees, and so on. That's why this type of skiing usually involves competition.

For freestyle skiing, both regular and various special types of skis are used, the main one being the so-called 'twin-tip skis'. Their main difference from other types of skis is that both ends of the skis are rounded, allowing you to ski forward and backward freely, as well as to land on either side of the skis after a jump and immediately continue moving. They are also more flexible, durable, and so on.

Freestyle skiing is also done within the ski resorts in freestyle or snowboard parks with specially prepared snow hills, slopes, ramps, and other equipment for making jumps. But you can also do them during backcountry skiing using natural objects.

The types of freestyle skiing

The main types of freestyle skiing derive from their main features. These include the following several competitive categories:

Aerial skiing — various jumps and landings, for which you get points from special judges who are experts in this type of skiing, from which the total score is formed.
Mogul skiing and dual mogul skiing — going over bumps on the slopes alone or head-to-head with another skier — whoever is fastest and best on the track wins.
Big Air — twists, spins, and various other positions in the air you can reproduce or make up on your own, for which points are also awarded and summed up.
Halfpipe skiing — skiers drop in and out of semi-circle scoops in the hills and perform various jumps and stunts in the air, which is more often associated with snowboarding.
Ski cross skiing — incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses that include big-air jumps and high-banked turns.
Acro skiing or ski ballet — similar to figure skiing, which combines jumps, spins, and flips, which went out of fashion, but was very popular in the 1970s.