Alpine: Relating to high mountains. Alpine skiing refers to skiing on a snow-covered mountain course in a race format.

Angulation: A skiing technique to help skiers stay balanced while making sharp turns. Proper angulation results in a stable upper body with shoulders parallel with the snow and a tilted lower body that lets skiers get low to the ground while making turns.

Bluebird day: A calm and sunny day with no clouds after a night of snowfall, resulting in the perfect conditions for skiing.

Carve: A crisp turn referring to the technique used in Alpine ski racing. When carving, a skier turns their skis onto their edges, a metal strip fixed along the bottom of the ski, which can cut through ice or snow and allow skiers to perform precise turns necessary for a fast run on a race course.

Combined: An event with one downhill run, followed by one slalom run. At the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, the combined is a team event with one men’s and one women’s discipline. On a team, one skier performs the downhill run and one performs the slalom run, with the combined time of the two runs marking the official time for the team.

Downhill: A speed event with the longest course and the fastest speeds. In a Winter Olympics downhill, the vertical drop ranges from 800-1100m for men’s courses and 450-800m for women’s courses. Racers can hit speeds of up to 80 miles per hour or higher on downhill courses.

Fall line: The most direct route down a ski slope. Understanding the fall line on a race course is crucial for skiers when inspecting a course to navigate the proper path through turns while staying as close to the fall line as possible to minimize time in a run.

Forerunner: An athlete who takes a run down the course before a race to ensure the course is safe.  

FIS: The sport’s international federation, short for Fédération Internationale de Ski (International Ski Federation). FIS was founded in 1924 during the first Winter Olympics (Alpine did not debut until 1936) in Chamonix, France, with 141 member national ski associations.

Gate: A plastic pole used to mark the course for skiers to follow. Closed gates are vertically arranged, and open gates are horizontally arranged. 

Giant slalom: A technical event that features fewer and wider turns than slalom. Winter Olympics giant slalom ranges in vertical drop from 300-450m on men’s courses and 300-400m on women’s courses.

Hairpin: Two slalom gates set vertically down the hill in succession. Hairpin gates require slalom skiers to change their rhythm on courses and adjust to hit turns precisely for a fast run.

Netting: Padding used to cushion a fall and to prevent athletes from sliding into wooded areas.

Off-piste: Refers to areas of a ski resort or mountain that are unpatrolled and ungroomed, also called backcountry.

Wedge turn: A beginner technique to brake or turn on skis when a skier brings the front tips of the skis together and rolls their knees inward.

Schuss: When the skis are parallel and pointed downward, allowing the skier to move straight and fast down the mountain. 

Slalom: A technical event with the shortest course and the quickest turns. On a Winter Olympics course, slalom ranges in vertical drop from 180-220m on men’s courses and 140-220m on women’s courses.

Speed event: The fastest alpine ski events: downhill and super-G. Speed events are on longer courses with increased distances between gates to allow skiers to gain more speed through turns.

Straddling: A mistake where a skier passes over a gate with one ski on one side of the pole and the other ski on the opposite side. Straddling a turn on a race course results in an automatic disqualification for the skier.

Super-G: A speed event that requires more technical skills than downhill. It is an abbreviation for super giant slalom. On a Winter Olympics course, vertical drop for the super-G ranges from 400-650m on men’s courses and from 400-600m on women’s courses.

Technical event: Events with rapid turns: slalom and giant slalom. Gates are more frequent and pushed closer together to create more challenging turns for skiers.

Tuck: A position where the skier squats and keeps his or her arms close to the body. It is used in speed events to reduce wind resistance and maximize speed, more often performed in speed events.

Vertical: The difference in elevation between the summit and the base. 

Wedge turn: A beginner technique to brake or turn on skis when a skier brings the front tips of the skis together and rolls their knees inward.