When you mention skiing most people only ever think of cross country or downhill skiing but there is more to skiing than just those two.  There are half a dozen styles of skiing that differ quite a bit, both in technique and the type of equipment involved.

Overview of Various Skiing Styles

Cross Country

Cross country skiing is also referred to as Nordic or x-country skiing and it has been around forever, in fact you can trace the origins all the way back to 6300BC.  Cross country skiing can be broken down into two different styles, classic style and the skating style.  Classic style uses a straight ahead gliding motion, where skating style uses a v-shaped glide that looks more like ice skating than traditional cross country skiing.

Cross country is just as the name says, you are skiing over flat terrain instead of down a hill.  The skis and boots are both different, cross country skis are longer and thinner.  The boot bindings differ as well, the heels are not attached to cross country skis.

Downhill

Downhill is also referred to as Alpine skiing and like the name says it involves going downhill.  Downhill is probably the most common type of skiing, you ride a lift to the top of the ski hill and then ski your way down to the bottom.  There is a vast difference in levels of difficulty on the type of downhill trails available.  In cross country you can ski almost anywhere there is snow, downhill requires travel to a ski hill and lift tickets must be purchased.  You are going to spend more money on downhill than cross country.

The skis, boots and poles are different than cross country.  The boots come up higher on your leg than cross country boots, they are reinforced with plastic heels that are attached to the bindings.   The skis themselves are shorter and wider and the poles are shorter than in cross country.

Freestyle

Freestyle skiing is a joy to watch, this is where skiers do jumps and tricks.  Freestyle skiers ski on half pipes and do incredible aerial stunts, while others ski moguls.  Many freestyle skiers use normal downhill boots and bindings, some use twin tips and others use snow blades, these are very small skis.

To truly appreciate the beauty of freestyle skiing, check out the video.

Telemark

Very similar to downhill both types of skiing will take you down the side of a mountain the difference lies in the equipment.  Telemark skiers have a different type of boots, they don’t attach to the bindings.  The skis also tend to be more flexible and most telemark skiers don’t use poles.

There is more to skiing than just downhill and cross country, although if you are a beginner you probably should start out with freestyle.