Characteristics of the Sport

Overview

Alpine skiing events consist of four main disciplines - Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super Giant Slalom (Super G) and Downhill, as well as a combined event. All events are contested at world cup, world championship and Olympic level.
Slalom and Giant slalom are technical events that require skiers to ski downhill through a series of tight turns or gates.  The difference between Slalom and Giant slalom is the distance between turns and the duration of the event.  Skiers usually take between 40-60sec to complete a Slalom course and around 60-90sec to complete a Giant slalom course.  Super G and Downhill are considered speed events, with gates or turns being further apart and runs being longer. This allows for greater speeds to be reached. Super G is typically shorter than downhill, with skiers taking 80-100sec to complete each run.  Downhill would be considered to be the most difficult and quickest of the alpine events with skiers reaching speeds well in excess of 100km/hr. This takes tremendous skill, strength and concentration, providing alpine skiers with unique nutritional challenges for training and competition.
The combined event consists of one downhill run and two slalom runs.  This combines the technical skills of the slalom with the strength and speed characteristics of the downhill. 

Competition

The main competitive season for elite alpine skiers is during the northern hemisphere winter – principally, between October and April.  The international world cup season is between October and March, after which athletes then return to other international or national competitions during April. 
Slalom and giant slalom skiers compete in a two run event, with the second run being based on the top 30 competitors skiing in reverse order.  The winner is the skier with the fastest accumulated time across the two runs.  Skiers are usually allowed time prior to the event to warm up with on snow free skiing and skiing on practice courses, with time set aside before the event for course inspection. Slalom and giant slalom skiers usually get a break between runs, which allows them to inspect the course prior to their second run.  An event can last 3-5 hours.
Unlike the technical events, the Super G and Downhill are 1 run only competitions, with the fastest time being the winner. Super G and downhill skiers have similar warm up and inspection practices to slalom and giant slalom athletes. 
The combined event is held on the same day at the same venue.  The courses are usually shorter in length and less technical than the respective individual events.  Times are combined and the skier with the fastest time across the three runs is the winner.

Training

The off-season for elite alpine skiers is during Australia’s winter.  Early during the preparation phase, athletes will focus on building a strong aerobic base, often through non specific activities such as mountain biking and cross country skiing. As they move closer towards the start of the competitive season, skiers will focus more on developing strength, power and anaerobic capacity, with large amounts of training spent in the gym doing a range of concentric and eccentric resistance exercises.   On snow training begins as early as the middle of the year and is mainly confined to high altitude glacial training or southern hemisphere training, which presents unique challenges to the athlete due to the higher altitudes.  Leading into competition, training intensity and volume increases dramatically, with the period of September through October considered the most intense and demanding of the training season.  Training into late October can present issues relating to cold temperatures at altitude and the associated energy increases associated with shivering.

Physical Characteristics

Alpine skiers tend to be heavier and taller than other winter sports athletes.  Slalom skiers tend to be lighter and shorter than speed skiers like the downhill specialists.  This is due to the fact that increased body mass is beneficial in generating speed downhill.  Lean tissue is preferential and alpine skiers have relatively low body fat percentages.    

Common Nutrition Issues

Environmental Extremes

Factors such as altitude, a cold environment, heavy gear and hard training can increase the fuel and fluid needs of alpine skiers.  Alpine training sessions have been shown to be glycogen depleting due to the highly static nature of a training run. As skiers spend large blocks of training at high altitudes, it is essential that they focus on consuming a diet that ensures suitable carbohydrate recovery between sessions.  Failure to eat and drink appropriately during workouts and competition will result in premature fatigue - compromising performance and increasing the risk of injury.  This training environment presents three critical nutrition challenges that need to be addressed.

Carbohydrate Requirements

At altitude carbohydrate metabolism is altered and the reliance on carbohydrate as a basic fuel source increases.  This coupled with the intense nature of alpine training leads to many alpine skiers having difficulty in meeting their carbohydrate requirements.  During periods of on glacial training in extreme temperatures, skiers can rapidly deplete carbohydrate stores.  They should therefore aim to consume carbohydrate regularly before, during and after training.  Prior to snow sessions, skiers should consume a nutrient dense carbohydrate meal or snack.  Suitable choices may be;
• soup + warm crusty bread
• rolls/sandwiches
• pasta with tomato based sauce
• hot potato with fillings (take care not to over consume marg, cheese, sour cream)
• thick doughy based pizzas with low fat toppings
• Pancakes and maple syrup

During on snow training skiers intakes should be in the range of 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour. Sports foods like carbohydrate electrolyte drinks, sports meal replacement shakes and sports bars are all easy sources of carbohydrate to consume on the snow.  Products that are warm or hot may be more palatable and encourage greater voluntary intake in such environmental extremes. 

Building and maintaining lean muscle mass

As mentioned above, alpine skiers are usually taller and heavier than other winter sports athlete’s. This increased focus on weight is mainly centred on gains in lean muscle tissue. One of the main challenges alpine skiers can encounter is the development of lean muscle tissue during the preparation phase and the maintenance of these gains during the high intensity on snow training block pre competition (For tips on eating to increase lean muscle tissue see the AIS fact sheet titled “Increasing muscle mass.”) During the heavy on snow pre competition phase skiers should aim to consume suitable energy to meet their increased metabolic demands. They should ensure that sports nutrition recovery guidelines are followed and consume suitable amounts of carbohydrate (7-10g/kg/day). One area of particular focus should be on the consumption of suitable recovery snacks within an appropriate time frame. As training venues can be at considerable altitudes and the time taken to descend to suitable food sources can take between 60 min and 120 min, it is important skiers are organised with suitable nutrient dense carbohydrate recovery snacks.  Suitable choices are;
• easy to eat fruit i.e. banana
• sports bars/breakfast bars
• sports gels
• fruit buns/bagels/cookies
• dried fruit and nut mixes
• sandwiches with meat fillings
• hot chocolate/Milo
• soup in thermos
• Warm liquid meal supplements (eg. PowerBar Protein Plus Powder, Sustagen)

Hydration- Who feels like drinking on snow??

The combination of extreme temperatures and altitude can lead to serious fluid shifts within the body. Maintaining hydration during snow workouts can be a real challenge that’s often underestimated.  Even though fluid losses may decrease when in cold environments compared to hot environments, fluid losses can become significant if suitable attention is not paid to maintaining good hydration practices. This may be due to reluctance to drink in the cold, or fear of the need to urinate (bathroom facilities may be inaccessible!).
The following hydration tips may assist in meeting fluid requirements during training and competition on the snow:
• Use sports drinks - They encourage fluid intake and can assist with fluid retention, reducing the need to urinate while on snow.  Sports drinks also provide carbohydrate to help meet fuel needs.
• Keep fluids at a comfortable temperature.  Fluid intake is usually reduced when fluids are very cold (or frozen).  Cool fluids (10-15^oC) are generally preferred during strenuous sessions.  However, in very cold conditions warmer fluids may be more inviting.  Packing a thermos or insulated drink container to prevent the temperature of the fluids dropping to very low levels is a useful strategy.
• Other good fluid choices for a long session on the snow include flavoured milk, juice, hot chocolate/Milo, soup or water, or meal replacement shakes like Powerbar Protein Plus™. 

Travel to Overseas Countries

Elite alpine skiers will spend up to six months a year overseas.  Planning ahead, having access to regular food items, having the required knowledge to select appropriate foods and fluids, and having access to specialised sports foods used routinely at home are all important considerations.  For details regarding travel nutrition issues see the fact sheets in the Travel section of our website.

This fact sheet is based on AIS / National team athletes and is therefore specific to these athletes. Written by the AIS Department of Sports Nutrition, last updated August 2009. © Australian Sports Commission.