Olympic skiing: The essential guide

Alpine
Alpine has been part of the Olympics since 1936. Alpine consists of five different downhill racing events: downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-giant (super G), and super combined. Downhill and super G are more about speed, while slalom and giant slalom are more technical. In slalom, skiers need to maneuver around gates that are closer together than in the other events. For super combined, skiers do two runs (one slalom and one downhill) and their times are combined.

Cross Country
An Olympic sport since 1924, women's events were added in 1952. There are currently six different cross country events: Individual, mass start, skiathlon, relay, individual sprint, and team sprint.

How are the winners determined?
The individual winner is the skier with the shortest time. For the other events, it's the skier (or team) that crosses the finish line first. The sprint events are done in several rounds, with the top finishers advancing to the next rounds.

Are there differences between these events?
The biggest difference is the style of skiing used: classic or free. In the classic style, the skis stay basically parallel to each other and the body motion resembles walking. In free technique, the skier kicks out and the motion is more similar to ice skating. The individual and team sprint are in the classic style, while mass start and individual sprint are in the free style. Skiathlon is skiied half in classic and half in free, and skiers must change skis in the middle with the clock still going. For the relay, the first two racers use the classic technique and the second two use free technique.

Freestyle
This first became an Olympic sport in 1992 when the mogul event was added. In 1994, aerial was added, ski cross was added in 2010 and this year halfpipe and slopestyle events will be official events for the first time. The ski cross winner is determined by speed, while the rest are given scores by judges. (See below for explanation of cross v. slopestyle)

Nordic combined
An Olympic sport since 1924, this is the only sport where women do not compete. The team event was introduced in 1988. Skiers first complete two ski jumps (on a normal or large hill depending on the event) and are scored based on distance and style. The skier with the highest jump score starts the cross-country skiing portion of the race first. The rest start based on the gaps in their scores. The first to cross the finish line wins. In the team event, each of the four team members completes two ski jumps and the scores are combined for a team score. Then the cross country portion is a 4x5km relay.

Ski jumping
An Olympic sport since 1924, this will be the first year that women will be competing, though the team competition and large hill jump is still for men only. In the normal hill competition, the longest jumps will reach around 105m, and in the large hill, jumpers will reach around 140m. Jumpers get points based on distance, and also style points from judges (0-20). There are five judges, but the highest and lowest scores are thrown out, so the maximum number of style points awarded is 60.

Why is this the first year for women?
It's taken a while for the rest of the world to catch up with the United States, according to Bryan Sanders, Minnesotan, former Olympian and director of development for USA Ski Jumping. "The St. Paul Ski Club started girls ski jumping in the '30s. All of my sisters jumped but had no options to get to the Olympic level," Sanders said. He recommends, "Ready to Fly," a documentary about how the U.S. women's ski jumping team pushed to be able to compete in the Olympics.

Is ski jumping dangerous?
It's actually gotten safer as the technique has changed. Skiers used to jump with their skis together, but by 1992 almost all jumpers had started using the V-technique, where the skis are held in the shape of a V. "This position makes a jumper more aerodynamic like a kite," said Sanders who competed in the 1992 games. It actually makes the jumper go farther and slower, making the sport safer.

Snowboarding
Snowboarding was first introduced in 1998 with giant slalom and halfpipe. 2002 saw the addition of parallel giant slalom and in 2006 snowboard cross was added. This year, parallel slalom and slopestyle will be official Olympic events for the first time.

What's the difference between cross and slopestyle?
Both races are obstacle courses of sorts. Cross has obstacles, including berms, hills, and small jumps. The slopestyle course has obstacles like bigger jumps, rails and halfpipes. Since cross is a timed event, the goal is to minimize disruption from these obstacles. Slopestyle, on the other hand is judged, and the goal is to do tricks off the various obstacles.

Do they make the tricks up as they go?
No, it's all very carefully planned and choreographed, according to Jessica Zalusky, who directs the G-Team and won gold in one of the first national slopestyle competitions in 1994. Zalusky is excited to finally see slopestyle as an Olympic sport, although is disappointed to see Shaun White dropped out of the event, citing the dangerous course.

Can you use the same board for different events?
No. Each event has a specially designed board. "Cross boards will have a side cut -- not straight up and down on the edge," Zalusky said. "This helps you turn much better." And then there's the wax. Boarders will have waxing plans depending on the event and conditions. Zalusky says that between the time spent waxing could be up to four hours, most of it done by trained wax technicians.

Minnesota's Olympic skiers:

David Chodounsky was born in St. Paul and moved to Colorado at age 11. He's competing in Alpine skiing

Jessie Diggins grew up in Afton. She's competing in cross-country skiing
• More: Sochi next stop for Afton ski phenom Jessie Diggins

Brian Gregg lives in Minneapolis. He's competing in cross-country skiing

Keri Herman was born and raised in Bloomington. She's competing in slopestyle skiing

Torin Koos was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Washington state

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Find more: Your guide to the 2014 Winter Olympics