UM Team

The UM Team has four regular races. The placing of these four races decides who qualifies for regionals. The top five teams at Regionals get to travel to Nationals. The team normally qualifies for Regionals in both the mens division and the womens division. The womens team has qualified for Nationals two out of the past three years. The team provides a competitive ski racing enviroment and is always searching for new members.

UM Alpine Ski Team

The University of Montana offers many club sports. One of those sports is the Alpine Ski Team. It is a USCSA sanctioned team. They are considered to be in the Grand Teton Conference. It offers UM students the option of ski racing at a competitive level. For more information on USCSA go to http://uscsa.com or for more information on the team go to http://life.umt.edu/crec/name/AlpineSki

Mogul Skiing

Mogul skiing was the first type of freestyle skiing developed. Mogul skiing consists of skiing down a run with bumps in it. A regular course will have 2 jumps spaced apart from one another for the competitor to do ariels and acrobatic tricks. At the end of the run the skier gets a score and they have a time. The two of these are used to determine placing. To learn more about mogul skiing go to http://www.abc-of-skiing.com/mogul-skiing/mogul-skiing.asp.

Freestyle Skiing

There are two main types of freestyle skiing. One type is more skiing moguls and ariels, while the other type is more halfpipe, big air, slopestyle, and skiercross. Depending on ones interests, both can be fun. It can also look good, here is a link for some pictures http://www.abc-of-skiing.com/freestyle-skiing/freestyle-ski-tricks.asp.

Ski Racing

If you are interested in Alpine Ski Racing joining a team is the best way to accomplish this. Ski racing requires constant critiquing of form. Having someone critique ones form is one way to become a better racer. Another way to improve ones skiing is to watch professionals. Watching the world cup races and examining the form seen will help to improve form. One place to find information about the skiing world cup is http://www.skiworldcup.org/load/home.html. Ski racing magazine is another way to keep up with the ski racing world, http://www.skiracing.com/.

Skiing

Skiing is a very fun sport if you know what you are doing. There are a few websites that help beginners learn the basics but in order to truly understand how to ski one must be on the hill trying. One website to look at if you are a first time skier is http://skiing.about.com/od/beginningskiers/a/howtoski.htm. Another way to learn how to ski is to get a lesson at a local hill. Taking lessons is normally very beneficial. Trying to teach yourself how to ski can also work. Teaching yourself is difficult and takes more time than getting a lesson. It can be very frustrating to teach yourself to ski. The best way to learn how to ski is through a lesson.