the.com/slalom
Skiing's way of asking: can you commit to the fall line without actually falling?
means A ski race (or route) down a zigzag course of gates, demanding tight, rapid turns rather than straight speed.
from Borrowed from Norwegian, where it derives from dialect words meaning roughly 'sloping track' or 'sloping trail' — slalåm, from sla (sloping/slanting) and låm (track, as in the line left by a skier). It entered English in the early 20th century as the sport of competitive ski racing through gates was codified, carrying its Norwegian terrain-talk straight into the rulebooks.
- origin
- Norwegian for sloping track
- gate rhythm
- fastest skiers turn almost before the gate
- turns per run
- often 50 to 70 direction changes
- other use
- also means weaving through traffic cones, literally