Alpine skiing (or downhill skiing) is a recreational activity and sport involving sliding down snow-covered hills with long, thin skis attached to each foot.

Alpine skiing evolved from cross-country skiing when ski lift infrastructure was developed at mountain resorts to tow skiers back to the top of slopes, thus making it possible to repeatedly enjoy skiing down steep, long slopes that would be otherwise too tiring to climb up. Thus, the sport is popular wherever the combination of snow, mountain slopes, and a sufficient tourist infrastructure can be built up, including much of Europe, North America, and Japan.

The main technical challenges faced by skiers are simply how to control the direction and speed of their descent. Typically, novice skiers use a technique called the "snowplough" to turn and stop by pointing one or both skis inward, but more advanced skiers use more difficult but more elegant and speedier methods. These more advanced methods are known as carving. To carve, a skier rolls their knees but keeps the upper body and hips faced down the hill, so that only the knees and feet are turned (only in slalom do you keep your upper body pointing down the hill). This method is far faster and is used by downhill racers.

As skiers gain confidence, they tackle steeper, longer and more uneven slopes at higher speeds. In Europe the system is based on colour alone, with the level of difficulty increasing from blue to red to black.

ULOTC run an annual Alpine Skiiing exped to Austria in late March each year.

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