Alpine skiing is the sport you think of when you’re asked to go on a skiing trip — just with more speed, skill and difficulty than you will ever find on the bunny hill. It’s broken down into five events:  Downhill: It’s exactly what it sounds like. Downhill is all about speed, and its racers will hit the highest speeds of the Olympics.  Slalom: This is one of the technical events of alpine skiing. Skiers must pass through an angular course, set up by gates that are 6.5 feet wide.  Giant slalom: Like slalom, this is a more technical event, but is differentiated by a larger vertical drop and direction changes. Runs on two different courses decide the winner.  Super-G: This combines the speed of the downhill with the technical difficulty of the slalom. The course has more gates than the downhill, but is not as long. Skiers get one run to win the Super-G.  Super combined: Skiers have a downhill and two slalom runs. The gold goes to the skier with the fastest aggregate time.  Americans to watch: The United States is fourth in Olympic history with 39 medals, 14 gold. Though the U.S. won’t have Lindsey Vonn because of a knee injury, there will be other stars to keep an eye on.  Mikaela Shiffrin: The 18-year-old has landed on the podium in four of her past slalom races.  Julia Mancuso: With two silvers and a gold, Mancuso is both decorated and experienced, but hasn’t made a podium this season.  Bode Miller: With five medals, including one gold, Miller is 36 and looking to add to his collection in Sochi. He’s made the podium in his last two races, and is ranked eighth in the World Cup standings.  Ted Ligety: After a disappointing run in Sochi, Ligety is looking for another gold to match the medal he won in Turin. He’s ranked fourth in the World Cup, and has won four times this season.  International stars to watch: Unsurprisingly, the best skiers in the world come from places with plentiful mountains.  Maria Hoefl-Riesch, Germany: A good friend of Vonn’s, she has ruled the slopes since 2008. Hoefl-Riesch has two Olympic golds, hasn’t finished lower than third in World Cup standings since 2008, and is in first place in the World Cup heading into Sochi.  Tina Maze, Slovenia: What’s more motivating a second-place finish? Maze has two silver medals from Vancouver, and has had a season that improved with each race.  Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway: He won a gold, silver and bronze in Vancouver, and is ranked second among World Cup standings with eight podium finishes this year.  Marcel Hischer, Austria: He’s looking for his first Olympic medal in Sochi, but is a good bet to get one, considering he has 12 podium finishes and the World Cup points lead.  Weird story you need to know: Warm weather or a lack of precipitation will not be a problem for Alpine skiers. Eight vaults in Russia have been storing snow under a special blanket. Snow cannons will also be used to make artificial snow.  Aksel Lund Svindal, alpine skiing, Bode Miller, Julia Mancuso, Mikaela Shiffrin, Ted Ligety, Tina Maze
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