Skiing is a popular winter sport that has been enjoyed by people all over the world for centuries. From the early days of cross-country skiing to the development of modern alpine skiing and snowboarding, skiing has come a long way over the years. Skiing trivia questions are a great way to test your knowledge of this exciting sport and to learn more about its history, techniques, and culture.
This list of skiing trivia questions covers a wide range of topics and is designed to challenge your understanding of the sport. From the basics of skiing equipment and techniques to the latest developments in ski technology and fashion, this list of questions is sure to be both educational and entertaining.
Whether you're a ski enthusiast, a winter sports lover, or simply someone who is interested in learning more about this exciting sport, this list of skiing trivia questions is sure to provide you with hours of enjoyment and learning. So why not put your knowledge to the test and see how you fare? Let's explore the thrilling world of skiing and see how much you really know!
53 Skiing Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- What informal term for a rabbit is used for a gentle ski slope suitable for beginners?
Answer: Bunny
- Mike Wiegele is a pioneer of what kind of skiing, in which slopes that don’t have an infrastructure to get you to the top are bypassed by a certain kind of flying machine?
Answer: Heli Skiing
- What “C” peak in Queenstown, New Zealand is a skiing mountain, whose name is the same as a crown that is commonly worn by lesser royalties, such as those with peerage?
Answer: Coronet Peak
- According to the United States National Ski Areas Association, what colored square represents ski slopes designed for intermediate skiers?
Answer: Blue square
- What ski resort in southwestern Montana proudly claims to host the "Biggest Skiing in America"?
Answer: Big Sky Resort
- What is the catch-all term for systems used to transport skiers to the top of a hill or mountain, and includes chairlifts, gondola lifts, cable cars, and aerial tramways?
Answer: Ski Lift
- In 1967, Bill Briggs made the first ski descents of the Middle and South peaks of what “T” mountain range in Northwest Wyoming, located in their “Grand” National Park?
Answer: Teton Mountains
- What skiing "S" word comes from the Norwegian words for "slope" and "track?"
Answer: Slalom
- Remi Lindholm is a cross-country skier who competed in the 50-kilometer freestyle as a representative of what nation? Its white flag with a blue cross rises above the arctic Lapland province.
Answer: Finland
- One summer day in July 1922, in Lake City, Minnesota, Ralph Samuelson used household items to invent what water-surface sport? Samuelson went on to perform and teach the sport for over 20 years.
Answer: Water skiing
- Originally a term for a herder's humble hut, what French word describes wooden, sloped Alpine houses frequently seen near ski slopes?
Answer: Chalet
- A rooster rendered in the red, white, and blue of the French flag is the logo of what brand, whose products include skis, apparel, and accessories worn with them?
Answer: Rossignol
- To train for a race back in the 1970s, Ed Pauls built a static cross country skiing machine in his Chaska, Minnesota garage. That's the origin of what exercise equipment company based in Utah, not Sweden?
Answer: NordicTrack
- In the Winter Olympics, the biathlon event combines cross-country skiing with the shooting of what specific firearm?
Answer: Rifle
- What musician turned politician was a congressman when he died in a skiing accident in Lake Tahoe? The epitaph on his tombstone reads, "AND THE BEAT GOES ON."
Answer: Sonny Bono
- What actress, who was the wife of Liam Neeson, tragically died from a head injury sustain during a ski trip in Canada?
Answer: Natasha Richardson
- What “S” American skier, who won gold medals in the slalom in 2014 and 2018, was the the youngest slalom gold medalist in Olympic history?
Answer: Mikaela Shiffrin
- Although sometimes manmade, these mounds of snow form naturally over time on ski slopes that see a lot of traffic. When skiers turn, they gradually push snow into small communal piles better known by what name?
Answer: Moguls
- The acclaimed ski resort town of Zermatt, Switzerland lies in the shadow of Monte Cervino, an Alpine mountain known in English by what Disney rollercoaster name?
Answer: Matterhorn
- What “B” word refers to the devices that attach a skier’s feet to the ski? It comes from an adjective for attaching to a surface, like bandages or a legal contract.
Answer: Binding
- Smugglers' Notch and Sugarbush are two of the most adorably named S-word ski resorts in what U.S. state where you can also find Stowe?
Answer: Vermont
- What Ridge in Washington’s Olympic Park is a popular destination for hiking, skiing, and snowboarding? It shares its name with a weather phenomenon not commonly seen in Washington, more commonly survived in the East Coast and the Florida Gulf region.
Answer: Hurricane Ridge
- What “K” female Croatian alpine ski racer of the 2000s won four gold medals, last winning gold in alpine skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics?
Answer: Janica Kostelic
- An analogy often used to teach beginners to ski is "French fries" — meaning keep the skis parallel to each other — and what other fast food that means point the skis together in a wedge shape?
Answer: Pizza
- What “P” magazine’s website advertises itself as “The Skier’s Magazine,” even as it stopped publishing regular issues in 2021? Its name is slang for fresh snow, and a general term for ground particles.
Answer: Powder
- Franz Klammer won the downhill skiing gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics in dramatic fashion, beating Bernhard Russi by a third of a second. The games were held in Innsbruck, the capital of the state of Tyrol in what European nation?
Answer: Austria
- Australia might not be the first place on Earth you’d think would make a great destination for a skip trip, but you can hit the slopes in the country's alps. To get a history lesson, which town in New South Wales—the birthplace of Australian skiing—can you visit to learn all about how the snow sport came to the continent in 1861?
Answer: Kiandra
- What Olympian, nicknamed the "Flying Tomato," was born in San Diego and grew up skiing in the San Bernardino Mountains?
Answer: Shaun White
- Time spent socializing and enjoying beverages after a long day on the slopes is frequently referred to by what hyphenated French term?
Answer: Apres-ski
- Toss in a dash of Alpine. Mix with a splash of Nordic, stir. Now you've got what skiing technique named for a region of Norway?
Answer: Telemark
- What skier won 6 Olympics medals from 1998 to 2014, as well as 4 world championships, and is considered the greatest American male alpine skier of all time? He is remembered by some for failing to win a gold medal in any of his events at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
Answer: Bode Miller
- Known for penning notable works including “A Study in Scarlet” and “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, what knighted British author and physician introduced skiing in Switzerland?
Answer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- Located at the base of Mont Blanc in the Alps, what French valley is known for its ski resorts like Grands Montets, Les Houches, and Le Brevent?
Answer: Chamonix
- In the 2018 Winter Olympics, the US won their first medal in 42 years in what skiing event that has historically been dominated by Nordic countries? The event has two major techniques: "classic" and "skating."
Answer: Cross country skiing
- There's rarely enough powder in Southern Ireland to pull what skiing maneuver with an off-axis spin or inverted horizontal rotation?
Answer: Cork / Corkscrew
- The first Indigenous athletes to rep Canada at the Olympics, Sharon and Shirley Firth competed in what attention span-defying, quad-busting ski event?
Answer: Cross-country skiing
- Patrick Vallencant and Anselme Baud worked together in a variety of extreme skiing stunts in the 1970s and 1980s, including skiing down the face of what “B” Mont, the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe?
Answer: Mont Blanc
- Which three-letter term is used to refer to riding a snowboard or skis across a non-pisted surface?
Answer: Jib
- What Austrian alpine ski racer, nicknamed the “Herminator,” has a historic track record, with four World Cup titles, two gold medals, and three World Championships? He won both his golds at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Answer: Hermann Maier
- What female skier, from Salt Lake City, Utah won gold medals in cross country skiing for Team USA at the 2013 World Championships and the 2018 Winter Olympics? Her “R” last name is the same as the actor who played Felix Ungar in the 1970s “Odd Couple” TV show.
Answer: Kikkan Randall
- The Super-G is the abbreviated form of what three-word skiing event which debuted in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics?
Answer: Super Giant Slalom
- In 1972, Sylvain Saudan, whom some consider the first extreme skier, was the first person to ski descent down the Messner Coulior on what large US mountain?
Answer: Denali
- Pretty much synonymous with "groomer," what French P-word for "trail" means a marked, usually compacted ski run?
Answer: Piste
- Who won New Zealand’s first ever Winter Olympics medal, with a silver in the Women’s Slalom skiing at Albertvill in 1992?
Answer: Annelise Coberger
- In 2008, Bode Miller won his only Olympic gold in what skiing event that kinda sounds like a ginormous piece of farm equipment?
Answer: Super combined
- What Italian skier with an “E” last name participated on the Italian Olympic team in 2014 Olympics, and recently made the short film “The Ultimate Run” for Red Bull?
Answer: Markus Eder
- An alliterative aerial lift which transports skiers on the top of the slopes shares its name with what public transportation vehicle that is symbolically silhouetted within Rice-A-Roni’s logo?
Answer: Cable car
- In 1963, Josef Kaiser invented a way for Alpine skiers to train during the off-season. What’s the name of his snow-free method?
Answer: Grass skiing
- Alpine skiing first took place at the Winter Olympics in which year? (Hint: the following Winter Olympics did not take place until 12 years after this year.)
Answer: 1936
- What “D” American skier, along with her partner Kikkan Randall, won America’s first ever gold medals in cross-country skiing at the 2018 Olympics? She wrote an autobiography called “Brave Enough”, about her career as well as personal struggles with bulimia?
Answer: Jessie Diggins
- A demonstration sport at the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics was which form of skiing very similar to figure skating, combining spins, jumps, and flips in a two-minute routine choreographed to music?
Answer: Ski ballet
- What six-letter German “S” word is defined by Merriam-Webster as a verb meaning “to ski directly down a slope at high speed”?
Answer: Schuss
- What Canadian skier of Asian ancestry is a pioneer of freestyle skiing in the 1970s, and is a member of both the Canadian and U.S. Ski Halls of Fame? He invented his own namesake “Banger.”
Answer: Wayne Wong
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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