The Three Most Popular The Three Most Popular Types of SkiingTypes of Skiing

•Bahamas-based businessman and philanthropist Stephen Eric Lawrence is the founder and managing director of the technology-based private equity firm Trinity Company.

He is also the founder of the Lawrence Family Charitable Foundation.

When not engaged in professional and philanthropic ventures, Stephen Eric Lawrence enjoys skiing in popular locations, including Zurs, Austria; Chamonix, France; and Whistler, British Columbia.

•Originally a means of transportation in countries with snowy winters, skiing eventually became one of the world's most popular competitive winter sports.

Athletes and hobbyists participate in many different versions of the sport, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and freestyle skiing.

Alpine skiing, also commonly referred to as downhill skiing, is probably the most well-known type of skiing.

It involves gliding down snow-covered hills on a pair of strong skis.

This form of the sport grew in popularity with the invention of the ski lift, which allowed ski resorts to tow visitors easily to the tops of mountain peaks.

Characterized by high speeds, especially on steep slopes, alpine skiing requires a high degree of control over the direction and speed of the descent.

•Cross-country skiing requires large expanses of snowy fields and takes place mainly in the northern regions of Europe and Canada, although it is also gaining popularity in the United States.

Both professionals and amateurs enjoy the sport, but it is a particularly difficult endurance sport that utilizes multiple techniques and varying trail types. Often recommended to improve one’s fitness level, the sport works every major muscle group in the body.

•Freestyle skiing, sometimes called hot-dogging, originated among Norwegian skiers who incorporated acrobatics into alpine and cross-country skiing.

This style has very few rules and can be quite dangerous. Freestyle only recently gained acceptance as a sport in competitions.

Several events dedicated to freestyle skiing exist, including the Aerial event, which involves high-speed jumps and triple back somersaults with multiple twists.