The giant slalom is in my view the most difficult discipline to succeed in, but it’s also the most beautiful to watch and ski. The timing and co-ordination of movements between the gates has got to be perfect and the sensation of skiing GS well is like no other feeling.
Each gate actually consists of two poles about a metre apart, with a panel of cloth stretched between them. This makes cross-blocking impossible, as you'd catch your head on the panel. You need to ski around the panel with your whole body, stretching your inside arm forward to deflect the pole. In GS, the line is crucial; you need to start each turn well before each gate. As you pass the gate, your skis should already be pointing towards the next gate. Your track should be a series of smooth arcs, more like an "S" than a "Z".
The vertical drop at between 300 to 400 m is almost double the drop of the slalom and there are less gates, so the course setter aims to set the gates about 24 to 28 m apart. The setter will use the terrain as they wish, often setting tricky gates on exits of steep sections so the racer needs to adjust their line accordingly to keep their speed up.