Alpine Skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of six alpine skiing events. The races were held February 14â23 at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, New York, northeast of host Lake Placid.
This was the first Olympics in which the women's giant slalom consisted of two runs, rather than one, and both GS events ran only one run per day. This was the last Olympics which also served as World Championships for alpine skiing.
Alpine skiing has been contested at every Winter Olympics since 1936, when a combined event was held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
From 1948 to 1980, the Winter Olympics also served as the World Championships in Olympic years, with separate competitions held in even-numbered non-Olympic years. During this period, the Olympic medalists received an additional medal of the same metal from the International Ski Federation (FIS).
At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, the six alpine skiing events were held from Thursday, 14 February, to Wednesday, 20 February. The downhill and giant slalom events were held at Norefjell in Krødsherad, Buskerud, and the slalom events at Rødkleiva in Oslo.
The giant slalom made its Olympic debut, and the combined event was dropped as an Olympic medal event for four decades, until 1988. It returned as a medal event at the World Championships two years later in 1954, and for the concurrent World Championships in Olympic years from 1956 through 1980. For fourteen World Championships (1954â1980), the combined was a "paper race," using the results from the three events (and required the completion of each).
At the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the six alpine skiing events were held on Piz Nair from Monday, 2 February to Thursday, 5 February 1948.
After these games, the giant slalom was added and the combined event was dropped as an Olympic medal event for four decades, until 1988. From 1956 through 1980, the combined continued as an FIS medal event for the concurrent World Championships, using the results from three events, conducted as a "paper race."
Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in the U.S. state of New York, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains, located in the town of Wilmington in Essex County. Set apart from most of the other High Peaks, the summit offers a 360-degree view of the Adirondacks and clear-day glimpses of Vermont and Canada, where Montreal can be seen on a very clear day.
Because of its relative isolation, the mountain is exposed to prevailing winds from the west and frequently capped with snow and ice, making it an area of interest to meteorologists. Weather data has been collected on the summit since 1937. The mountain's east slope is home to a major ski area which boasts the greatest vertical drop east of the Rockies, and which hosted the alpine skiing competitions of the 1980 Winter Olympics.