Whats the difference between downhill, super giant slalom, combined, giant slalom, and slalom skiing?
Simple answer is: Downhill is the fastest event with the fewest gates. Super G is second fastest with more gates than downhill. GS is third fastest with more gates than Super G. Slalom is fourth fastest with the most gates. Downhill and Super G are considered the speed events, GS & Slalom the technical events. Combined is one downhill run followed by two slalom runs. There are rules regarding number of training runs, course inspections, etc. depending on the event. To clarify, combined (Alpine combined) as referred to here is different than Nordic combined which combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing. I recommend wikipedia to find out more about each event and their rules. See link below, then click on each event under the events heading.
