The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War.

Skiing as a sport for people with disabilities traces its origins back to the Second World War, which produced large numbers of wounded soldiers.

In Germany, Franz Wendel, an amputee who had lost a leg, successfully attached a pair of crutches to short skis.

Ludwig Guttmann, a key figure in the history of paralympic sport, helped organise ski events.

In the United States, Gretchen Fraser began teaching skiing to amputees in army hospitals.

[2][3] At the 1984 Winter Paralympics, the downhill event was added to the para-alpine programme,[2] along with sit-skiing as a demonstration sport.

[5] At the 1994 Winter Paralympics, the super giant slalom was added to the para-alpine skiing programme.

[8] The Slalom race had the shortest course length of the major para-alpine events at the Games.

[11] The 2014 Winter Paralympics para-alpine skiing took place at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

[14] International and national events for the sport include the Winter Paralympics, World Championships, World Cups, Continental Cups, National Championships, IPCAS Races and IPCAS Para-Snowboard.

[27] Skiers from 39 different countries actively compete in para-alpine skiing[4] in a sport is that one of eight governed by the International Paralympic Committee Sports Committee,[28][9] with rules for para-alpine skiing set forth in the IPCAS Rules and Regulations.

Sit-ski development continued into the 1980s, with a more modern version demonstrated in Engelberg, Switzerland in 1987 at a workshop hosted by the Swiss Paraplegics Association [fr; de].

They are now made from fibreglass and polyester, and the weight has been dramatically reduced, allowing skiers to ski on steeper slopes and compete in the moguls.

The mono-ski was developed in Austria in the early 1980s by bilateral above-the-knee amputee Josef Feirsinger and engineer Horst Morokuti.

A shock absorber beneath the seat eases riding on uneven terrain and helps in turning by maximizing ski-snow contact.

People new to mono-skiing are often surprised to see how much terrain is skiable in a monoski; advanced monoskiers can be found not only carving turns on groomed runs but also skiing moguls, terrain parks, race courses, glades and even backcountry terrain—in short, wherever stand-up skiers can go.

[37][38][39] Dragging very long poles or "slicks" in the snow were the method in which turns were actually made harder, although not effectively.

In place of today's minimal bucket seats were large fiberglass or Kevlar shells, and leaf springs at first were used instead of slide absorbers.

The three-ski design proved accident prone, and it was soon abandoned for a single ski by most manufacturers.

[40] By the middle of the decade, the technology had migrated to Canada, and on both continents the modern monoski began to emerge.

In the United States, Enabling Technologies'[41] Unique, Sunrise Medical's Shadow, and Dan Fallon's Fallonski were some of the first commercially available monoskis.

[33] Beyond this equipment, skiers also gear up wearing special boots, helmets, ski suits, and goggles.

[44] Like the skier, the guide is required to have an IPCAS Licence in order to participate in a competition[45] and adhere to anti-doping rules.

[50][32] In some competitions that require qualification for entry, a skier can qualify for this discipline through Downhill or Super-G.[49] There are Disabled FIS points available in sanctioned events.

[6] In some competitions that require qualification for entry, a skier can qualify for this discipline through Downhill, Slalom or Super-G.[49] There are Disabled FIS points available in sanctioned events.

Any skiers who finished outside the top 15 then ski in order based on their times from the first run.

Any skiers who finished outside the top 15 then ski in order based on their times from the first run.

[58] Skiers are classified based on medical assessment, and their body position when they ski.

[63] At the time, equipment had yet to be developed to allow participation for skiers with spinal cord injuries.

One medal event can then be held for each group even though there is a wide range of functional mobility and medical differences.