Question: Ski poles are often long enough to reach what body part of the competitor?
About the article "Nordic combined", section "Cross-country skiing equipment".

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Slalom and Giant Slalom make up the "main technical events" in alpine ski racing.
This category separates them from the "speed events" of Super-G and Downhill.
A course is constructed by laying out a series of gates.
Gates are formed by alternating pairs of red and blue poles.
The skier must pass between the two poles forming the gate, with the tips of both skis and the skier's feet passing between the poles.
A course has 55 to 75 gates for men and 40 to 60 gates for women.
The vertical drop for a men's course is and slightly less for women.
For slalom the vertical offset between gates is around and the horizontal offset around , although these figures have changed in recent times because of significant technical developments in ski equipment (namely, increased sidecut) that have revolutionized the sport.
The gates are arranged in a variety of different configurations to challenge the competitor, including delay gates and vertical combinations known as hairpins and flushes.
A hairpin is a series of gates including two gates with one closing gate.
A flush is a series of gates including three or more gates with one closing gate.
The worldwide governing body, FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) has a set of regulations detailing what configurations are allowed or mandated for an official course.
Because the offsets are relatively small in slalom, ski racers take a fairly direct line and often knock the poles out of the way as they pass, which is known as blocking.
(The main blocking technique in modern slalom is cross-blocking, in which the skier takes such a tight line and angulates so strongly that he or she is able to block the gate with the outside hand.)
In modern slalom, a variety of protective equipment is used such as shin pads, hand guards, helmets and face guards.
Rules for slalom skiing are managed internationally by the International Ski Federation (FIS).  
Early skiers used one long pole or spear.
The first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741.
In 1959 Ed Scott introduced the large-diameter, tapered shaft, lightweight aluminum ski pole. 
Nordic Walking poles are largely similar to composite cross-country ski poles, just shorter in length and with a basket smaller than that of the racing cross country ski pole.
The nordic walking pole strap resembles a fingerless glove and is similar to the racing cross country ski pole strap. 
s for people with a disability (Sit-Ski).
Another device called a monoski is used mainly by people with limited use (or absence) of the lower extremities.
A monoski, also known as a "sit-ski", consists of a molded seat mounted on a metal frame.
A shock absorber beneath the seat eases riding on uneven terrain and helps in turning by maximizing ski-snow contact.
Modern monoskis interface with a single, ordinary alpine ski by means of a "ski foot," a metal or plastic block in the shape of a boot sole that clicks into the ski's binding.
A monoskier uses "outriggers" for stability; an outrigger resembles a forearm crutch with a short ski on the bottom.
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.
As alpine ski technology has advanced, so has monoski technology.
In North America in the 1970s and early 1980s, early "sit-skis" took the form of fiberglass sleds with metal runners.
The first downhill sit-ski in the US, the Arroya, was invented by American Peter Axelson in 1978.
Dragging very long poles or "slicks" in the snow were the method in which turns were actually made harder, although not effectively.
Few users became proficient enough to descend even intermediate terrain without assistance from a "tetherer."
By the early '80s, Europeans were experimenting with "ski-bobs" that mounted on two small skis.
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 of manufacturers.
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' Unique, Sunrise Medical's Shadow, and Dan Fallon's Fallonski were some of the first commercially available monoskis.
In Europe, Praschberger (Austria) and Tessier (France) are the two major companies.
In 1984, monoskiers took part in the 1984 Innsbruck Paralympic Winter Games as a demonstration sport; in Innsbruck 1988, full medal categories were added for sitting skiers. 
The Surf ski is an 18 foot long kayak, that is especially designed for going in and out of the surf.
Because of its lack of stability, it can often be the most challenging in rough conditions, however, because it is the fastest, it allows the competitor to be aggressive when it comes to getting out through surf and in chop.
The Ski course is around three buoys, set in an apex course.