Ski Trail Ratings: America vs. Europe
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Send to a friend by YMEver wondered how ski trails are rated? What about the differences between American and European ski trail ratings? These questions and more are answered in this article!
Trail ratings can be a very interesting topic, and are often rather trivial. The most important thing to remember when considering trail ratings is that there is no board or organization which rates slopes – the ratings are done by the resorts themselves. What this means is that slopes are rated according to relative difficulty in comparison with the other slopes at that resort! So, a black diamond at one US resort could be a blue square at another. Despite this, once you have a feel for how a specific resort rates trails, trail ratings can be very useful.
European trail ratings differ from American trail ratings in a few ways. Here is an overview of both systems:
American Trail Ratings: Green Circle – Beginner trails. Blue Square – Intermediate trails, often varying changing between steeper parts and a short flat area to rest. Black Diamond – Expert trails, often, but not always, groomed. Double Black Diamond – For Experts Only, often narrow with obstacles, moguls, near-cliffs, etc.
European Trail Ratings: Green – Learning and baby slopes. Blue – Beginner trails. Red – Intermediate trails, steeper than Blues, mostly groomed, sometimes not. Black – Expert trails, steep, sometimes groomed, sometimes with moguls, has a large range: from a bit harder than a red up to steep icy slopes with looming moguls.
By keeping the European ratings in mind while, you can avoid standing at the top of a slope and wishing you had taken a vacation to Hawaii instead. On the other hand, you can only improve your skiing by pushing yourself to your limits...
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