Ski Trail Ratings

Ski trail ratings
Ski trail ratings are imperative in a ski resort, and enable skiers to read the mountain they are skiing and ensure their safety. Each marked, patrolled and groomed run or piste in a ski resort is graded for its difficulty, so skiers can move around the mountain within their ability. The ski resorts are solely responsible for assigning ratings to their runs, and base them on relative difficulty when compared to other trails at the resort. Factors taken into consideration when grading runs and trails include gradient, width, snow conditions and amount of grooming the run receives.

Ski trail ratings - A convenient way to read and navigate the mountain
European and North American ski trail ratings do differ in the way that they are classified, with the ski trail ratings in Europe using different coloured circles and those in North America incorporating other shapes as well. In European resorts, the different ratings are green, blue, red and black circles. Green signifies a beginners' slope, usually very wide, with a gentle gradient and generally found at the base of the slopes. A blue ski trail rating denotes an easy trail with a gentle slope, whereas a red ski trail rating is used for trails that are steeper and narrower, and best suited to intermediates. Expert slopes are signified by a black circle, and include slightly challenging to extremely difficult. Certain parts of Europe are now beginning to use the additional ski trail rating of yellow, signifying an off-piste ungroomed trail.

Ratings for ski trails - Differing in Europe and North America
In North America, the ski trail ratings are slightly different, with a green circle marking the easiest gentle slopes, and a blue square denoting the most popular  intermediate trails, with slopes of up to 40%. Black diamonds mark steep narrow or ungroomed trails, with gradients of over 40%, and are considered advanced, whereas double black diamonds should be attempted by expert skiers only. These trails may contain challenging moguls, steep drop-offs or the presence of many trees. Sometimes resorts use double or combined symbols in their ski trail ratings to suggest a greater degree of difficulty. Terrain parks are symbolized by an orange rectangle with rounded corners, and also carry their own ski trail ratings.