A ''piste'' ()
is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...
,
snowboarding, or other
mountain sports.
This European term is
French[English language ''Fédération Internationale de Ski'' (FIS) website](_blank)
("trail", "track") and synonymous with 'trail', 'slope', or 'run' in North America. The word is pronounced using a long "e" sound so that it rhymes with "beast".
North Americans employ its common European antonym, 'off piste', to describe
backcountry skiing
Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which i ...
, especially when referring to skiing outside officially approved areas of a
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...
.
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Construction
Pistes are not naturally occurring features, and must be created through human means. This can be done by "clearing" (removing the trees only) or by "grading" (clearing followed by reshaping of the surface by machines like
graders).
Maintenance
Pistes are usually maintained using tracked vehicles known as
snowcats to compact or "
groom" the
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
to even out trail conditions, remove
moguls, and redistribute snow to extend the ski season. Natural snow is often augmented with
snow making machines and snow reserves, early in the season or when the snowpack is low, and to ensure the snow lasts throughout the season.
Ratings
Typically, grading is done by the resort, and grades are relative to other trails within that resort. As such, they are not classified to an independent standard; although they are likely to be roughly similar, skiers should be cautious about assuming that grades in two different resorts are absolutely equivalent.
North America, Australia and New Zealand
In North America, Australia and New Zealand, a color–shape rating system is used to indicate the comparative difficulty of trails (otherwise known as slopes or pistes).
The steepness of ski trails is usually measured by
grade
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also ref ...
(as a percentage) instead of degree angle. In general, beginner slopes (green circle) are between 6% and 25%. Intermediate slopes (blue square) are between 25% and 40%. Difficult slopes (black diamond) are 40% and up. However, this is just a general "rule of thumb". Although slope gradient is the primary consideration in assigning a trail difficulty rating, other factors come into play. A trail will be rated by its most difficult part, even if the rest of the trail is easy.
Ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...
s assign ratings to their own trails, rating a trail compared only with other trails at that resort. The resort may take into consideration the width of the trail, sharpest turns, terrain roughness, and whether the trail is
groomed regularly.
Europe
In Europe, pistes are classified by a color-coded system. The actual color system differs in parts for each country, although in all countries blue (easy), red (intermediate) and black (expert) are used. Shapes are often not used, sometimes all ratings are circles as being defined in the basic rules of the German Skiing Association DSV.
["Die Markierung von Pisten und Loipen"](_blank)
Deutscher Skiverband, Journal, 8. August 2005 The three basic color codes of the DSV have been integrated into the national standards DIN 32912 in Germany and ÖNORM S 4610 f in Austria.
In Scandinavia, a similar system is used with the addition of shapes, simplifying the identification of snow covered signs (see table below).
Slopes marked green, blue or red are groomed in all countries; blacks are groomed in Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavian resorts, while in France most black slopes are not groomed, but some are. All other classifications are generally not groomed. Sometimes slopes are marked on piste maps as dotted or as dashed lines, this also signifies that the slope is not groomed.
Alpine slope classification in Europe is less rigidly tied to slope angle than in North America. A lower angle slope may be classified as more difficult than a steeper slope if it requires better skiing ability because, for example, it is narrower, requires carrying speed through flatter sections or controlling speed through sharp hairpin turns, or features
off-camber slope angles or exposed rock.
Scandinavia
In Norway, Sweden and Finland, a system is used with similar colours as elsewhere in Europe, but with shapes as well.
Japan
Japan uses a color-coded system, but shapes do not usually accompany them. Some resorts, mainly those catering to foreigners, use the North American or European color-coding system, adding to the confusion. The usual ratings are:
Japan has more than 1000 ski areas (115 in
Nagano Prefecture alone),
Ski areas and resorts in Japan
/ref> many of them small and family-oriented, so comparisons between slope classifications in Japan and "equivalent" slopes in Europe or North America can be misleading.
See also
*Cross-country skiing trail
A cross-country skiing trail or ''loipe''From german: Loipe or ''Langlaufloipe'', pl. –''n'', ''loipe'' is a loanword in English-language travel guides, referring to cross-country ski trails in Europe. It is a Germanization of the Norwegian word, ...
*Dry ski slope
A dry ski slope or artificial ski slope is a ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature, to enable people to skiing, ski, snowboarding, snowboard or Tubing (recreation)#Snow, snow tube in pla ...
*Night skiing
Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski resorts and mountains. There are usually floodlights – including LED lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. It typically begins afte ...
*Snow road
A snow road is a type of winter road, which is a road that is used or trafficable only in the winter.Adam 1978Abele 1990Proskin et al. 2011 Snow roads make up some or all of the on-land segments of a winter road. The snow is either compacted in pl ...
References
{{Authority control
Ski areas and resorts
Skiing equipment