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Maybe someone can answer this for me. I started riding this past November, and maybe have been out 8-10 times, each time spending at least 4-5 hours riding. I guess for a newbie I am pretty good, I am already getting confident enough to catch about 6 inches of air off of bumps. But my question has to do with consistency of designating runs on different resorts.Before this season I had never stepped foot on a ski resort, but had already heard of the types of runs; Green, Blue, Black, Double Diamond. By the end of December I had already started experimenting with Blue trails since the flat parts of Green trails had me frustrated cause I constantly came to a stop. But at some resorts, I have noticed extreme differences in how difficult the blue runs were at different resorts. For example I noticed at Echo Mtn, and Breckenridge the Blue runs were very simple, even thEvery mountain is going to rate their run difficulties slightly differently. There is no real official standard to it.Why do different ski areas rate so differently from others?For marketing purposes. When you are looking through a magazine or through a web site that details specifications of a ski area, the management of the ski area will attempt to tweak the percentages of runs to what type of customer they are trying to attract.You mentioned A-Basin… Perfect example. The area is one big granite cliff. Almost all black and double black diamond trails. Now there are plenty of skiers/riders who have a blast there, but typically they are locals, ski bums, or individuals. Needless to say, when you take that demographic and compare it to families, groups, and adventure seeking tourists, you can guess which one have the most money to spend. The second group ofUnfortunately for all of us, the slope designation system is more a guideline that a hard and fast rule. There is no scientific measurement as to what defines a gleen, blue, or black slope, so its up to each individual resort to determine for themselves, hence all the variation. So what may be a black slope in A-Basin may be a blue in Keystone, etc etc etc. There is even variation within each category; i've been down two different blue slopes in the same resort and found one to be way easier than another. PLUS there are mogul runs and groomed/ungroomed runs that can dramatically change the difficultly of the terrain (depending on your skills), so it can get pretty confusing up there. You might as well get used to it, consistency is not something you're gonna find in nature. Just go with the flow, develop your skills and you'll have a good time regar
Thanks for the info. Being a new rider I wasn't sure if what I was experiencing was the “normal learning curve” or just designation variances. What you guys said makes a lot of sense about attracting different crowds. Pretty much each time I have been out I have tried new/different trails to gain some experience in riding different terrains, powder, cords, moguls, steeps and flats, etc. I have found myself a few times out on a trail that is above my ability and when I find myself there I just leaf and plow the remaining way down till I can get off the trail or when it gets easier. But it is definitely more exhilarating to be going down a 30-40 degree pitch then to be running on flat areas, having to unstrap and ski the while in the middle of a trail is kinda lame.
… different terrains, powder, cords, moguls, steeps and flats, etc…
If you have experienced and know the difference in all these, I hereby dub thee a Non-Newbie!
For marketing purposes. When you are looking through a magazine or through a web site that details specifications of a ski area, the management of the ski area will attempt to tweak the percentages of runs to what type of customer they are trying to attract.You mentioned A-Basin… Perfect example. The area is one big granite cliff. Almost all black and double black diamond trails. Now there are plenty of skiers/riders who have a blast there, but typically they are locals, ski bums, or individuals. Needless to say, when you take that demographic and compare it to families, groups, and adventure seeking tourists, you can guess which one have the most money to spend. The second group of course. For that reason, the management at A-basin (and other comparable mountains like Crested Butte, Jackson Hole, Alyeska, etc…) tweaks their maps to attra
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