"Jeff" wrote in message
oups.com...
We all know about single black and double black difficulty ratings.
Occasionally rumors surface as to the existence of some nefarious
triple blacks. Rarely, if ever, do I see beginner and intermediate
trails with intercolor distinctions.

My local ski area contains single and double greens, single and double
blues and single and double blacks. I always thought this was quite
useful. The double difficulty hills offer a nice introduction to the
next level. A double green might have some intermediate levels of steep
at short intervals. A double blue might be a cruiser with a short but
steep drop at the top of the hill.

Jeff

It is a good idea, yes?

I've sometimes thought that they should post the actual
degree of the slope at the steepest part, maybe even a vertical
profile. It wouldn't take much, and it wouldn't leave any doubt
as to what the difficulty of the slope really is.

Then as opposed to saying, "I can do blues and easy blacks",
a skier might say, "I'm good up to about twenty five to thirty
degrees, on steeper than that I'm not comfortable yet".