On 24 Feb 2005 04:45:13 -0800, "Jeff" wrote:

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.

I think that's overboard, once you consider the variability of
weather, snow conditions and crowds. A skied-out, scraped-up green
run full of newbies can be a lot more difficult (and dangerous) than a
deserted steep black with 6" of fluff over fresh corduroy,
f'rinstance. A given trail at 3PM can be much harder to ski than it
was at 9AM (or vice versa); given that kind of variability, I just
don't see the point of getting into such fine distinctions.

bw