Jeff wrote:
snip
The group's consensus won't settle this, but I'd love to hear your
thoughts.

Jeff

My thoughts are that trail difficulty is a subjective rating. For
example, someone who is not used to skiing boilerplate but is a capable
powder skier may find a steep & deep powder run quite easy while the
same person may find a less-steep boilerplate run quite demanding.

OTOH, a skier who has skied all their live on an eastern blue ice
boilerplate mountain may find the same boilerplate run quite easy but
be hopelessly out of their element in steep & deep powder.

Even if two skiers are comfortable in almost any conditions they will
still have individual strength and weaknesses. Example: I grew up ski
racing, which involved spending a fair bit of time skiing on icy race
courses. I ski with friends who are every bit as capable in powder as I
am but when conditions turn hard and icy it seems to effect me less
then them.

Different strokes for different folks.

That is why rating systems provide only general guidelines. Runs and
conditions are as unique and subjective as the individuals who ski
them.

Armin