Piste
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the ski piste. For the fencing piste or for other meanings, see piste (disambiguation).
Image:Skislope Seibelseckle.JPG A piste is the name given to a marked ski-run or path down a mountain for the purposes of skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports.
[edit] Piste Maintenance
Pistes are usually maintained by the operator of the ski resort, where skiers may travel from one piste to another via a mechanical ski lift system.
Pistes are usually maintained using tracked vehicles known as "piste bashers" or "groomers", which compact the snow in order to improve the skiing conditions, remove moguls, and most importantly preserve the snow so the ski season can last for a greater length of time. Pistes are often lined with artificial snow making machines so that snow can be created for skiing when the snowbase is low.
[edit] Difficulty Grading of Pistes
Pistes are usually graded according to difficulty. The main factors used to assertain this difficulty are usually: steepness, width of piste, and typical snow conditions (e.g. whether moguls or ice are normally present). A number of different methods are in use throughout the world in order to indicate the difficulty.
- Green - (very) easy/beginner Blue - medium/easy/intermediate, Red - difficult/medium/advanced intermediate, Black - (very) difficult/advanced,
- Resorts in Austria, Switzerland, and several other parts of Europe normally employ a four colour system:
- Blue - easy/beginner, Red - medium/intermediate, Black - difficult/advanced, Orange - extreme,
- In North America and Australia, a three/four colour system is usually employed as follows:
- Green - easy/beginner, Blue - medium/intermediate, Black - difficult/advanced, Double Black - expert/extreme terrain.
