❄ Alpine Skiing In The Alps ❄
A Thrilling Winter Activity
What is Alpine Skiing?
Alpine skiing is the activity of sliding
down snow-covered slopes on skis. More commonly done recreationally,
it is also a professional sport, with competitions every year and at
the Winter Olympic Games every 4 years.
It is practiced at
ski resorts, and on slopes known as pistes that have been deemed
appropriate by these resorts, and where other services such as ski
lifts, artificial snow making, snow grooming, restaurants,
accommodation, and ski patrol are provided.
What are Pistes?
A piste is a marked ski run or path down a mountain
for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. When skiing
outside of these marked runs, or outside of an approved area of a ski
resort, it is often referred to as skiing "off piste".
These
pistes are usually marked by a colour code and/or shapes representing
different degrees of difficulty depending on the slope gradient and
width of the piste marked out. Pistes, along with their corrresponding
colour, are also mapped out on a resort map for ease of route planning
when skiing recreationally.
Learn more about Pistes on Wikipedia.
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Green 🟢
Learning/beginner. Often large, open, gently sloping areas at the base of the ski area or traverse paths between the main trails.
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Blue 🔵
Easy. Slope gradient does not normally exceed 25% except for short wide sections with a higher gradient.
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Red 🔴
Intermediate. Are steeper or narrower than blue and has a slope gradient that does not normally exceed 40% except for short wide sections with a higher gradient.
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Black ⚫
Advanced or expert. Can have a very wide classification, ranging from being marginally more difficult than red or very steep and prone to avalanches or groomed for mogul skiing.
Don't fancy skiing? Try snowboarding instead! Click here to learn more. 🏂