NORTH AMERICAN SKI TRAIL RATINGS
Understanding ski trail ratings is not too difficult if you read the signs closely and pay attention to color and shape. Generally, circle means easy, diamond means difficult and colors correspond with difficulty as well. Green is easy while black means expert.
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- Green Circle – very wide trails, gently sloping and highly groomed, these trails are designed for the absolute beginner.
- Blue Square – these trails are still fairly simple and are designed for intermediate skiers, although a beginner can tackle these after doing some green circle runs initially. Blue Square trails tend to be fun with out the fear factor and may contain moguls. Moguls are large bumps that are close together and need to be navigated around. Sometimes the troughs around the moguls become too deep and the moguls themselves very icy.
- Black Diamond – trails for the advanced skier. These types of trails are generally much steeper, less groomed and may have many moguls or be very icy.
- Double Black Diamond – Trails designed only for the very experienced skier. These trails can have hazards such as drop offs, very steep slopes and difficult moguls.
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