How Ski Resorts Work

Ski slopes come in all sorts of varieties. Some are fierce and steep, while others are mellow and meandering. Classification systems tend to vary from country to country, so it's important to make sure you know which symbol to look for at the head of a trail or you could find yourself in a world of trouble on the way to the bottom.

Some of the factors that ski resorts use to rank their runs include the grade, or steepness, of the trail, the width of the trail, recent snow conditions and the amount of grooming the trail receives.

In the United States, the three most common trail ratings are green circles, blue squares and black diamonds. Green circles are the easiest slopes, skiable by most beginners, while blue squares are generally for intermediate skiers and black diamonds are best left to the pros. In Europe things are a little different. European ski resorts tend to label all their runs with circles, with difficulties ranging from piece-of-cake greens through beginner blues, intermediate reds and expert blacks. Luckily for any U.S. skiers traveling abroad who might be unaware of these subtle differences, green and black still both respectively signify the easiest and most difficult runs.

Depending on where you're skiing, you might also spot an elusive double (or even triple!) black diamond trail, which are usually as steep, narrow and ungroomed as regular black diamonds, but sport even more challenging features like massive moguls, drop-offs or tree-clogged intervals. There are a few other ways you might see ski slopes classified, too. In Europe, for example, yellow often lets skiers know the trail hasn't been groomed, which can make skiing more of a challenge. Terrain parks -- areas that feature extras like jumps, jibs and half-pipes -- are often labeled with orange ovals or rounded-off rectangles in the United States.

It's also important to keep in mind that different resorts often have different interpretations of which trails should fall into which categories, so it can be a good idea to do a little homework before you hit the slopes -- otherwise you could be the one doing all the falling.

There's a whole spectrum of snow conditions skiers will potentially find waiting for them up on the slopes, ranging from powder all the way to ice. The former is greatly preferred, since the icier and choppier the conditions, the more difficult and dangerous the skiing. Lots of factors affect snow conditions, including snowfall, temperature, altitude and ski traffic. A basic rundown of the various quality levels of ski area snow include:

The ski resort industry has an indisputably large environmental impact. Slopes and lifts cut wide swaths across formerly pristine forest mountain habitats, illuminated snowcats growl through the night as they groom the trails for next day's skiers, snow cannons pump out artificial snow which wreaks havoc on native vegetation, swarms of tourists arrive in pollution-sputtering cars, and budding amenities and urban sprawl intensify these issues. In fact, many ski resorts are already beginning to feel the first stages of climate change. Studies report 20 percent less snow in alpine skiing areas below a mile (1,600 meters) in altitude and current forecasts estimate that within 50 years many of those ski resorts won't be able to continue business [source: The Independent].

That's not to say some ski resorts aren't working to lessen their environmental impact, however. Some of the many diverse measures being implemented include solar panels, wind turbines, low-flow toilets, recycling initiatives, bike-sharing programs and erosion-reduction techniques. Education and awareness programs are also gaining popularity, as studies have shown that while skiers enjoy their sport, they'd prefer it didn't have to be at the expense of the environment.

Organizations dedicated to assessing the environmental impact of ski resorts have started popping up; two are the Ski Club of Great Britain and the Ski Area Citizens' Coalition. They seek to identify which ski resorts are the most environmentally friendly based on a number of criteria such as:

Ski resorts lose points for activities like terrain expansion, real estate development, road construction and parking lot construction. For skiers interested in frequenting more environmentally friendly ski resorts, the Web sites offer lists of both top performers and worst offenders. Other ways skiers can reduce their impact on planetary woes include finding greener methods of transportation, avoiding littering while on the slopes and sticking to the trails to avoid disturbing wildlife any more than necessary.

Speaking of sticking to things, we'll talk about ways to stick to the rules while visiting a ski resort on the next page.

Skiing and snowboarding are energetic excuses to get out into the great outdoors, breath some sweet mountain air and test your physical abilities against some of nature's most challenging terrain. Unfortunately, many things can go wrong on the slopes. Skiers can lose control and slam into fellow enthusiasts, snowboarders can attempt tricks beyond their abilities and suffer fatal spills, and wrong turns can leave adventurers stranded in deep snow, too far from others to be seen or heard until the cold dark night swallows them up.

Avalanches, heart attacks, regrettably situated trees -- all potentially spell disaster up on the slopes. The kicker is that there's not an awful lot that ski resorts can do to mitigate these dangers beyond posting warnings and trying to keep visitors informed. The fact remains, if you take a plunge down a steep snowy hill or off the edge of a half-pipe, you're taking a certain amount of risk along with it.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, between the 1998/1999 and 2008/2009 ski seasons, an average of about 40 people died each year in the United States while skiing or snowboarding, through a variety of circumstances. However, considering that during the 2008/2009 ski season skiers and snowboarders spent approximately 57.4 million collective days hitting the slopes, that's a relatively low number, especially compared to other sports' fatality rates such as swimming [source: National Ski Areas Association].

So what are some of the tips ski resorts offer for staying safe? Probably the most practical are to always stay in control and always be aware of your surroundings. Out-of-control skiers are not only dangers to themselves, but to everyone else on the run with them. If skiers wipe out, it's paramount that others be able to stop or go around them rather than cause a potentially fatal -- or at least very painful -- pile-up. When it comes to keeping an eye on what's going on around you, keep a few things in mind:

For more links on everything from snow mobiles to sled dogs, skip over to the next page.