Be smart

[BrklynCarver]

Then there are the European mountains where the trails are marked in blue or red, red being the tougher trails. It's a world of difference going down the mountains in the US vs. those in Europe/South America. Much more challenging, steeper, and wide open trails with little or no trees.

[eldiablodenieve]

I have been thinking of hitting up whiteface if there is a lot of snow and they open The Slides. You have to hike it and need atleast group of 2 but it is legitimate double black.

[airdonut41]

Man I want to hit a west double black...

Dan

[SkaFreak]

Yeah BrklynCarver, that's why I was kinda surprised to hear about a blue glade. I live out west where the ratings are generally a bit harder, and I've only ever seen blacks out here. I've also been to mountains that had blues that would be blacks at other mountains without any question.

[H2O Junkie]

Slope rating is based on the mountain, not a comparison of other mountains. That is the reason for the discrepancy.

[BrklynCarver]

Lots of blue and green graded runs on the east coast are not the same as those on the west coast. Majority of the time, a blue on the west coast is more of a blue-black on the east coast and a black in the west coast is more of a black-double black on the east coast.

[amyb]

What's the rush?

I agree on all fronts. Why the big rush to go down the blacks if all you're going to do is slide-fall-careen out of control-fall-repeat? (I'd like to be an "all mountain" rider, but I have a long way to go before I can really call myself that!) Isn't it just a helluva lot more fun to actually get to the bottom of the slope with some skill and *enjoy* the ride down?

[Mark]

I agree. alot of the new riders are advancing too quickly without mastering the basics

[Filnominal]

ski or not to ski that is the question...

[H2O Junkie]

Originally posted by SkaFreak
Wow, that kinda surprises me. Everywhere I've been all the glade runs of any kind have been black, so I just kinda made the assumption that it was on a black run. I guess maybe they thin the trees out more or that the ones here might be steeper or something.

There are a number of blue glades runs in New England. One in particular comes to mind at Bretton Woods across the street from the Mt Washington Hotel. I had a friend injured there because he insisted on following me in. It is called "Aggassiz" and starts out pretty steep and leads into a nicely cleared out glade with some nice powder stashes even a couple of days out from storms. But I recommend wearing a helmet and having your ducks in a row before going there to play.

[Manlenium]

Dont sboard outside your comfort zone. Learn the basics and then push yourself.

[t21]

i'm not sure how the ski resort grade their trails/runs from green,blue and single to double black,but i noticed here in western washington ski resorts some of the green runs are blue run to others, and some blue ones has like a black run feel to it. so some skiers/boarders think if they do good on this run with no problem, they should be able to do blacks(this is after a couple of runs) then they find out the the blacks are a lot steeper than anticipated. looking at their mountain maps and then riding down (comparison wise) is different. thats just my take, and sometimes i think that is why there's a lot of skiers/boarders sitting on the middle of the steeps looking confused,and getting hurt. granted everyone is different skillfully,some will get it quickly, some has to work for it, but also theres that factor of being along with your friends "up there". so they pressure themselves to learn quick so not to be mocked by them and thats how they get hurt. as i said before, slow down and take your time,even after you took a beginners class.

[SkaFreak]

Wow, that kinda surprises me. Everywhere I've been all the glade runs of any kind have been black, so I just kinda made the assumption that it was on a black run. I guess maybe they thin the trees out more or that the ones here might be steeper or something.

[stevie7s]

As one of the guys that got hurt this past weekend, I can say that this post MUST be stickied and put up as a must read for ALL new members before being able to post here.

My runs on the easy trails were so smooth that I was led to a false sense of my abilities. Yes the learning curve is extremely fast but that does not mean that you can do "it all".

My glade run that I broke my leg on was a "blue" run, but add the dense glades and some powder covered ice. And mix in my fatigue form lack of experience, and it adds up to a black run and an unexpected and painful trip down on the "meat sled".

So pay attention guys and girls. Let me be the painful lesson that you all learn from both new and intermediate riders.

[t21]

i second that, slow down and take your time. some skier/boarder just wants to tackle the black runs right away after a couple of runs on green. the 2 teenager i was sitting down with on the chairlift has just started snowboarding and decided to go up the black run. i admire the courage but not the common sense. basically we went to the same hill. and i thought i should just wait and see what they do . to make it short,they both spent their time tumbling downhill. i just shook my head and proceeded down and caught up where they were sitting and ask them if they were fine,and you know what one of them said? "holy sh*!, that was f*^#! steep!! his buddy was just speechless, i guess his trying to get his bearings back and he kept looking back at the top probably thinking the same thing. well they learned their lesson that day and i'm sure they stayed on the green for the rest the day or at the blue anyway.