Hey all, a quick correction on this video: around 1:48, we mentioned that the green/blue/black rating system has become a "widely recognized standard worldwide." We should have clarified that "worldwide" does not refer to every region, and that several areas in Europe, South America, and Asia abide by different standards. This system is really used in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand-and to a certain extent in Scandinavia, with greens and blues being easier than in other countries. Thanks for watching!

@lioevr

8 ай бұрын

Don't be ashamed of making a mistake, but also don't try to talk it good. This is the worst excuse since "the several areas" have many more ski resorts than the US lmao. So its basically just a small part that uses the system yall talked about compared to the world...

@JCRger

8 ай бұрын

Yeah, in Europe it s simply a question of the colour. (Green), blue, red and black. And to add: in Europe the slopes are almost always signed with that colour on posts aside the whole slope.

@70fu

8 ай бұрын

A "green" Skii run on a certain mountain would be considered a pretty advanced run here in BC for snowboarding.

@007tobler

8 ай бұрын

One thing you didn’t mention is that on a lot of black 3 diamonds you need to know how to repel with a rope

@growtocycle6992

8 ай бұрын

I'm from NZ.. what about red diamond, between black and blue?

Who else can’t wait for ski season to start???

@LoomerCuber

8 ай бұрын

First one for me.

@brunokaplan7258

8 ай бұрын

Meeeee

@Hatchet1

8 ай бұрын

Yep sleeping giant and red lodge here I come.

@GustavManning

8 ай бұрын

Meeee

@RedFacePyro

8 ай бұрын

Same!

These are actually not the same worldwide. In most of Europe Blue (no specific shapes used) means about the same as Green Circle in America, Red corresponds to Blue Square (not just to Double Blue Square) while Black is similar to Black Diamond (but typically groomed.) A few European countries use Green for very easy. Some use Orange or Yellow for expert or off-piste (ungroomed) itineraries, corresponding to Double Black Diamond terrain.

@Der.Preusse

8 ай бұрын

Yeah stating this was worldwide is just good'ol US-defaultism

@matteocerbai

8 ай бұрын

True usually all the runs in europe are groomed and the blue marking is used also for the begginner areas (only in some bigger and more international ski areas green is used), in some places i know (know from other people that i know not from my personal expience) that brownish colors are used for a middle ground betwenn red and black, black runs in europe are much steper than black diamonds in america and car reach 75%+ but they are still groomed

@moin9764

8 ай бұрын

In some ski resort in europe, there are also diamond shapes used to indicate ungroomed runs

@PeakRankings

8 ай бұрын

Thanks. We have pinned a comment outlining a correction here.

@Der.Preusse

8 ай бұрын

@@PeakRankings Much appreciated.

2:57 I was thinking “that tree looks familiar 🤔” then I realized it was the same one i almost hit learning how to snowboard at Tahoe 😂

Here are some tips I gathered from skiing out West for a few years. If you typically ski alone and want to venture into double black/extreme terrain, wait at the Avy Gate for other people to ski in first. Don’t flag people down, but if someone else stops politely ask if you can ski with them on the particular run. Nine out of ten times people will be kind and receptive. More eyes on the variable terrain the better for everyone as long as you keep a safe distance from others. Plus, it’s often easier to execute a line if you see someone else do it first. Always know how to self rescue and self arrest. Go into avy gates with a charged phone or walkie talkie. Know where to stop above and to the side of a fall line. Make sure your boots are tight. Take your time. Don’t speed run if you aren’t confident in where you’re going, even if you’re a good skier. Traversing often makes skiing down extreme terrain easier, but don’t get cliffed out. Practice your kick turns on easier runs. Stay clear of tree wells. If you found a powder stache, that’s great. Make sure you know how to get back to the defined tracks because a powder Stache can appear before cliffs. Make sure your skis are the proper width and underfoot for extreme terrain (rentals might not cut it depending on the mountain). Use powder baskets on polls. Wear a helmet. If nothing I said here made sense, google is your friend and maybe find a ski instructor for your first time!

@sc100ott

8 ай бұрын

Great tips! 👍🏼

@PebusGalacticus

8 ай бұрын

this is some of the worst advice I've ever seen. NEVER EVER go into avy terrain unless you are trained and have a beacon and rescue gear and know how to use them and you are with a partner. if you get caught in an avalanche and burried without an avy beacon your chances of survival are near 0. Additionally you shouldnt be going into avy terrain if you cant read terrain and know the avy forecast.

@jonasbrownell5591

8 ай бұрын

Bro went off😛

@BrianForUtah

8 ай бұрын

"powder stache" Favorite neologism of the year for me.

Also remember that the green/blue/black designations vary from hill to hill and are relative to that hill only. A black diamond in the east will likely be very different than a black at the western slopes.

@jvwMUSIC

8 ай бұрын

Very different between small local slopes and actual resorts too. Even within the same state.

@chiefflats2949

6 ай бұрын

Yeah a double black at Breck is way different than a double black at Crested Butte. Waiting to drop into a Crested Butte double black is the only time I've ever been afraid to drop into a run. Shit was a fucking wall. My brother almost died cause he almost fell off an unmarked cliff. Crested Butte is a different fucking breed

@hudson5610

5 ай бұрын

yeah - that is one of the things that creates a great deal of danger in skiing. They could come up with a universal marking that uses some type of average slope % so you know what to expect when you get on a trail regardless of where you are. But this would make too much sense.

@erock5b

4 ай бұрын

​@@jvwMUSICyeah. The one I would go to was smaller, and the black diamonds are close to a double black at a larger place I frequent. Conditions play a big part too. Powder makes it way easier and funner.

@hopsterbb2571

2 ай бұрын

@@hudson5610double black is double black…you better be ready for anything and everything….and if you aren’t sure, go with someone who’s done it…ski responsibly…and don’t fall on double blacks

I remember once my novice friends decided to try a black diamond trail that was like 6 feet wide and was almost straight down. We tried it on our snowboards and we ended up sliding on our butts the whole way down and that was when I decided the mellow runs are actually way more fun and chill, plus less chance for hurting yourself.

Rather than "beginner, intermediate, advanced," the colored symbols are often described as denoting "easier", "more difficult", "most difficult". This helps make clear that they are explanatory of RELATIVE difficulty among various runs for that particular resort and do not provide information related to other resorts. My daughter, raised skiing and riding Washington State, with some experience at resorts in Canadian and Oregon, found herself at a small resort in upstate New York during grad school and came away with the observation that a black run there was the same steepness as a steep green in the Pacific NW.

@daneg

3 ай бұрын

aye. very true. tbf, a lot of resorts in southern VT/MA/NY are very liberal about labeling things Diamond and even Double Diamond that places like Killington, Stowe, etc. might label Square. Personally, I think DD needs more objective criteria relating to pitch, trail width, and technical skill as gauged by something more than comparing it to other runs on the same resort. but that's simply not how it is.

Wow, that Disney connection to the trail ratings is really interesting... Ive skied my whole life and never once asked myself where the system came from. Thanks for including that!

@zaphod4245

6 ай бұрын

Brings a whole new meaning to the way of descibing ski resorts in America as "Disneyland on snow"

An under-rated trail sign in Canada is "easiest way down", which can frequently use green or perhaps skip green when snow or grooming is poor (especially in spring melt) to denote where snow conditions (and not only angle) are in fact the safest way to the base

@mrvwbug4423

7 ай бұрын

I remember seeing that in Whistler, they do that for both their ski resort and for their bike park in summer.

@joeyenniss9099

7 ай бұрын

Those signs are all over snowbird regardless of the conditions lol

@Rhyno012345

4 ай бұрын

Yes! Most resorts I’ve been to have this. Although my last time out on my first run I followed the “easiest way down” sign and there were Definitely easier runs down than that so I guess use at your discretion haha

@talkingweevil3172

3 ай бұрын

Ya the only problem with this tho is they often rate blue runs green so they can say it is the easiest way down however u have been to a few hills where they had it blue and it still had the easiest way down sign but it is rarer and usually only on harder chairs. Most of the hills I’ve been to tho don’t change they usually stay where they are but I could see bigger hills like kicking horse maybe doing that I didn’t really pay attention when I was there.

In Austria, Germany and Switzerland, we have a blue, red and a black circle. For trails there is a red diamond or for the hard ones a red diamond with black edges.

@Madmaxxu692

5 ай бұрын

Same in sweden

@Royal_tanker

4 ай бұрын

Yes. In France it is green for beginner/easy, blue for slightly difficult, red for hard and black for extremely hard. Some blacks can be easier than others

@MaxTheFireCat

3 ай бұрын

​Vive la France​@@Royal_tanker

@talkingweevil3172

3 ай бұрын

What abt colour blind people……..

@Royal_tanker

3 ай бұрын

@@talkingweevil3172 not sure. I think they have shaped

I grew up skiing in the Alps and after moving to the USA and skiing there a bit, I've found that I still prefer the European designation of trails. The green slopes there are your bunny hills/easier greens, the blues there are trails that are steeper than greens but are still groomed and don't have bumps. Reds are trails that are steeper than blues but still groomed with the introductions of some bumps; this is what I find blues to be like at least on the east coast. Then blacks are ungroomed, steeper terrain which is equivalent to black diamonds here and then there are expert blacks which are your double blacks and above. In addition, I've found that resorts in the Alps at least all have trail markers along the way with the color or grade of the run and number markers every so often. This helps a lot not get lost when conditions are bad and I think I've only seen something similar once at Hunter mountain (which you featured earlier in the video =) ). I wish more resorts did that.

@pnkdrmz

4 ай бұрын

black runs in europe are nearly always groomed and ungroomed ones are usually specifically marked as mogul/ungroomed, at least everywhere i've skied so far

@shmonyx

4 ай бұрын

The majority of resorts i've skied in the Alps have groomed black runs.

@lorenz07

3 ай бұрын

In Austria every slope is groomed. What's not groomed are the routes that are marked with a red diamond. In Switzerland It would be a yellow

Content is evolving and I’m all for it, keep it guys I absolutely love the videos!

@lovesosa4751

8 ай бұрын

^

Whenever i visit a new mountain i always start with the green and work my way up the levels so there are no surprises.

I love how you showed my home mountain Stowe so much

Why am I watching this from Australia

All your content is fantastic, love this channel! I’d be interested in a video going over the ski gear you use Sam, how you maintain it, and how often.

@PeakRankings

8 ай бұрын

Thank you! Great suggestion

Be aware that the green circle, blue square and black diamond system is mostly unique to the USA. For example in most of europe the slopes are classified with blue for easy, red for medium, black for hard, yellow/orange for off-piste and in some countries green for very easy. (Heck, even to describe slopes Americans need their own measuring system xD)

Besides the incredibly informative video, the quality is amazing. Some of these shots, especially at the triple black diamond trails, were so crisp.

Another great video, well done!

Great content! Keep up the good work!

I've been skiing for 14 years and still found this video very helpful

I was genuinely enlightened by the content in the video.

Best channel on yt, hands down.

I would rate myself a blue square 🟦 snowboarder but it’s still so much fun! I love it

I’ve never skied before and I might go skiiing in 2 weeks so thanks for this video😊🎉

Vail tends to underestimate their trails. Greens at Vail, I’ve found, we’re more like blues everywhere else and some blues are more blacks.

In the 90s copper mountain had a blue called Bouncer that was my entire childhood. Crazy jumps in and out of the woods off the main run. Man I miss those days with my family.

During my first time skiing 3 years ago, in two days of skiing with family i started from learning how to properly stand or walk with skies, to going down the really steep slope. I was scared as hell when i saw how high it really is close up, but after i did it my confidence sky rocket, ive been on that resort 2 times (now it will be my third) and no matter what i still love that, small, long, high slopes, after one year of pause everything feels like i learn it again but with a little more confidence, its great

@bdrokin

3 ай бұрын

Same I also scared sometimes on First time in Skiing in 5 days ago, I’m not a fan of skiing cause I’m terrible at it. So you figure out already

Always thought double black and EX marked trails were the same difficulty and have definitely treated them indiscriminately. Good to keep in mind for the future!

I've never been skiing, nor do I know if I will ever ski in the future, and still got this in my recommended for some reason. And you bet your bottom I'm going to watch the entire thing.

I’ve done all of these, and I’m on a ski trip rn in Colorado doing ex’s, there so much fun

as a former AASI level 3 instructor, I think this video should be the new compulsory orientation video for all newcomers.

Great explanation

good video! well done

Excellent essay.

As a person who’s completed a black diamond and is looking to do a double black diamond this is quite helpful👍

Hey I recognise some of those trails from Briançon! What an awesome mountain

This was quite informative and accurate to my knowledge. I ski the intermediates or easy blues starting with the greens at the start of the season. I go to different resorts in East Coast, west coast and also in Europe. The ratings of terrains are definitely relative across resorts, so much that I can ski 'black' in a small ski area. However varies the blues and blacks are, the easy ones are always good for beginners in the USA. But to my surprise, I found the Stubai Glacier in Austria to be rated quite differently. I literally got stuck at one easy run as it was steep like a blue in the USA and very long. I hit it by mistake and it was my first day skiing in the season. I couldn't do it. I had to be helped down by another very kind and expert skiier and I fell a lot, which I never do even during the blues. (My legs were not in the best shape strength wise tbh but I never fall regardless). I did write to the resort to share my experience and ask if the trail was rated accurately and they said that it was an easy trail and marked as such. I cannot agree with that but I don't know enough about their rating system. How are the ratings different across the European resorts compared to the ones in USA?A video comparing ratings internationally would be great because I plan to skiing in different countries.

been snowboarding since like 9 but still thoroughly enjoyed this. I would add on to the end: terrain park features are usually individually marked with a size from S to XXL, some resorts also have XS. The sign at the entrance to a park will say "this park has S-L features", for example.

I’ve only seen snow twice in my life but this video was very entertaining

I'm going snowboarding on my first snow-trip this coming January in Colorado. I'm super stoked, and hope to accomplish a blue square or two by the end of the trip. We'll see if I'm being overly ambitious LOL

Great video

OMG I LOVE BEAVER CREEK SO MUCH I KNEW THAT’S WHERE YOU WERE!!

I'm going a on a ski trip with my class tomorrow im so hyped

I'm like 400miles from the nearest resort, and i still watch this with genuine interest lol

How do you keep making these videos so entertaining. Keep up the amazing work and are you going to visit eroupe any time

@PeakRankings

8 ай бұрын

May visit Europe this season - TBD!

Good snow as videos!

It’s interesting how different it is in Europe and America

Pretty accurate. Black diamonds in my experience have just been steeper but i've been to the same sight many times becuase it makes me feel comftorble

Well this video sure helped me. I went on Eldora’s hardest blue my first day ever skiing. My second day I successfully went down a black diamond!

This is so interesting! It seems that American resorts are very different from European resorts in several ways. For one, basically all marked runs are groomed and cleared of obstacles in Europe. There are some ungroomed free terrain runs, but they are a rarity. Many of these double and triple black diamond runs seem like they would involve quite a bit of avalanche risk? I wonder if they are closed a lot of the time? Especially with the american approach to liabilty, it would seem many of these are a lawsuit waiting to happen (not saying that's right). In Europe, anything in a forest or dropping off a cliff or something like that would be considered off-piste, which is something many skiers consider something of a diviving line that many are hesistant to cross.

@evandonovan8410

8 ай бұрын

It's mitigated by Ski Patrol. So if there's a high avalanche danger or not enough snow they'll close it off.

@snt03

8 ай бұрын

they set off bombs to set off any potential avalanches after it snows

@mack.attack

7 ай бұрын

Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming (and probably other major ski industry states) actually have laws specifically making ski areas not liable for injury or death resulting from "the inherent risks of skiing." If the avalanche risk is too high, they will close the terrain and possibly shell the slope with artillery to trigger avalanches or they'll just wait to open it. The ski areas in the Rockies and Sierra Nevada get so much snow that they kinda just have to be able to evaluate and mitigate avalanche risk. 🙂 Also, if you are injured or require search and rescue because you entered closed terrain, you (or your family) will be required to pay for all costs associated with that and you may be prosecuted. If you are injured within a ski area on terrain that was open, you will not have to pay for ski patrol services (but you will have to pay for your medical bills because America 😂).

@mrvwbug4423

7 ай бұрын

@@mack.attack Different states treat SAR differently. Colorado law specifically prevents you from being charged for SAR services if you're outside a resort, though closed in bounds terrain may be different. Wyoming may bill you for SAR services outside a resort. Utah has mandatory minimum $10,000 rescue fee if you have to be SARd outside a resort.

I’m so excited to ride all the double blacks

I’m just here to see the crazy expert terrain these guys shred.

As someone who has never seen snow, I think this is cool

5:59 that's paradise at MRG!!! That is the one part of it to avoid if you like your skis, the rock is always exposed. It would probably be labeled as double black to extreme most places. 7:37 is a mandatory cliff! I love that bit!

the highest ive done was double black, some were hard some were easy, glad to know that im actually not as good as i thought id be, would be down to try something harder, its a shame that quebec can only offer so much respect the difficulties & stay safe

Snow sports are so fun, but I live pretty far away from any good places to do it regularly. I do try to go at least once a year and always have blast even though I'm pretty nooby.

Depends on the conditions also. Rode a bkue black run. But that day the trail was more of a black diamond. Came back 3 weeks later same trail with more snow the trail was significnatly easier to ride.

I have 2 hours until my engineering midterm, and here I am watching a video about ski resort terrain levels. I have no regrets.

I love skiing and I have been on double black dimond

In Chile 🇨🇱 we use green for beginner. blue for intermediate. Red for intermediate/expert. Black for expert

@lorenz07

3 ай бұрын

That's like worldwide standard. No idea what the guy in the Video is talking about. Americans being Americans🙄

compared to European runs: green circle = groomed blue runs (and green runs France) blue square = groomed harder blue or easy red run double blue square = groomed red run black diamond = ungroomed or groomed black runs or yellow mogul runs double black diamond = ungroomed black runs, yellow mogul runs or unmarked routes (usually only trails found on fatmap, other apps or by guides) triple black diamond = ungroomed unmarked routes in harsh steep terrain with rocks/cliffs (usually only trails found on fatmap, other apps or by guides)

Good Video 10/10

You should do one of these type of videos for mountain biking as well

I git convinced i to doing a double black in Marmot Basin with some buds, tv and there were times where I was worried for my life. Mind you, I only ski a couple times a year and most of those are hill skiing, at the time I hadn’t been on a true mountain for over 4 years

The system works well enough that it has been extended over to the mountain biking world to rate MTB trails. The orange freeride circle has also extended over to MTB to designate a trail with jumps, drops, etc.

Im a mug skier but ended up on the double black birds of prey at Beaver creek. I didnt realise it was meant to be expert till afterwards. Nice and steep but wide enough to make turns and snow was soft enough that you could hold an edge. OTOH some of the gladed blue runs there were well beyond my comfort level and the black tree runs would have killed me!

@misham6547

8 ай бұрын

Yeah ratings are relative to the Resort and are not Standardized at all

@campbell9825

7 ай бұрын

Interestingly enough that run is used for racing whenever beaver creek hosts international competitions. It’s one of the only groomed double blacks I’ve ever seen on a resort, definitely a unique one, it can get pretty icy at times but otherwise it’s a fun one to bomb down

@vidpromjm

7 ай бұрын

@campbell9825 It was fun watching the world cup with some non skiing friends and casually telling them I've skied the same run that the race was on! Not sure they really believed me!

@vidpromjm

7 ай бұрын

@@misham6547 That's sort of the opposite of the point I was trying to make! Within the one resort some blacks were easy for me as they were wide and or groomed and or good conditions but other blacks icy, bumped, tight trees etc were way out of my comfort range.

I’ve never ski’d in my life but I’m here button ------------>

@emmasepicexperiences9456

2 ай бұрын

have fun！

I have never been skiing in my life but I watched the whole video

I first saw that in Webkinz Polar Plunge

I tore my ACL on a double blue when I was 15 😅 Be careful out there, a bad injury can really happen anywhere!!

In Austria there are circles for prepared slopes and diamonds for unprepared ski routes. In Austria there are no green slopes as far as I know, only blue, red and black. I have seen green slopes in France and also lots of unprepared black slopes that simply had a black circle. The only thing you can really trust are the colors.

First place I ever skied was the little place of Badger Pass near Yosemite. I was hauling ass down their beautifully groomed blue square runs and feeling like I could take on the world. Then I went to Bald Mountain at Sun Valley, Idaho thinking their blue square runs were just as easy. Boy was I wrong.

I tried Blue once, and my life flashed before my eyes! I'll stick with Green, thank you very much.

@bartholemew4362

4 ай бұрын

noob

@charlotte-carmen

4 ай бұрын

​@@bartholemew4362Bro don't be rude, I was terrified when I went on my first blue but I just got over it. My friend gave a tip if you're really stuck... shimmy your way down. If that sucks then roll your way down

@bartholemew4362

4 ай бұрын

@@charlotte-carmen you noob too

@legendkyd2474

3 ай бұрын

@@bartholemew4362I’m a proud newbie

@talkingweevil3172

3 ай бұрын

Ya blue sometimes feels like a big jump from green, at my home hill the main face is all blue and I sometimes see people struggling to get down don’t worry there is nothing wrong with not doing blues. I know lots of people who can do black diamonds but just don’t want to.

Europe has blue runs for advanced beginners and low intermediates, and red for intermediate runs.

Europe, Japan, and Australia all have a red trail before black and after blue.

@MisterTMH

4 ай бұрын

There are no red trails at Falls Creek. I did n't see any Perisher. The Blue runs at both places are steep enough to make learners' snow plough technique unsuitable for the terrain IMHO.

Here in Norway we also have a red marcker. It is in betwean blue and black

In Canada, specifically Ontario. Double black diamond runs can be very easy. They just use the title's reputation to get attention and attract customers.

It makes me happy that I recognized every single run minus the greens in this video.

one thing to keep in mind is that the ratings are more often than not based around sking not snowboarding, trails that are rated to be hard are usually more easy on snow boards. im not sure how true this is but ive been told this alot

@ethandavis7310

8 ай бұрын

They're easier to do poorly on a snowboard, but much harder to do well. Most snowboarders will slip through an entire double black and scrape all the snow off. Sure they could get down easily and safely, but it's not polite. I've skied and boarded a few of the double blacks in this video, and proper boarding is more difficult than proper skiing at those levels

not even 30 seconds in and I recognise the Red Lodge at the bottom of Sugar Slope from Mountain Creek Ski resort in Vernon New Jersey

FULL SEND!

In Poland we grade difficulty only in colour. Bunny slopes are green. Easy slopes are blue. Medium are red and hard are black

In France terrain parks are designated with XS, S, M, L, XL (similar to clothes sizes), not sure if any other country uses this system.

I wish they had more specific ratings, I would love to see some dedicated high speed well groomed routes. 3 basic ratings is not enough.

The Little at Big Sky was absolutely nuts. Next to corbets I think it’s the hardest run in America

The Mountain I Go To Has A Double Black Diamond (Just A Cliff) With A Couple 100 Foot Drops, Only Been Down It Once.

Trail rating sytem is kinda funny. The double blacks at my local mountain. Are super essy well other mountains is like rock drops and stuff

I got dragged down a double black my first time in the mountains in BC.

In the canadian rockies we also have designated freeride terrain that requires a shovel beacon and probe to go into

@jameson1239

8 ай бұрын

Isn’t that just backcountry?

@mattiatorX

17 күн бұрын

@@jameson1239no. At Sunshine Village, the two free ride areas (Delirium Dive and Wild West) are considered inbounds and have avalanche control and patrollers, but due to the difficult access in the event of an avalanche some self-sufficiency in rescue is expected, hence the requirements. There are also traditional backcountry gates that lead out of bounds (such as on WaWa ridge) as you would expect have no patrol or avalanche control.

The system is only like that in the US and maybe Canada. Europe utilizes the colors differently and the specific countries have small variations.

I think I saw some Mt. Rose in there!

@ 1:50 these ratings are not used worldwide. In Europe (at least the Alps GER/CH/AT,) they are different as we use blue (easy), red (intermidiary) and black (expert). Also there are no shapes attached to them.

@PeakRankings

8 ай бұрын

Thanks. We have pinned a comment outlining a correction here.

I've only gone skiing once but did it give me quite the story. I was going with my troop of boy scouts at about 16, we went to pats peak. (north east america, granite states area) got plenty of experience with some green and blue trails. the lodge itself was very generous with it's rankings and most trails we tried were very simple and had little to no technical differences like glades or drops. anyways about 4-6 hours in, it's getting dark and we decide to go one more hour before heading in. I ask the troop master if I could head up the lift to the top of the mountain since we didn't get the chance to go there. the troop master knew there some good blue trails up top and figured it was fine but didn't want me going alone so he sent me with a buddy. we get to the top, and due to the darkness and much denser foliage I didn't see the, now obvious, path to the left leading to the blue trails. of course the troop master expected us to have some common sense and know our limits and reasoning ability so he didn't feel the need to mention the blue trails. so me and my buddy get to the top and all we see are a black diamond and two double blacks. the black diamond was a near straight drop with a clear path straight back to the lodge. clearly a simple thrill trail, but a little too intense for me and my buddy. one double black trail we saw on the way up we knew to be filled with jumps and bumps so that was a no-go as well. the last double black we knew was a decently spacious trail with some sharper turns and generally steeper than the other double black. but with our cold addled brains we figured that was our best shot to get back to the lodge. at the time we figured that we were running out of time to get back since the ski lift had to stop a couple of times on the way up. so we took the double black. we barely stuck together and we both lost our skis and stumbled multiple times. pizza wedging did next to nothing and we didn't have the courage to keep pace. luckily we made it to the bottom and nobody got hurt but it was quite the experience. there were some helpful people who went down the trail that helped us on the way down so it was pretty fun overall.

When I skied my first (and last) EX run in Colorado, I celebrated like I made a hole in one! I was so proud, but haven’t wanted to ski that run again lol!

The mountain I work in Colorado only mark up to Black Diamond, then extreme terrain.

Was on a black diamond as a kid and remember having someone tell me I did good only falling over 3 times (end of my first week skiing)

I’ve done black and double black diamonds… in Wisconsin

Palisades has gone back to listing runs as double blacks on their trail map.