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24-813: Races are hosted primarily at ski resorts in North America , the Alps in Europe , with regular stops in Scandinavia , east Asia , but a few races have also been held in the Southern Hemisphere. World Cup competitions have been hosted in 22 countries around the world: Australia , Austria , Belarus , Canada , China , Croatia , Czech Republic , Finland , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , New Zealand , Norway , Russia , Slovenia , South Korea , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Ukraine and

48-704: A color-coded system. The actual color system differs in parts for each country, although in all countries blue (easy), red (intermediate) and black (expert) are used. Shapes are often not used, sometimes all ratings are circles as being defined in the basic rules of the German Skiing Association DSV. The three basic color codes of the DSV have been integrated into the national standards DIN 32912 in Germany and ÖNORM S 4610 f in Austria. In Scandinavia,

72-408: A resort near Boise , Idaho , uses orange diamonds on trailhead signs considered to be more difficult than double black diamonds; however, those trails are indicated on the trail map as double black diamonds. Jiminy Peak , MA uses two variations of normal trail ratings; one is a blue square with a green circle inside of it used to represent an easy-intermediate trail. The other is a blue square with

96-587: A similar system is used with the addition of shapes, simplifying the identification of snow covered signs (see table below). Slopes marked green, blue or red are groomed in all countries; blacks are groomed in Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavian resorts, while in France most black slopes are not groomed, but some are. All other classifications are generally not groomed. Sometimes slopes are marked on piste maps as dotted or as dashed lines, this also signifies that

120-463: A single black diamond in it, used to represent an intermediate-hard trail. Usually, the terrain park will carry its own trail rating, indicating the level of challenge. A terrain park with a Black Diamond or Double Black Diamond rating would contain greater and more challenging obstacles than a park with a Blue Square rating. Typically, a skier would be able to descend through a terrain park without necessarily negotiating any of its features, making this

144-603: A system is used with similar colours as elsewhere in Europe, but with shapes as well. In North America, Australia and New Zealand, a color–shape rating system is used to indicate the comparative difficulty of trails (otherwise known as slopes or pistes). The steepness of ski trails is usually measured by grade (as a percentage) instead of degree angle. In general, beginner slopes (green circle) are between 6% and 25%. Intermediate slopes (blue square) are between 25% and 40%. Difficult slopes (black diamond) are 40% and up. However, this

168-558: Is French ("trail", "track") and synonymous with 'trail', 'slope', or 'run' in North America. The word is pronounced using a long "e" sound so that it rhymes with "beast". North Americans employ its common European antonym, 'off piste', to describe backcountry skiing , especially when referring to skiing outside officially approved areas of a ski resort . Pistes are not naturally occurring features, and must be created through human means. This can be done by "clearing" (removing

192-418: Is a resort developed for skiing , snowboarding , and other winter sports . In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area –a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North America , it is more common for ski areas to exist well away from towns, so ski resorts usually are destination resorts , often purpose-built and self-contained, where skiing

216-491: Is also open for summer activities is often referred to as a mountain resort . Ski areas have marked paths for skiing known as runs, trails or pistes . Ski areas typically have one or more chairlifts for moving skiers rapidly to the top of hills, and to interconnect the various trails. Rope tows can also be used on short slopes (usually beginner hills or bunny slopes). Larger ski areas may use gondola lifts or aerial tramways for transportation across longer distances within

240-411: Is just a general "rule of thumb". Although slope gradient is the primary consideration in assigning a trail difficulty rating, other factors come into play. A trail will be rated by its most difficult part, even if the rest of the trail is easy. Ski resorts assign ratings to their own trails, rating a trail compared only with other trails at that resort. The resort may take into consideration the width of

264-502: Is the main activity. Ski resorts are located on both Northern and Southern Hemispheres on all continents except Antarctica . They typically are located on mountains , as they require a large slope. They also need to receive sufficient snow (at least in combination with artificial snowmaking , unless the resort uses dry ski slopes ). High concentrations of ski resorts are located in the Alps , Scandinavia , western and eastern North America , and Japan . There are also ski resorts in

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288-486: Is usually responsible for rule enforcement, marking hazards , closing individual runs or areas as conditions require, and removing (dismissing) dangerous participants from the area. The typical ski area base includes a ticket office, ski lodge , ski school , equipment rental/repair shop, restaurant/bar, shopping, shuttle bus stop and parking. Some ski resorts offer lodging options on the slopes themselves, with ski-in and ski-out access allowing guests to ski right up to

312-506: The Andes , scattered across central Asia , and in Australia and New Zealand . Extreme locations of non-indoor (at least one ski lift outside) ski resorts include: The ski industry has identified advancing generations of ski resorts: The term ski station is also used, particularly in Europe, for a skiing facility which is not located in or near a town or village. A ski resort which

336-501: The French Alps , with which it was then linked. As rising temperatures, receding glaciers and declining snowfall affect the environment, resort development and operations also have an environmental impact on land, lakes, streams, and wildlife. Amenities and infrastructure such as concrete buildings, ski lifts, access roads, parking lots, and railways have contributed to the urbanization of mountainous zones. In recent years,

360-812: The United States . (note that all world cup races hosted at ski resort in Ukraine was still part of Soviet Union respectively.) Mixed team events are not included in this list. Updated after 2017–18 season. The following skiers have at least 3 overall Freestyle World Cup titles: 9: [REDACTED] Mikael Kingsbury 5: [REDACTED] Éric Laboureix 10: [REDACTED] Conny Kissling 4: [REDACTED] Hannah Kearney 3: [REDACTED] Ophélie David , [REDACTED] Jacqui Cooper , [REDACTED] Kari Traa The records for most World Cup titles in each discipline are as follows: Ski resort A ski resort

384-437: The door. Ski resorts often have other activities, such as snowmobiling , sledding , horse-drawn sleds , dog-sledding , ice skating , indoor or outdoor swimming and hot tubbing , game rooms, and local forms of entertainment, such as clubs, cinema, theaters and cabarets . Après-ski (French for after skiing ) is a term for entertainment, nightlife or social events that occur specifically at ski resorts. These add to

408-542: The enjoyment of resort-goers and provide something to do besides skiing and snowboarding . The culture originated in the Alps, where it is most popular and where skiers often stop at bars on their last run of the day while still wearing all their ski gear. Though the word "ski" is a derivation of the Old Norse skíð via Norwegian , the choice of French is likely attributed to the early popularity of such activities in

432-414: The flow of water runoff . Many resorts are taking steps to reduce their energy and water consumption and waste production, increase recycling, and restore habitats. Initiatives aimed at addressing environmental concerns include: Piste A piste ( / p iː s t / ) is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing , snowboarding , or other mountain sports . This European term

456-456: The season or when the snowpack is low, and to ensure the snow lasts throughout the season. Typically, classification is done by the resort, and ratings are relative to other trails within that resort. As such, they are not classified to an independent standard; although they are likely to be roughly similar, skiers should be cautious about assuming that ratings in two different resorts are absolutely equivalent. In Europe, pistes are classified by

480-407: The ski area. Resorts post their trail map illustrating the location of lifts, trails, services and the ski area boundary, and during the ski season issue a daily snow conditions report listing open trails, operating lifts and weather status. Ski areas usually have at least a basic first aid facility, and some kind of ski patrol service to ensure that injured skiers are rescued. The ski patrol

504-463: The slope is not groomed. Alpine slope classification in Europe is less rigidly tied to slope angle than in North America. A lower angle slope may be classified as more difficult than a steeper slope if it requires better skiing ability because, for example, it is narrower, requires carrying speed through flatter sections or controlling speed through sharp hairpin turns, or features off-camber slope angles or exposed rock. In Norway, Sweden and Finland,

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528-482: The trail, sharpest turns, terrain roughness, the direction of the fall line, and whether the trail is groomed regularly. Difficult This trail rating is fairly new; by the 1980s, technological improvements in trail construction and maintenance, coupled with intense marketing competition, led to the creation of a Double Black Diamond rating. These trails are among the rarest. Non-standard symbols for standard ratings may be encountered at some ski areas. Bogus Basin ,

552-401: The trees only) or by "grading" (clearing followed by reshaping of the surface by machines like graders ). Pistes are usually maintained using tracked vehicles known as snowcats to compact or " groom " the snow to even out trail conditions, remove moguls , and redistribute snow to extend the ski season. Natural snow is often augmented with snow making machines and snow reserves, early in

576-408: The use of snow cannons by many ski resorts has increased to compensate for reduced levels of snowfall. In order to sustain good quality snow coverage, snowmaking requires large amounts of water and sometimes the creation of artificial lakes . Snow cannons also introduce a noise element. The required infrastructure can affect erosion through the increased area of impervious surfaces , redirecting

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