Alpine Skiing and Slopes

The Olympics has started, the first competitors are fighting to bring home a medal for their country and I learned something new about Alpine Skiing or downhill skiing.   If you checked out the two warmups from this past weekend, you might have learned something new.

In Alpine Skiing, ski trails are not measured by degree as many other slopes are, but are labeled in  slope percents or gradients.  The sport chose the 45 degree slope as base because the length and height is the some so when you take the change in Y divided by the change in X you get 1 or 100 percent.
 
In the United States, ski trails are rated according to one of four symbols ranging from green or the easiest to the double black diamonds indicating the most expert trails.  These break down in the following manner:

1.  Green circles indicate the trail goes down one of the  flatter slopes in the 6 to 25 percent range.

2. Blue squares represent intermediate slopes in the 25 to 40 percent range.  These trails are the most numerous and heavily used at all resorts.

3. A single or double black diamond represents a slope in the 40 and above range.

Think about this, the normal stairs that are 7 inches high and 11 inches long have an angle of 32.5 degrees but a percent slope of 63.9% which would make it an advanced slope.   The thing about Alpine skiing is that the classification of the trail is not only decided by the slope.  It takes other factors into account such as type of snow, distance and width of the trail, and bumpiness of the trail.

A trail with a percent of slope 35 percent may be considered an intermediate slope until you take into account the fact it is only 45 feet wide instead of the normal 100 to 150 feet.  It takes more skill to stay in control with the narrower track so it might be labeled advanced.

Alpine skiing is the general type of skiing done at most ski resorts.  Its the type I tried once but kind of gave up when I went down the hill backwards until I ran butt first into a tree.
 and other things.  I was also intimidated by 6 year olds who flew down the advanced track like it was nothing.

Let me know what you think.  Have a great day.