Key:piste:difficulty

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Public-images-osm logo.svg piste:difficulty
Panneau piste - Valloire.JPG
Description
Used to define the difficulty of a ski run, including downhill, nordic and others. Show/edit corresponding data item.
Group: sports
Used on these elements
should not be used on nodesmay be used on waysmay be used on areas (and multipolygon relations)may be used on relations
Requires
Useful combination
Status: de facto

Used to define the difficulty of a ski run, including downhill, nordic and others.

How to map

This property is used with piste:type=* on way ways or area areas and route relation relations of route=piste.

If possible, describe the difficulty of each part of the run if it is not homogenous.

In addition, piste:grooming=* can be used for the type of runway preparation and do not forget that incline=* is a well established tag beyond pistes and with more possible values than up and down.

Note: For showing signposting color of pistes (notably for crosscountry skiing and snowshoeing), user may wants to use the route=piste with a colour=*, and keep the difficulty tag to give information on the actual difficulty of the way.

Downhill / Alpine

Value US/Canada/Oceania Europe Japan
novice "bunny hill" green
easy   green circle blue green
intermediate   blue square red red
advanced black diamond black black
expert ♦♦ double black diamond orange (Alps),

double-black (Scandinavia)

freeride   orange oval yellow
extreme

Note: While piste:difficulty defines a progressive scale for other type of pistes (skitour, nordic,...), when used with piste:type=downhill, piste:difficulty=freeride is used more or less interchangeably with piste:type=downhill + piste:grooming=backcountry. Both denotes an 'Off-piste' ride.

For these runs, it is important to specify patrolled=yes or operator='Resort name' if the piste is part of the official pistes of a resort or patrolled.

Nordic / Crosscountry

This tag is optional for Nordic skiing. In many countries, for example the Nordic countries, there is not a tradition for providing an official difficulty grade such as in downhill skiing.

Note: For showing signposting color of pistes (notably for crosscountry skiing and snowshoeing), user may wants to use the route=piste with a colour=*, and keep the difficulty tag to give information on the actual difficulty of the way.

Value Nordic (crosscountry) Nordic (crosscountry), Europe
novice Strictly flat terrain, no effort needed green
easy Soft hills, short steep sections blue
intermediate Steep sections are present in the piste, or short narrow on average slopes. User gets away with sweat. Used for the relevant sections only red
advanced Steep sections are present in the piste, with narrow steep passages or sharp turns in steep passages, often icy pistes. Used for the relevant sections only black
expert Steep sections are present in the piste, with narrow steep passages or sharp turns in steep passages, often icy pistes. Dangerous terrain surrounds the piste. Used for the relevant sections only
freeride Not relevant
extreme Not relevant

Skitour

Value Skitour- Swiss Alpine Club Scale[1]
novice L: inclination <30 degree, no sliding, soft hilly terrain, no narrow passages
easy WS: inclination 30-35 degree, short sliding areas, open terrain with short steep passages and easily avoidable obstacles, short narrow passages
intermediate ZS: inclination 35-40 degree, longer sliding areas, terrain with steep passages that cannot be avoided, short narrow but steep passages
advanced S: inclination 40-45 degree, long sliding areas with scarps below (life danger!), steep terrain with many obstacles, long narrow passages (short swings still possibe)
expert SS: inclination 45–50 degree, long sliding areas with scarps below (life danger!), steep rocky terrain with many obstacles, narrow passages may require some crossjumps
freeride AS: inclination 50–55 degree, very exposed terrain, no spot to rest during descent, narrow passages require many crossjumps. (e.g. off-piste).
extreme EX: inclination >55 degree, extremely exposed terrain, need to use ropes to go downhill. Climbing equipment required.

Sled

Value Europe
novice
easy blue
intermediate red
advanced black
expert
freeride
extreme
  1. Difficulty scales explained by Schweizer Alpen-Club / Club Alpin Suisse / Club Alpino Svizzero (SAC / CAS) : ende fr

Maps

See also

  • Piste Maps – for a summary and description of tags for mapping pistes and ski resorts