Ski Piste Colours Explained: Green, Blue, Red and Black Runs

For anyone visiting a ski resort for the first time, the piste map can look like a code: lines, numbers and colours. The system is actually simple. Runs are marked by colour according to their difficulty, and those colours tell you which runs you can ski. In this guide we explain what the colours mean and how to pick the right piste for your level.

The European system, also used in Türkiye

Ski resorts in Türkiye generally use the European colour system:

• Green: The easiest runs. Wide and gentle, usually found in beginner areas. Not every resort has green runs; where there are none, the beginner area does the job.
• Blue: Easy runs. Beginners move on to them once they can make their first turns.
• Red: Intermediate runs. They may be steeper, narrower or bumpier, and are meant for skiers who can turn under control.
• Black: Difficult runs. Expect steep pitches and sometimes icy or mogul-covered snow; they are for experienced skiers.

Colours rank the runs within the same resort. One resort's red can be as easy as another's blue, or as hard as another's black, so in a new resort it is a good rule to start one level lower.

North America uses symbols

In Canada and the USA, colours come with shapes: a green circle is easiest, a blue square is intermediate, a black diamond is difficult and a double black diamond is for experts. There is no exact match for the European red; it sits roughly between a blue square and a black diamond.

How steep is steep?

Runs are not graded on gradient alone; width, snow, wind and grooming all count. As a rough guide, though, blue runs are mostly up to 25 per cent, red runs up to 40 per cent, and black runs can be steeper. Remember that gradient is given as a percentage: a 100 per cent slope is 45 degrees.

Which piste for your level?

• Day one: The beginner area and the magic carpet. This is where you learn to stop with the snowplough.
• You can turn and stop in a snowplough: Green and wide blue runs.
• You have moved on to parallel turns: All the blue runs, and your first reds if you are not tired.
• You can turn under control on any slope: Red runs. Try black runs with an instructor or a guide first.

Reading the piste map

On the piste map each run has a number and a colour, and each lift has a name. From the top of a lift, check which colours lead back down; taking a lift that only serves difficult runs is a classic beginner mistake. The colour of the poles and signs along the edge of the run also shows its grade.

At Erciyes the runs cover a wide range from easy to difficult; we describe the gates and lifts in our Erciyes ski resort guide. If you are ready to move from blue runs to reds, the guides on our Experienced packages ride with you all day.

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