Guides to skiing on piste

Short, checkable answers to the questions that come up on a ski area: what the piste colours actually mean, how to read a piste map, how to keep a group together, and what to do when a piste closes or an accident happens.

• Ski piste difficulty levels: green, blue, red and black

  In France, pistes are graded in four colours: green (very easy), blue (easy), red (difficult) and black (very difficult). The colour is assigned by the ski area operator, relative to its own terrain — there is no legal gradient threshold that defines a colour.

• How to read a piste map

  A piste map is a perspective drawing, not a scale map. It shows pistes by difficulty colour, lifts by type, and the links between sectors — but it distorts distances and gradients to fit an entire mountain onto one readable image.

• Closed pistes: why they close, and what to do

  A closed piste is marked by a barrier and a sign at the top of the run. It may be closed for avalanche risk, grooming work, lack of snow, wind, or an ongoing rescue. A closed piste is neither groomed nor patrolled: it must not be skied and must not be skied around.

• Reporting an accident on the slopes

  Faced with an accident on a piste, the order never changes: protect, alert, assist. Secure the scene first by planting a pair of skis crossed above the casualty, then call — the resort piste service if you have its number, and 112 in every other case.