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Black Diamonds Research Paper

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There is nothing like the feeling of rushing down the slopes with the wind blowing by and the sun shining down, as the landscape of the mountains outstretches before you. While traversing the frigid ridge can be an exhilarating refuge from the routine of normal life, there are certain things that must be known about the difficulty of the slopes. It is better to focus on the splendor of it all rather than worry about making it down safely. To make slopes easier to identify, they are categorized by colors and shapes that correspond with the difficulty of the terrain. American identifications group terrain into four classes; green circles, blue squares, black diamonds, and double-black diamonds.

Green circles are gentle beginner level slopes. …show more content…

These vary greatly in terrain and obstacles and can be found in many places. They tend to be on the back side of the mountain, but getting to them is where it really varies. You may take an old hidden ski lift, or come off a main lift to hike up a steep incline to get to the riskiest slopes. Black diamonds are not for beginners, as they are almost always steep and quite narrow. You will find obstacles on these, whether it be rocks or bumps, sharp turns, or through trees. Tree runs could be a category of their own. The trees could be closely knit, or sparsely placed. It may be a narrow singular path, or might be untouched completely. It’s important to take turns if you’re going with a group of people, which is a smart choice to make sure you won’t get lost on your own. This is because it’s quite easy to fall or get stuck, so you may need help. While all of these are great, my favorite run is a drop-off. This is a vertical drop about five feet down, followed by a steep, powdery, challenging run. These are ones that you almost always have to hike to, and the most dangerous slope requires a hike up a very steep incline. These are the only slopes I haven’t been on, and are extremely steep, narrow, ‘one person at a time’ runs. Black diamonds are not meant for beginners, and you should not go on them unless you know how to traverse something like

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