Understanding your skill level is essential for maximizing your skiing experience. At La Colina Outdoor, we categorize our offerings into three core activities: Resort touring, freeride, and backcountry. By identifying your ski level, you’ll have a clearer idea of which package will best suit your skill and goals on the mountain.
Resort Touring & Freeride
Resort touring is perfect for skiers from Level 2 to Level 4, and focuses on exploring groomed slopes that best match your skills and help you improve your confidence on a variety of terrain. This package is ideal if you’re looking to develop your technique on moderate slopes without leaving the safety and convenience of the resort. If you’re new to skiing (Level 1), we recommend starting with a ski instructor to build foundational skills on green runs, setting you up for a rewarding ski experience.
For more advanced skiers (Levels 5 to 8) eager to venture beyond groomed runs, a freeride tour offers access to ungroomed slopes, powder terrain, and the sidecountry. These tours are designed for those ready to explore more challenging, lift-accessed terrain, where your motivation and skill level will determine which sidecountry or off-piste areas we’ll shred. A freeride tour is perfect if you want to experience japow and test your abilities in dynamic conditions.
Here’s a breakdown of ski levels to help you figure out where you stand and which ski package suits you best.
Level 1 – Beginner Skier
You have never skied before or you are snowplough turning on green runs only.
Level 2 – Low intermediate Skier
You are skiing on step greens or easy reds runs and turning parallel controlling a steady speed and direction by making skiddy parallel turns.
Level 3 – Intermediate Skier
You are skiing confidently on red runs with good parallel turns. You know how to tilt your skis onto their edges and enjoy going a little faster. You can control your speed and direction pretty well on most slopes. You now feel ready to start skiing some steeper black pistes and some of the easier off-piste descents.
Level 4 – High Intermediate Skier
You can comfortably ski all red runs & some black runs with no problems if the conditions are ok. You are now looking forward to trying some easy off-piste routes, steeper slopes, and maybe some bumps that are not too big!
Level 5 – Advanced Skier
You can ski all slopes with no problems including steep black runs. You can also ski off-piste using parallel turns in the fall line with reasonable control of your direction and speed. You may still be finding steep and deep snow a little difficult.
Level 6 – Advanced All Mountain Skier
You can ski all pistes with no problems including steep, icy black runs. You can also ski off-piste and can ski most off-piste snow conditions and terrain including powder. You may still be finding it hard in certain difficult snow types, like windblown snow or very deep powder, or when it’s steeper with bumps.
Level 7 – Expert Skier
You can ski comfortably off-piste in deep powder or on icy slopes including steep slopes and big bumps. You have fun all over the mountain. You might even get cheers from chairlifts. You may also be a trainee ski instructor or a recreational hotshot.
Level 8 – King of the Mountain
The mountain is your playground. Skiing is your passion. You ski with control, versatility, and expression in all conditions and terrain. You are a recreational hotshot, skiing competitor or mountain professional seeking to challenge yourself.
Backcountry
Backcountry skiing or ski mountaineering (skimo) is an entirely different adventure. Unlike freeride, backcountry skiing takes you beyond the resort boundaries into non-lift-accessed, natural terrain where specific backcountry equipment is required. This type of skiing involves uphill travel, avalanche awareness, and mountain safety skills. Below is a breakdown of skill levels for our backcountry experiences.
Level 1 – Beginner
Working to develop balance, body position and speed control with backcountry equipment on flat to moderate terrain
Level 2 – Intermediate
Can negotiate all moderate runs confidently with backcountry equipment. Can negotiate most out of bounds terrain with confidence.
Level 3 – Advanced
Can negotiate most terrain on backcountry equipment. Able to negotiate a variety of terrain all day using a variety of skills such as traversing, side slipping and kick-turns if necessary.
Level 4 – Expert
Can negotiate 90% of the terrain encountered on backcountry excursions with confidence. Can handle all snow conditions in all weather. Proficient with terrain management skills such as ski cutting. Can negotiate all terrain including steep chutes.
At La Colina Outdoor, we carefully tailor our tours to match your skill level and goals, for an unforgettable experience on the mountains.