UKH

I've noticed in the last week that the wording of some signs and reports, and the speaking of some employees, at major well-known ski stations in the northern French Alps
use the English word
"slope" as their preferred translation of the French word "piste".

Last week I asked a local French skier how he had verified that translation as correct, and he told me that he had asked several different English skiers.

? So is "slope" the term for a groomed + marked piste for skiing in Scotland ?
. . . (since I've never skied there).

? What's some other explanation for this practice in France ?

Now my own understanding is that an English-language "slope" is an expanse of ground surface terrain which is tilted at an angle -- so that water might flow down over it, or a skier might gain speed on it. Without reference to whether this expanse was groomed or ungroomed, or marked as a route or unmarked.

And my understanding is that a "piste" (in the context of a French ski station) is typically marked as a route for travel by skiers, and a piste typically gets its surface groomed by heavy machinery with some frequency (like almost daily?).

When I pose the word "piste" to a translation app or look it up in a French-English dictionary, I usually get as its translation the English word "track".

When I pose the word "slope" to a to a translation app or look it up in a dictionary, I usually get as its translation the French word "pente".

Thanks for any help -- or amusement -- about this (or other) skiing terminology.

Ken

P.S. What about "ski trail" as an English translation of French "ski piste"?

In reply to kenr:

In Scotland, I have always referred to it as 'piste'! I'd say that is the common term here.

Glenshee and Cairngorm websites call them runs.

In general useage, the French word 'piste' is used for a cycle path - piste cyclable, but not for a footpath or walking track in the mountains - sentier or chemin being the words for these.

In reply to girlymonkey:

I agree, anything vaguely white is a piste or run.

In reply to kenr:

I recall "ski slope" being the normal term when I was younger and before i had aver set foot on one.

I guess most people who have ever skied except Americans say "piste" nowadays.

In reply to kenr:

Norway and Sweden use their own words for trail and track. In English usually the same or piste to describe the map of the whole area. Never slope, that to me would describe an undefined ungroomed whole side of a mountain, it's a generic term for any surface on a gradient.

In reply to kenr:

As you say, slope is any area that's not flat. In Scotland I think most of the ski areas use the term 'run' but you hear piste used by a large proportion of the customers. Just checked & see this on Glenshee's home page - "Glenshee's impressive 22 lifts and 36 runs" (their words not mine) although the map is labelled "Glenshee Ski & Snowboard Piste Map"

I don't know why, but for me 'ski trail' would suggest an offpiste but probably waymarked run

Thanks for those observations.

So now my theory is that the "English skiers" who my French companion had asked to validate the word "slope" had actually learned it from _French_ ski station employees and signs and reports.

Interesting that a multi-language warning sign on the gondola at Orelle uses the word "piste" in four out of five languages -- including German and Dutch. But the English-language version of the warning says "slope".

Ken

In reply to kenr:

Piste is the standard term in German.

Probably related to the fact that there are a lot more of them in Austria than in Germany, and Austrians in general use a lot more borrowed French words in everyday language than Germans do. Probably something to do with aristocrats at the Habsburg court in Vienna, or something like that.

In reply to kenr:

It's very simple. The English translation of "piste" is "piste".

The american-english translation of "piste" is "trail".

In reply to kenr:

My view is that piste refers to a groomed trail - I have a feeling that the term gets used in other sports, including fencing

What is unclear but important is what counts as off-piste for insurance purposes. So in Canada I was skiing marked, patrolled runs, well within the ski area boundary, but they were the sort of runs that could never be groomed. Was I off-piste ?

In reply to Postmanpat:

In Sweden they'll even pluralise it, pister. Generally the translation is trails for alpine skiing, tracks for Nordic skiing.

In reply to Chris the Tall:
>
My understanding is that in North America, if you are skiing within the ski area boundary you are legally regarded as "on piste" even if "off piste".

In Europe the ski area boundary is defined by the piste markers so once you leave the groomed piste you are legally "off piste" .

In reply to Postmanpat:

I would word that rather differently - in North America if you are skiing within the ski area boundary you will be considered to be safe from avalanche whether on piste or off piste. In Europe only open pistes are secured from avalanche.

In reply to John2:


Yes, but he was asking about the definition for insurance purposes, which I translated into "legally".

In reply to Postmanpat:

Are you sure of the insurance position? I would have thought that just as Brexit means Brexit, off piste means off piste. I wouldn't like to insure the average British skier for a descent of Corbet's Couloir.

In reply to John2:

Well, I checked a couple of insurers but it's perfectly possible that different companies have different definitions.

In reply to Postmanpat:

Thanks - I'll bear that in mind in the future

In reply to kenr:
'on the slopes' is a fairly common phrase, meaning in the act of skiing in a resort

In reply to kenr:

I use piste and run interchangeably. I could imagine saying, "we could do that red run down to the button,which would take us to the blue piste near the restaurant".....

In reply to galpinos:


But a "slope"can be on piste or off piste.

In reply to Postmanpat:


Agreed. I can't imagine using slope for a piste, I assume due to the ambiguity but never actually thought about it.

In reply to galpinos:

Only situation I could imagine where I might possibly say 'slope' for a ski run is 'dry ski slope'

In reply to Doug:
After some discussions with a friendly ESF instructor, helped by drawing lines in the snow, the following words came up for discussion:
Slope
Piste
Run
Fall-line
Raide
Downhill
Uphill
Traverse
Sideways
Etc. Etc.
We duly decided that some words directly translated and others did not. And it did not really matter as long as you could DO IT.