Markers on slopes

Hi, this is a simple question and probably a stupid one, but is there any way of knowing how much distance you have to go until the end of any given run, I'm not a very experienced skier and find it dificult to judge from the piste maps.Cheers Daaw. :-)

Pistes are often/supposed to be marked with numbers along the side.
I think this is to help the patrol with where to go for a rescue or work on the piste.
I am not sure what the protocol is - top to bottom, bottom to top or if there is supposed to be a certain distance between markers etc.
So daaw, I don't think your question is daft but I'm not able to give you a clear answer.
Oh and piste maps tend to be very schematic and bare little relationship to what the mountain is really like.

As far as i know the markers are supposed to count down from the top, that way you know how far you are (roughly from the end) of any particular run.
Distance however i do not know, my guess would be that there are no set measurements and the markers are simply placed so that you can see the next one from the one you are at. Thus its easy to follow a trail.

In my experience the markers are placed at 100 metre intervals. In Courchevel for instance they are numbered (and coloured) to show you how long the piste is and how far you have to go, and what grade of piste you are on. :lol:

From my experience, there is no standard formula for Markers. Some resorts, mark both sides, some only one. Some use numbers for the pistes, some names, some count down, some don't bother. If you ski Switzerland, then you may see markers poles on both sides, but the colour banding is longer on one side, which is useful on foggy days, when you can't tell left from right!

bandit wrote: on foggy days, when you can't tell left from right!

It's when you can't tell up from down that I have a problem.
:oops:
And you don't know whether you are moving or stopped.
:roll:

OldAndy wrote:
It's when you can't tell up from down that I have a problem.
:oops:
And you don't know whether you are moving or stopped.
:roll:

Grimentz where I usually ski, has several blind skier clubs regularly using the slopes. Getting passed by a blind skier at speed on a Red usually sorts out me out )

When I first took up skiing I thought they were a waste of time until i experianced my first white out and they were the only thing i could see!!