To help you estimate your current level of descending, climbing, physical condition and avalanche knowledge, you can use the different levels as defined by WePowder:
Descending
- Tourist: You can ski or snowboard down red and black pistes in control, but off-piste you are still trying to get the hang of it.
- Beginner: You can ski or snowboard down all pistes (including moghuls) and ski routes. In moderate off piste terrain (less than 30°), you can get down fine.
- Advanced: You can ski or snowboard well in all conditions, on all pistes (including moghuls). Off-piste you can get down slopes up to 45° in good conditions. Traversing, couloirs and tree-skiing all goes decently well. In some snow types such as crust (Bruchharsch) you are still struggling.
- Expert: You have a lot of experience in technical terrain and feel at home in steep terrain, couloirs (45°), big descents and all types of snow.
- Elite: In every condition off-piste (including glaciers, steep terrain, bad visibility and snow) you can ski or snowboard down in control.
Climbing
- Tourist: Why would you climb up, when there are ski lifts here?
- Beginner: You are able to do short, flat hikes close to the ski lift.
- Advanced: You are able to climb up in terrain steeper than 25°, whether it is ski-touring, hiking, or bootpacking.
- Expert: You are able to apply techniques such as kick-turns, and can descend on climbing skins. The climb will not be steeper than 38°.
- Elite: You are able to apply excellent ski touring techniques and know how to use an ice axe and crampons, as well as basic rope techniques to get through technical terrain. The terrain does not get steeper than 45°.
Condition
- Tourist: Your physical condition is not very good. It costs a lot of effort to go down a piste in one go, and at the end of the day your upper legs are spent.
- Beginner: You have sufficient physical condition to get through a day of piste skiing, but a day off-piste is a different story. You often have to stop to catch a breath.
- Advanced: You have sufficient physical fitness to get through a day of off-piste. In addition you can do 30 minute hikes uphill through the snow to get to your line.
- Expert: At the end of the day you ski just as smooth as at the start. Hikes of an hour through snow uphill are no issue at all.
- Elite: Multiple day tours are no problem for you, and for specific technical objectives you do not have to do additional training.
Knowledge
- Tourist: You might know some terms from the avalanche forecast, but you did not follow an avalanche safety course yet.
- Beginner: You understand the avalanche danger level, can make an estimation of the steepness of terrain (both with a map and in the terrain itself), and understand the ref flags. You practice frequently with your avalanche beacon, and followed an avalanche basic course. You use the stop-or-go method and are aware of group processes.
- Advanced: you understand the full avalanche forecast, can work with expositions and understand the red flags. You know how to perform a rescue (searching, probing, digging and first aid). You have followed an intermediate avalanche safety course.
- Expert: You can apply the complete Munter method, can make an estimation of all possibilities, and see all risks. You are an expert with multi-burrial scenarios, and followed an expert avalanche safety course.
- Elite: You’re almost non-stop in the mountains. You are familiar with the dangers and rescue techniques, both in ‘normal’ and in glacier terrain. You have extensive knowledge of weather, avalanches, navigation, first aid, group dynamics and rescues. You can use an ice axe, crampons, and rope with the correct technique.