<I>(Note from the Administrator: This message was originally posted on 1/9/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>Hiya Peter, <BR> <BR>Hopefully you'll get a local response, but remember that you can't paint with such a broad brush. "Blacks in Colorado" will vary widely, too. Look at Keystone and A-Basin, just down the road from each other, for example. An expert run at Silver Creek or Buttermilk/Tiehack (or whatever they're calling it these days) won't compare to an expert run at Berthoud Pass or Aspen Mountain - even though each is just down the road from the other, respectively. Trail ratings are relative to those at that area only. <BR> <BR>That said, I suspect that what you'll find in Michigan will be a far cry from that in Colorado, on average. Many things compute into the difficulty of a trail besides pitch - whether or not it's groomed, snow surface, width, length, direction of the fall line, natural obstacles, etc. <BR> <BR>Any local responses out there?!