The Seal of Approval

Why a Seal of Approval?

Studies have shown that for the vast majority of snow sports enthusiasts, the size of a ski area is the most important factor when choosing their destination for a ski or snowboard holiday. But until now many different ways of measuring ski areas has been used around the world, with some resorts counting a wide run three times or the length of a zig-zagging track down a slope, not it’s straight length, so how can you trust the official statistics?

The information about length of runs provided in online or print media is based on the figures published by ski resorts. These figures do not always represent what is actually available. Almost a third of the ski areas in the Alps communicate figures that are 50 percent or more above the actual piste length. Strong competition and no regulation concerning the measurement seem to entice ski areas to exaggerate

Now a new ‘Seal of Approval’ has been introduced by Christoph Schrahe. This offers a fair and worldwide standard of measuring ski areas. Ski areas that hold the Seal of Approval communicate to customers what they actually have now get this confirmed "Verified Length of runs" seal.

It is based on a method which is used uniformly by all certified ski resorts and based on the recommendation of the international associations for the cable car industry FIANET and OITAF. These recommendations were the result of a publication by Christoph Schrahe. They are not mandatory and have only been implemented in a few skiing areas so far. The EU refers to national responsibilities and forgoes the opportunity to look at this issue from a consumer law perspective. The national ropeway associations have no legal recourse to introduce binding regulations.

Two years after adopting the recommendations, most ski resorts still publish the same figures as before, misleading the consumer in a lot of cases. For commercial reasons, winter sports media still work with the figures provided by public relations departments of the resorts.  

Thanks to the seal "Verified Length of runs" for the first time ski areas have the chance to have their actual length of runs verified by a credible and independent authority.

It is the aim of the seal to enable ski resorts to provide better service to their visitors by publishing correct parameters rather than setting incorrect expectations. Honesty should prevail even if it means that slopes get shorter.  

Acquiring the Seal of Approval

Are you interested to obtain the Seal of Approval ‚Verified Length of Runs ’? Please email schrahe@montenius.de and we will inform you about our terms and conditions.

We offer the following services when obtaining the Seal of Approval ‚Verified Length of Runs’ :

• The seal can be used on all print and online media, on slope maps in the terrains, on banners, flags etc. (Printer-ready files will be supplies in various formats).
• Certificates for being displayed at cash desks etc. are provided in a printed version (appr. 12x8 inches)
• A certificate with the parameters of the resort and respective benchmarks (federal county, county, world wide) and ranking:
  • Total length of marked runs
  • Length of pistes, ski routes and catwalks as well as parks, fun slopes etc.
  • Skiable area
  • Boundary area
  • Maximum extent of ski area
  • Longest run
  • Total vertical
  • Skiable vertical
  • Number of lifts
  • Vertical transport capacity
• The document will be provided as a PDF-file and can be published on your website for public access. You will find a sample here. If respective GIS data have been provided, the skiable area can be included.
• Listing on www.pistelength.com in the section „Verified Resorts“
• Print copies of the publication „The list of the world's 100 largest ski areas“
• Publication of the seal in the “Where to Ski and Snowboard Guide” and in the “Ski Guide Nordamerika” if resort is presented in these guidebooks.

When establishing the length of runs of your resort, we are happy to work with existing GIS data. We also offer onsite measurements. Please contact us for further details.