Last year's World Championships were held on these runs, which begin at a dizzying height of 11,500 feet before dropping 2,500 vertical feet through intimidating accelerations that earned the course a reputation as one of the world's most challenging. By the time I found my friend she had taken her skis off and was walking down the run mumbling something about how birds weren't really that fuzzy or cute. She learned the hard way that you can't judge a trail by its title. That said, there are some names that are dead give-aways. Besides the blatantly obvious names or those that give clues by indicating geographical features, most ski run names offer little help in terms of determining difficulty.
Many runs have historical meaning, which in the mountains means mining.
The miners at the turn of the century weren't well educated as a whole. The name of one of their mines was Cecret, presumably a version of secret. Sometimes trail names are as random as the thought processes of a single decision-maker. Then there's the standard collection of runs named in honor of the mountain's honored sons and daughters. From Olympians to resort executives, those who contribute to a resort are often honored by having a run named after them, just as city folks name streets after their heroes.