Piste Piste A piste () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French ("trail", "track") and synonymous with 'trail', 'slope', or 'groomed run' in North America. The word is pronounced using a long "e" sound (e.g. rhymes with "beast"). Increasingly, North Americans employ its common European antonym, 'off piste', to describe backcountry skiing, especially when referring to skiing outside officially approved areas of a ski resort. Pistes are usually maintained using tracked vehicles known as snowcats to compact or "groom" the snow to even out trail
Appi Kogen Ski Resort on the Tōhoku Expressway, or 20 min from Ashiro IC on the Tohoku Expwy. The development of the resort was led by Hiromasa Ezoe, a Japanese entrepreneur and the founder of Recruit (company). The name of this area, Appi, is derived from the Ainu language word, meaning "a place where one can live in peace" (Kogen means heights or highlands in Japanese). The construction began in 1970s and the ski area was opened in December, 1981, with four chair lifts. The 'Sailer' area expansion was designed by Toni Sailer, an Austrian alpine ski racer and actor. The Hotel Appi Grand