The pistes at Erciyes: how 41 runs are distributed

Black runs make up 22% at Erciyes. That is a high share by Turkish standards and means the resort sets aside serious terrain for advanced skiers. Red is the largest slice at 42%, putting the mountain's centre of gravity at intermediate level.

Blue accounts for 36%. For a skier in their first season that is more than a third of the mountain — you will not be forced to lap the same two runs while you learn.

The practical reading: the moment you move up to intermediate, the terrain available to you roughly doubles. Blue and red together give you about three quarters of the network.

The table below comes from the official piste list. The per-gate totals add up exactly to the resort's 41 pistes, which is how the data was cross-checked.

Hisarcık is the busiest gate with fifteen pistes and hosts the highest line on the mountain. Tekir has only four, but as the junction between Develi and Hisarcık it is the gate most people pass through during the day.

Pistes at Erciyes are numbered: 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2a and so on. This is common practice in Alpine resorts and makes navigation easier — the number tells you directly which gate and which branch a run belongs to.

Names you may find online for "such and such a run at Erciyes" are not official. This site does not invent piste names; since the official source publishes numbers, we use numbers.

For anyone working from the map, the practical approach is to pick a gate and learn its number range. Hacılar uses 1-5, Tekir 12-13, Hisarcık 6-11 and 14-18, Develi 15-16 and 19.

Runs range from 230 m to 4,210 m. That spread means two pistes of the same colour can deliver very different experiences.

A short red finishes in a few turns even if it is technically demanding. A descent approaching four kilometres asks for leg endurance; even a technically competent skier can make mistakes through fatigue in the final third.

Plan to stop midway the first time you take on a long run. Pushing through the last section on tired legs is one of the best-known patterns in accident statistics.