Navigating the Green Miles on the slopes.(The Gazette)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. _ The first clue we were on beginner terrain last week at Breckenridge's Peak 9: four skiers doing the hokey-pokey on the Silverthorne Trail.

That's right. There was no giant slalom going on. No NASCAR racing against the clock. No dazzling displays of speed and skill. Just the hokey-pokey.

Granted, the dancing skiers all were less than 3 feet tall and 6 years old. But the way they were skiing - and the way they weren't skiing - says everything about the beginner Silverthorne Trail.

And about beginner trails everywhere.

Green or beginner slopes are an important part of a ski resort's terrain. A national demographics survey conducted for the National Ski Areas Association last season showed that 48 percent of skiers and boarders considered themselves intermediates, and 38 percent expert or advanced at skiing and boarding.

The remaining 14 percent were either first-time or beginning skiers and boarders.

That's the smallest group on the mountain, but a group that needs extra attention, says Jim Felton, spokesman for Breckenridge.