diff --git a/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places-winter.service.ts b/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places-winter.service.ts
index 52b47ae8c..52b0d7d9c 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places-winter.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places-winter.service.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { readEnv } from '../../app-config';
 import {
+  trekPlacesHeldBack,
   trekPlacesWinterArea,
   trekPlacesWinterIndex,
   trekPlacesWinterMeta,
@@ -24,6 +25,11 @@ export class TrekPlacesWinterService {
     return readEnv().maps.trekPlacesEnabled;
   }
 
+  /** Whether the circuit breaker holds requests back after the host failed several times. */
+  heldBack(): boolean {
+    return trekPlacesHeldBack();
+  }
+
   meta(): Promise<WinterMeta> {
     return trekPlacesWinterMeta();
   }
diff --git a/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places.client.ts b/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places.client.ts
index 88741eb64..4bf4ba26e 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places.client.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/maps/trek-places.client.ts
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import { readEnv, getAppUrl } from '../../app-config';
 import { toApiLang } from './maps.helpers';
 import {
   normalizePlaceWebsite,
+  skiRouteBuildSchema,
   winterIndexRowSchema,
   winterMetaSchema,
   type WinterIndex,
@@ -887,7 +888,13 @@ export async function trekPlacesRoutes(
 export type TrekPlacesWinterBody = { status: 'not_modified' } | { status: 'ok'; bytes: Buffer; etag: string | null };
 
 const WINTER_META = { timeoutMs: 5_000, maxBytes: 64 * 1024 };
-const WINTER_INDEX = { timeoutMs: 15_000, maxBytes: 8 * 1024 * 1024 };
+/**
+ * The host caps the index it stores at 8 MB of gzip and sends it packed;
+ * fetch unpacks it before it is read, so the cap here is on the unpacked
+ * JSON, which is several times larger. 64 MB holds whatever the host's cap
+ * lets through and still bounds a body that is not the index at all.
+ */
+const WINTER_INDEX = { timeoutMs: 15_000, maxBytes: 64 * 1024 * 1024 };
 const WINTER_AREA = { timeoutMs: 30_000, maxBytes: 32 * 1024 * 1024 };
 const WINTER_AREA_ID = /^[a-z]:[0-9]+(-[0-9a-z]+)?$/;
 
@@ -901,7 +908,7 @@ function bareTag(value: string | null): string | null {
 
 /** The head of the index; its rows are read one by one. */
 const winterIndexHeadSchema = z.object({
-  build: z.string().min(1).max(40),
+  build: skiRouteBuildSchema,
   format: z.number().int(),
   areas: z.array(z.unknown()),
 });
diff --git a/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.ts b/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.ts
index 9e883e6b3..ec5708602 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import { Injectable, type OnApplicationBootstrap } from '@nestjs/common';
  * wait for it. Area files unused for 90 days go. Nothing runs while TREK
  * Places is switched off.
  */
+/** How many changed areas are downloaded at once. */
+const REFRESH_CONCURRENCY = 2;
+
 @Injectable()
 export class SkiAreasJob implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
   constructor(
@@ -34,7 +37,12 @@ export class SkiAreasJob implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     }
   }
 
-  /** The areas kept here whose graph the new build changed, fetched again. */
+  /**
+   * The areas kept here whose graph the new build changed, fetched again two
+   * at a time so a build that changed many does not open dozens of downloads
+   * against the host at once. Once the host's breaker opens the rest wait:
+   * their kept copies still plan, and a planner that needs one fetches it.
+   */
   private async refreshKept(): Promise<void> {
     const index = await this.areas.index();
     if (!index) return;
@@ -42,9 +50,25 @@ export class SkiAreasJob implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     const changed = index.areas.filter((area) =>
       kept.some((copy) => copy.id === area.row.id && copy.sha8 !== area.row.sha256.slice(0, 8)),
     );
-    const outcomes = await Promise.allSettled(changed.map((area) => this.areas.ensureArea(area.row)));
-    const failed = outcomes.filter((outcome) => outcome.status === 'rejected').length;
     if (changed.length === 0) return;
-    logInfo(`[Ski] ${changed.length - failed} of ${changed.length} kept ski areas fetched anew`);
+    const pending = [...changed];
+    let fetched = 0;
+    const fetchOne = async (): Promise<void> => {
+      while (!this.areas.placesHeldBack()) {
+        const area = pending.shift();
+        if (!area) return;
+        try {
+          if (!(await this.areas.ensureArea(area.row)).stale) fetched += 1;
+        } catch {
+          // The kept copy stays; the next planner to need the area asks again.
+        }
+      }
+    };
+    await Promise.all(Array.from({ length: REFRESH_CONCURRENCY }, fetchOne));
+    const left = pending.length;
+    logInfo(
+      `[Ski] ${fetched} of ${changed.length} kept ski areas fetched anew` +
+        (left > 0 ? `, ${left} left for later while TREK Places is unreachable` : ''),
+    );
   }
 }
diff --git a/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.ts b/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.ts
index 9ac868286..2f7ef2f2a 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.ts
@@ -283,6 +283,11 @@ export class SkiAreasService implements OnApplicationBootstrap {
     await rename(temp, file);
   }
 
+  /** Whether the Places host failed often enough that requests to it are held back for now. */
+  placesHeldBack(): boolean {
+    return this.winter.heldBack();
+  }
+
   /** Whether an area's graph is here, on its way, or cannot be had right now. */
   stateOf(row: WinterIndexRow): 'ready' | 'loading' | 'unavailable' {
     if (existsSync(this.fileOf(row))) return 'ready';
diff --git a/server/src/nest/ski-routing/worker-router-runner.ts b/server/src/nest/ski-routing/worker-router-runner.ts
index d68b5ea80..ad3c19d5b 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/ski-routing/worker-router-runner.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/ski-routing/worker-router-runner.ts
@@ -12,8 +12,16 @@ export const MAX_WAITING_JOBS = 8;
 /** A thread with nothing to do ends after half an hour; the next job starts one again. */
 const IDLE_MS = 30 * 60 * 1000;
 
-interface Waiting {
+/** A job in line for the thread, not yet handed to it. */
+interface Queued {
+  id: number;
+  job: SkiJob;
   settle: (outcome: { result: unknown } | { error: Error }) => void;
+}
+
+/** The job the thread is working on, the thread it went to, and its clock. */
+interface Running extends Queued {
+  worker: Worker;
   timer: NodeJS.Timeout;
 }
 
@@ -26,33 +34,31 @@ export function answerTimeoutMs(job: SkiJob): number {
 
 /**
  * The piste router's own thread, so a search never holds up the server's
- * requests. Started on the first job and ended when idle; a job not answered
- * in time fails as `timeout` and the thread is replaced, a thread that dies
- * fails what it held, and the next job finds a fresh one.
+ * requests. Started on the first job and ended when idle. The thread is
+ * handed one job at a time, so a job's clock starts when the thread takes it
+ * up, not while it waits behind a slow one. A job not answered in time fails
+ * as `timeout` and its thread is replaced; a thread that dies fails the job
+ * it held. Either way the jobs still in line go to a fresh thread.
  */
 export class WorkerSkiRouterRunner implements SkiRouterRunner {
   private thread: Worker | null = null;
   private lastId = 0;
-  private readonly waiting = new Map<number, Waiting>();
+  private readonly queue: Queued[] = [];
+  private running: Running | null = null;
   private idleTimer: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
 
   constructor(private readonly entry = join(__dirname, 'ski-router.worker.js')) {}
 
   run<J extends SkiJob>(job: J): Promise<SkiJobResult<J>> {
-    if (this.waiting.size >= MAX_WAITING_JOBS) return Promise.reject(new Error('busy'));
-    const worker = this.ensureThread();
+    if (this.queue.length + (this.running ? 1 : 0) >= MAX_WAITING_JOBS) return Promise.reject(new Error('busy'));
     const id = ++this.lastId;
     return new Promise<SkiJobResult<J>>((resolve, reject) => {
-      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
-        this.waiting.delete(id);
-        reject(new Error('timeout'));
-        this.replaceThread();
-      }, answerTimeoutMs(job));
-      this.waiting.set(id, {
-        timer,
+      this.queue.push({
+        id,
+        job,
         settle: (outcome) => ('error' in outcome ? reject(outcome.error) : resolve(outcome.result as SkiJobResult<J>)),
       });
-      worker.postMessage({ id, job });
+      this.next();
     });
   }
 
@@ -62,12 +68,31 @@ export class WorkerSkiRouterRunner implements SkiRouterRunner {
 
   async close(): Promise<void> {
     if (this.idleTimer) clearTimeout(this.idleTimer);
-    this.failWaiting(new Error('closed'));
+    this.idleTimer = null;
+    this.failAll(new Error('closed'));
     const worker = this.thread;
     this.thread = null;
     await worker?.terminate();
   }
 
+  /** Hands the next job in line to the thread, once the one before it is done. */
+  private next(): void {
+    if (this.running) return;
+    const queued = this.queue.shift();
+    if (!queued) return;
+    let worker: Worker;
+    try {
+      worker = this.ensureThread();
+    } catch (err: unknown) {
+      queued.settle({ error: err instanceof Error ? err : new Error(String(err)) });
+      this.next();
+      return;
+    }
+    const timer = setTimeout(() => this.timedOut(queued.id), answerTimeoutMs(queued.job));
+    this.running = { ...queued, worker, timer };
+    worker.postMessage({ id: queued.id, job: queued.job });
+  }
+
   private ensureThread(): Worker {
     if (this.idleTimer) clearTimeout(this.idleTimer);
     this.idleTimer = setTimeout(() => void this.close(), IDLE_MS);
@@ -79,7 +104,7 @@ export class WorkerSkiRouterRunner implements SkiRouterRunner {
         arg === '--require' || arg === '-r' || all[index - 1] === '--require' || all[index - 1] === '-r',
     );
     const worker = new Worker(this.entry, { execArgv });
-    worker.on('message', (reply: Reply) => this.receive(reply));
+    worker.on('message', (reply: Reply) => this.receive(worker, reply));
     worker.on('error', (err: Error) => this.lost(worker, err));
     worker.on('exit', () => this.lost(worker, new Error('router thread ended')));
     worker.unref();
@@ -87,33 +112,49 @@ export class WorkerSkiRouterRunner implements SkiRouterRunner {
     return worker;
   }
 
-  private receive(reply: Reply): void {
-    const waiting = this.waiting.get(reply.id);
-    if (!waiting) return;
-    this.waiting.delete(reply.id);
-    clearTimeout(waiting.timer);
-    if (reply.result !== undefined) waiting.settle({ result: reply.result });
-    else waiting.settle({ error: new Error(reply.error ?? 'router failed') });
+  private receive(worker: Worker, reply: Reply): void {
+    const running = this.running;
+    if (running?.worker !== worker || running.id !== reply.id) return;
+    this.finish(
+      running,
+      reply.result !== undefined ? { result: reply.result } : { error: new Error(reply.error ?? 'router failed') },
+    );
   }
 
-  /** A thread that ended or failed takes its jobs with it; one already replaced leaves the new thread's alone. */
+  /** Only the job still running on the thread it went to times out; its thread goes with it. */
+  private timedOut(id: number): void {
+    const running = this.running;
+    if (running?.id !== id) return;
+    this.dropThread(running.worker);
+    this.finish(running, { error: new Error('timeout') });
+  }
+
+  /** A thread that ended or failed takes its job with it; a thread already replaced touches no other job. */
   private lost(worker: Worker, err: Error): void {
-    if (this.thread !== worker) return;
-    this.thread = null;
-    this.failWaiting(err);
+    if (this.thread === worker) this.thread = null;
+    const running = this.running;
+    if (running?.worker === worker) this.finish(running, { error: err });
   }
 
-  private replaceThread(): void {
-    const worker = this.thread;
-    this.thread = null;
-    void worker?.terminate();
+  private finish(running: Running, outcome: { result: unknown } | { error: Error }): void {
+    clearTimeout(running.timer);
+    this.running = null;
+    running.settle(outcome);
+    this.next();
   }
 
-  private failWaiting(err: Error): void {
-    for (const [id, waiting] of this.waiting) {
-      clearTimeout(waiting.timer);
-      this.waiting.delete(id);
-      waiting.settle({ error: err });
+  private dropThread(worker: Worker): void {
+    if (this.thread === worker) this.thread = null;
+    void worker.terminate();
+  }
+
+  private failAll(err: Error): void {
+    const running = this.running;
+    this.running = null;
+    if (running) {
+      clearTimeout(running.timer);
+      running.settle({ error: err });
     }
+    for (const queued of this.queue.splice(0)) queued.settle({ error: err });
   }
 }
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.test.ts
index 43728d0de..379bba11b 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job.test.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
  * registrar only, sweeping unused area files, fetching the index when the
  * host serves a new build, and fetching the kept areas whose graph changed.
  */
+import { logInfo } from '../../../../src/nest/audit/audit-log.logger';
 import type { CronRegistrarService } from '../../../../src/nest/scheduling/cron-registrar.service';
 import { SkiAreasJob } from '../../../../src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.job';
 import type { SkiAreasService, SkiIndex } from '../../../../src/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service';
@@ -37,6 +38,7 @@ function setup(refreshed: 'updated' | 'unchanged' | 'refused' = 'updated') {
       { id: 'w:2', sha8: '00000000' },
     ]),
     ensureArea: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ file: 'x', stale: false }),
+    placesHeldBack: vi.fn(() => false),
   };
   const registrar = { isEnabled: vi.fn(() => true), register: vi.fn() };
   const job = new SkiAreasJob(areas as unknown as SkiAreasService, registrar as unknown as CronRegistrarService);
@@ -82,4 +84,37 @@ describe('SkiAreasJob', () => {
     failing.areas.ensureArea.mockRejectedValue(new Error('no'));
     await expect(failing.job.tick()).resolves.toBeUndefined();
   });
+
+  it('SKIJOB-004: fetches the changed areas two at a time, and leaves the rest once the breaker opens', async () => {
+    const { job, areas } = setup('updated');
+    const ids = Array.from({ length: 6 }, (_, i) => `w:${10 + i}`);
+    areas.index.mockResolvedValue({ areas: ids.map((id) => row(id, 'd')) } as unknown as SkiIndex);
+    areas.keptAreas.mockResolvedValue(ids.map((id) => ({ id, sha8: '00000000' })));
+    let open = 0;
+    let most = 0;
+    let calls = 0;
+    areas.ensureArea.mockImplementation(async () => {
+      const call = ++calls;
+      open += 1;
+      most = Math.max(most, open);
+      await new Promise((resolve) => setImmediate(resolve));
+      open -= 1;
+      if (call === 2) throw new Error('TREK Places API 503');
+      return { file: 'x', stale: call === 3 };
+    });
+    // The breaker opens once four areas were asked for.
+    areas.placesHeldBack.mockImplementation(() => calls >= 4);
+    vi.mocked(logInfo).mockClear();
+    await job.tick();
+    expect(most).toBe(2);
+    expect(areas.ensureArea).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(4);
+    expect(vi.mocked(logInfo)).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      '[Ski] 2 of 6 kept ski areas fetched anew, 2 left for later while TREK Places is unreachable',
+    );
+    areas.placesHeldBack.mockReturnValue(false);
+    areas.ensureArea.mockResolvedValue({ file: 'x', stale: false });
+    vi.mocked(logInfo).mockClear();
+    await job.tick();
+    expect(vi.mocked(logInfo)).toHaveBeenCalledWith('[Ski] 6 of 6 kept ski areas fetched anew');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.test.ts
index 1af861a20..8363e338b 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-areas.service.test.ts
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ let dir: string;
 let host: ReturnType<typeof hosted>;
 const winter = {
   enabled: vi.fn(() => true),
+  heldBack: vi.fn(() => false),
   meta: vi.fn(),
   index: vi.fn(),
   area: vi.fn(),
@@ -209,6 +210,9 @@ describe('an area graph', () => {
     winter.enabled.mockReturnValue(false);
     expect(areas.enabled()).toBe(false);
     expect(areas.stateOf(row('w:400', [9, 46, 9.01, 46.01]))).toBe('unavailable');
+    expect(areas.placesHeldBack()).toBe(false);
+    winter.heldBack.mockReturnValueOnce(true);
+    expect(areas.placesHeldBack()).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it('SKIAREA-014: lists the areas kept, and sweeps half writes and files unused for 90 days', async () => {
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-router-runner.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-router-runner.test.ts
index cd7f0afdb..a2d8f1333 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-router-runner.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/ski-routing/ski-router-runner.test.ts
@@ -221,7 +221,8 @@ describe('WorkerSkiRouterRunner', () => {
         runner.run(job(['hang'])).catch((err: Error) => err.message),
       );
       await expect(runner.run(job(['hang']))).rejects.toThrow('busy');
-      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(answerTimeoutMs(job(['hang'])));
+      // One job at a time is with the thread, each on its own clock.
+      for (let i = 0; i < MAX_WAITING_JOBS; i++) await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(answerTimeoutMs(job(['hang'])));
       expect(await Promise.all(waiting)).toEqual(Array.from({ length: MAX_WAITING_JOBS }, () => 'timeout'));
       await runner.close();
     } finally {
@@ -229,6 +230,50 @@ describe('WorkerSkiRouterRunner', () => {
     }
   });
 
+  it('SKIRUN-025: a job times out on its own clock from when the thread takes it, and takes no other job down', async () => {
+    const entry = await script(
+      'slow',
+      `parentPort.on('message', (m) => {
+        if (m.forget || m.job.files[0] === 'hang') return;
+        parentPort.postMessage({ id: m.id, result: [] });
+      });`,
+    );
+    vi.useFakeTimers({ toFake: ['setTimeout', 'clearTimeout'] });
+    try {
+      const runner = new WorkerSkiRouterRunner(entry);
+      const ms = answerTimeoutMs(job(['hang']));
+      const first = runner.run(job(['hang'])).catch((err: Error) => err.message);
+      const second = runner.run(job(['hang'])).catch((err: Error) => err.message);
+      const third = runner.run(job(['fine']));
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(ms);
+      expect(await first).toBe('timeout');
+      // The second job waited behind the first; its clock started only when the fresh thread took it.
+      let secondDone = false;
+      void second.then(() => {
+        secondDone = true;
+      });
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(ms - 1);
+      expect(secondDone).toBe(false);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(1);
+      expect(await second).toBe('timeout');
+      // The third job runs on the thread after it and is answered; no earlier clock ends it or its thread.
+      await expect(third).resolves.toEqual([]);
+      await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(ms);
+      await expect(runner.run(job(['fine']))).resolves.toEqual([]);
+      await runner.close();
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('SKIRUN-026: a thread that cannot start fails each job in line on its own', async () => {
+    // A bare relative path is one node refuses to start a thread from.
+    const runner = new WorkerSkiRouterRunner('no-such-router.js');
+    await expect(runner.run(job(['x']))).rejects.toThrow();
+    await expect(runner.run(job(['y']))).rejects.toThrow();
+    await runner.close();
+  });
+
   it('SKIRUN-024: a job of many legs waits longer for its answer, never beyond a minute', () => {
     const one = job(['x']);
     expect(answerTimeoutMs(one)).toBe(8000);
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-places.winter.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-places.winter.test.ts
index 157c5d872..b5309acbe 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-places.winter.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-places.winter.test.ts
@@ -134,6 +134,18 @@ describe('the winter index', () => {
     stub(answer(200, JSON.stringify({ build: '', format: 1, areas: [] })));
     await expect(trekPlacesWinterIndex(null)).rejects.toThrow();
   });
+
+  it('PLACESWINTER-012: reads an unpacked index past 8 MB, and refuses a build a tour could not keep', async () => {
+    const filler = Array.from({ length: 32_000 }, (_, i) => ({ ...ROW, id: `w:${i + 1}` }));
+    const json = JSON.stringify({ build: '2026-11-02', format: 1, areas: filler });
+    expect(Buffer.byteLength(json)).toBeGreaterThan(8 * 1024 * 1024);
+    stub(answer(200, json));
+    const read = await trekPlacesWinterIndex(null);
+    if (read.status !== 'ok') throw new Error('not read');
+    expect(read.index.areas).toHaveLength(32_000);
+    stub(answer(200, JSON.stringify({ build: 'nightly build', format: 1, areas: [] })));
+    await expect(trekPlacesWinterIndex(null)).rejects.toThrow();
+  });
 });
 
 describe('an area graph', () => {
@@ -180,6 +192,9 @@ describe('the opt-out and the breaker', () => {
     await expect(trekPlacesWinterMeta()).rejects.toThrow('TREK Places API 500');
     await expect(trekPlacesWinterMeta()).rejects.toThrow('not retrying yet');
     expect(calls).toHaveLength(5);
+    expect(new TrekPlacesWinterService().heldBack()).toBe(true);
+    resetTrekPlacesBreaker();
+    expect(new TrekPlacesWinterService().heldBack()).toBe(false);
   });
 
   it('PLACESWINTER-032: the provider hands each call to the client', async () => {
diff --git a/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.spec.ts b/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.spec.ts
index 6fdfffabd..c975c46d3 100644
--- a/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.spec.ts
+++ b/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.spec.ts
@@ -266,4 +266,12 @@ describe('the winter layer of the Places host (SKI-ROUTE)', () => {
     expect(winterIndexSchema.parse(index).areas[0]).toEqual(row);
     expect(winterIndexSchema.safeParse({ ...index, areas: [{ ...row, id: 'x' }] }).success).toBe(false);
   });
+
+  it('SKI-ROUTE-SCHEMA-011: refuses a build name a ski tour could not be saved with', () => {
+    const index = { build: '2026-11-02', format: 1, areas: [] };
+    for (const build of ['nightly build', '2026+1', 'a:b']) {
+      expect(winterIndexSchema.safeParse({ ...index, build }).success).toBe(false);
+    }
+    expect(winterIndexSchema.safeParse({ ...index, build: '2026-11-02_redo.2' }).success).toBe(true);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.ts b/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.ts
index dc4efb6fe..e4dddad28 100644
--- a/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.ts
+++ b/shared/src/ski/ski-route.schema.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import {
   SKI_DIFFICULTIES,
   skiDisciplineSchema,
-  skiRouteBuildSchema,
   skiRouteOptionsSchema,
   skiTechniqueSchema,
 } from '../tours/ski.schema';
diff --git a/shared/src/ski/winter-index.schema.ts b/shared/src/ski/winter-index.schema.ts
index c7d4c8155..4cc1d79a1 100644
--- a/shared/src/ski/winter-index.schema.ts
+++ b/shared/src/ski/winter-index.schema.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { skiRouteBuildSchema } from '../tours/ski.schema';
+
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
 /**
@@ -10,6 +12,13 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 
 const sha256Schema = z.string().regex(/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/);
 
+/**
+ * A build is read to the same rule a ski tour stores it by, so a build TREK
+ * could not save with a tour is refused when the layer is read, not on the
+ * tour's next save.
+ */
+const winterBuildSchema = skiRouteBuildSchema;
+
 /** The attribution block the winter layer carries; only the two lines TREK prints are required. */
 export const winterAttributionSchema = z.object({
   data: z.string(),
@@ -18,7 +27,7 @@ export const winterAttributionSchema = z.object({
 export type WinterAttribution = z.infer<typeof winterAttributionSchema>;
 
 export const winterMetaSchema = z.object({
-  build: z.string().min(1).max(40),
+  build: winterBuildSchema,
   format: z.number().int(),
   areas: z.number().int().nonnegative(),
   indexSha: sha256Schema,
@@ -58,7 +67,7 @@ export const winterIndexRowSchema = z.object({
 export type WinterIndexRow = z.infer<typeof winterIndexRowSchema>;
 
 export const winterIndexSchema = z.object({
-  build: z.string().min(1).max(40),
+  build: winterBuildSchema,
   format: z.number().int(),
   areas: z.array(winterIndexRowSchema),
 });