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Northern Spy

Black diamond A-Basin, CO

Steepest pitch28°
Vertical364 ft
Length1,073 ft
Average pitch20°
FacesSW
Top12,383 ft

Northern Spy drops 364 vertical feet over 1,073 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 28° about 260 feet below the top. That's steeper than 41% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 126th steepest of 161 named runs at A-Basin. It faces southwest.

How well Northern Spy holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southwest at an average 20°, Northern Spy gets about 136% of the winter sun that flat ground at A-Basin does, December through March. That's sunnier than 95% of the runs we've measured, and the 9th sunniest named run at A-Basin. Its top sits at 12,380 feet.

Angled toward the low winter sun, it bakes: powder turns heavy soon after a storm, and in spring it softens early in the day and refreezes hard overnight. Shading from ridges and trees isn't counted yet.

Northern Spy profile

under 25°25–35°35–45°45°+ Hover to follow the line on the map.

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Northern Spy elsewhere

Nearby at A-Basin

Measured by ZRankings from 1-meter USGS lidar. Steepest pitch is the steepest stretch of about 50 vertical feet along the skiable line. Run lines come from OpenStreetMap and can sit a little off the skied path.