home of the Pure Awesomeness Factor Better Data, Better Skiing

Sun Bowl

Black diamond Alpine Meadows, CA

Steepest pitch30°
Vertical502 ft
Length1,512 ft
Average pitch20°
FacesSE
Top8,371 ft

Sun Bowl drops 502 vertical feet over 1,512 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 30° about 50 feet below the top. That's steeper than 57% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 78th steepest of 132 named runs at Alpine Meadows. It faces southeast.

How well Sun Bowl holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 20°, Sun Bowl gets about 124% of the winter sun that flat ground at Alpine Meadows does, December through March. That's sunnier than 89% of the runs we've measured, and the 16th sunniest named run at Alpine Meadows. Its top sits at 8,370 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.

Sun Bowl profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Sun Bowl elsewhere

Nearby at Alpine Meadows

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.