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Bird's Nest

Blue Alta, UT

Steepest pitch28°
Vertical507 ft
Length2,767 ft
Average pitch11°
FacesS
Top10,544 ft

Bird's Nest drops 507 vertical feet over 2,767 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 28° about 490 feet below the top. That's steeper than 90% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 84th steepest of 117 named runs at Alta. It faces south.

How well Bird's Nest holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing south at an average 11°, Bird's Nest gets about 120% of the winter sun that flat ground at Alta does, December through March. That's sunnier than 86% of the runs we've measured, and the 3rd sunniest named run at Alta. Its top sits at 10,540 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.

Bird's Nest profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Bird's Nest elsewhere

Nearby at Alta

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.