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Upper Big Dipper

Blue Alta, UT

Steepest pitch32°
Vertical262 ft
Length1,056 ft
Average pitch15°
FacesSW
Top10,398 ft

Upper Big Dipper drops 262 vertical feet over 1,056 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 32° about 380 feet below the top. That's steeper than 98% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 69th steepest of 117 named runs at Alta. It faces southwest.

How well Upper Big Dipper holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southwest at an average 15°, Upper Big Dipper gets about 115% of the winter sun that flat ground at Alta does, December through March. That's sunnier than 83% of the runs we've measured, and the 6th sunniest named run at Alta. Its top sits at 10,400 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.

Upper Big Dipper profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Upper Big Dipper 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.