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Watson Line

Black diamond Alta, UT

Steepest pitch36°
Vertical448 ft
Length897 ft
Average pitch30°
FacesW
Top10,051 ft

Watson Line drops 448 vertical feet over 897 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 36° about 10 feet below the top. That's steeper than 87% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 47th steepest of 117 named runs at Alta. It faces west.

How well Watson Line holds snow

Snow preservationBelow average

Facing west at an average 30°, Watson Line gets about 108% of the winter sun that flat ground at Alta does, December through March. That's sunnier than 79% of the runs we've measured, and the 14th sunniest named run at Alta. Its top sits at 10,050 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.

Watson Line profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Watson Line 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.