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Badlands

Black diamond Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch31°
Vertical999 ft
Length3,225 ft
Average pitch18°
FacesS
Top9,741 ft

Badlands drops 999 vertical feet over 3,225 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 31° about 2,880 feet below the top. That's steeper than 62% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 102nd steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces south.

How well Badlands holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing south at an average 18°, Badlands gets about 157% of the winter sun that flat ground at Big Sky does, December through March. That's sunnier than 99% of the runs we've measured, and the 13th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 9,740 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.

Badlands profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Badlands elsewhere

Nearby at Big Sky

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.