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Bitteroot

Black diamond Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch30°
Vertical297 ft
Length1,268 ft
Average pitch14°
FacesSE
Top8,996 ft

Bitteroot drops 297 vertical feet over 1,268 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 30° about 280 feet below the top. That's steeper than 56% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 113th steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces southeast.

How well Bitteroot holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 14°, Bitteroot gets about 131% of the winter sun that flat ground at Big Sky does, December through March. That's sunnier than 93% of the runs we've measured, and the 45th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 9,000 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.

Bitteroot profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Bitteroot 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.