Black diamond Big Sky, MT
Dakota Gully drops 945 vertical feet over 2,386 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 34° about 1,820 feet below the top. That's steeper than 80% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 85th steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces south.
Facing south at an average 23°, Dakota Gully gets about 160% 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 11th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 9,690 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.
under 25°25–35°35–45°45°+ Hover to follow the line on the map.
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.