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Iron Horse

Black diamond Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch20°
Vertical134 ft
Length832 ft
Average pitch9°
FacesE
Top8,567 ft

Iron Horse drops 134 vertical feet over 832 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 20° about 800 feet below the top. That's steeper than 8% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 229th steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces east.

How well Iron Horse holds snow

Snow preservationAverage

Facing east at an average 9°, Iron Horse gets about 90% of the winter sun that flat ground at Big Sky does, December through March. That's sunnier than 60% of the runs we've measured, and the 137th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 8,570 feet.

It gets an ordinary dose of sun: powder lasts a typical amount of time, and spring snow softens on a normal schedule. Shading from ridges and trees isn't counted yet.

Iron Horse profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Iron Horse 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.