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Ponderosa

Blue Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch23°
Vertical708 ft
Length3,229 ft
Average pitch13°
FacesSE
Top8,692 ft

Ponderosa drops 708 vertical feet over 3,229 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 23° about 1,570 feet below the top. That's steeper than 63% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 197th steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces southeast.

How well Ponderosa holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 13°, Ponderosa gets about 119% of the winter sun that flat ground at Big Sky does, December through March. That's sunnier than 86% of the runs we've measured, and the 65th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 8,690 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.

Ponderosa profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Ponderosa 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.