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Riffle

Blue Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch23°
Vertical236 ft
Length996 ft
Average pitch14°
FacesSE
Top8,223 ft

Riffle drops 236 vertical feet over 996 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 23° about 350 feet below the top. That's steeper than 65% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 193rd steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces southeast.

How well Riffle holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 14°, Riffle gets about 122% of the winter sun that flat ground at Big Sky does, December through March. That's sunnier than 88% of the runs we've measured, and the 56th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 8,220 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.

Riffle profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Riffle 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.