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Rock Valley

Black diamond Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch29°
Vertical713 ft
Length2,220 ft
Average pitch19°
FacesS
Top9,650 ft

Rock Valley drops 713 vertical feet over 2,220 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 29° about 960 feet below the top. That's steeper than 48% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 120th steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces south.

How well Rock Valley holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing south at an average 19°, Rock Valley gets about 154% 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 17th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 9,650 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.

Rock Valley profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Rock Valley 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.