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The Wave

Double black Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch51°
Vertical569 ft
Length998 ft
Average pitch35°
FacesSE
Top10,003 ft

The Wave drops 569 vertical feet over 998 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 51° about 190 feet below the top. That's steeper than 99% of the 2,251 double black runs we've measured in North America, and the 1st steepest of 290 named runs at Big Sky. It faces southeast.

How well The Wave holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 35°, The Wave gets about 156% 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 14th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 10,000 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.

The Wave profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like The Wave 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.