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Upper Pinnacles

Double black Big Sky, MT

Steepest pitch57°
Vertical602 ft
Length1,466 ft
Average pitch26°
FacesSE
Top9,843 ft

Upper Pinnacles drops 602 vertical feet over 1,466 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 57° about 700 feet below the top. That's steeper than 100% 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 Upper Pinnacles holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 26°, Upper Pinnacles gets about 130% of the winter sun that flat ground at Big Sky does, December through March. That's sunnier than 92% of the runs we've measured, and the 46th sunniest named run at Big Sky. Its top sits at 9,840 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.

Upper Pinnacles profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

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.