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Papa Bear

Double black Fernie, BC

Steepest pitch42°
Vertical727 ft
Length1,276 ft
Average pitch35°
FacesE
Top6,739 ft

Papa Bear drops 727 vertical feet over 1,276 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 42° about 530 feet below the top. That's steeper than 81% of the 2,251 double black runs we've measured in North America, and the 19th steepest of 119 named runs at Fernie. It faces east.

How well Papa Bear holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing east at an average 35°, Papa Bear gets about 125% of the winter sun that flat ground at Fernie does, December through March. That's sunnier than 90% of the runs we've measured, and the 13th sunniest named run at Fernie. Its top sits at 6,740 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.

Papa Bear profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Papa Bear elsewhere

Nearby at Fernie

Measured by ZRankings from 1-meter lidar from Natural Resources Canada. 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.