Double black Heavenly, CA
Backstroke drops 918 vertical feet over 2,345 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 32° about 1,060 feet below the top. That's steeper than 31% of the 2,251 double black runs we've measured in North America, and the 32nd steepest of 124 named runs at Heavenly. It faces southwest.
Facing southwest at an average 23°, Backstroke gets about 117% of the winter sun that flat ground at Heavenly does, December through March. That's sunnier than 85% of the runs we've measured, and the 8th sunniest named run at Heavenly. Its top sits at 9,750 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.
under 25°25–35°35–45°45°+ Hover to follow the line on the map.
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.