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Big Dipper

Black diamond Homewood, CA

Steepest pitch33°
Vertical347 ft
Length1,009 ft
Average pitch20°
FacesE
Top7,725 ft

Big Dipper drops 347 vertical feet over 1,009 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 33° about 540 feet below the top. That's steeper than 78% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 4th steepest of 60 named runs at Homewood. It faces east.

How well Big Dipper holds snow

Snow preservationBelow average

Facing east at an average 20°, Big Dipper gets about 108% of the winter sun that flat ground at Homewood does, December through March. That's sunnier than 79% of the runs we've measured, and the 9th sunniest named run at Homewood. Its top sits at 7,730 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.

Big Dipper profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Big Dipper elsewhere

Nearby at Homewood

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.