Blue Mammoth, CA
Surprise drops 338 vertical feet over 1,398 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 21° about 420 feet below the top. That's steeper than 49% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 97th steepest of 151 named runs at Mammoth. It faces west.
Facing west at an average 14°, Surprise gets about 103% of the winter sun that flat ground at Mammoth does, December through March. That's sunnier than 74% of the runs we've measured, and the 15th sunniest named run at Mammoth. Its top sits at 9,670 feet.
With little slope to hide behind, it takes nearly the full winter sun of open ground: powder settles and turns heavy sooner after a storm, and spring snow softens early. 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.