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The Face

Blue Northstar, CA

Steepest pitch24°
Vertical312 ft
Length1,410 ft
Average pitch13°
FacesE
Top7,809 ft

The Face drops 312 vertical feet over 1,410 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 24° about 450 feet below the top. That's steeper than 71% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 37th steepest of 90 named runs at Northstar. It faces east.

How well The Face holds snow

Snow preservationBelow average

Facing east at an average 13°, The Face gets about 94% of the winter sun that flat ground at Northstar does, December through March. That's sunnier than 65% of the runs we've measured, and the 12th sunniest named run at Northstar. Its top sits at 7,810 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.

The Face profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like The Face elsewhere

Nearby at Northstar

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.