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Black Powder

Black diamond Steamboat, CO

Steepest pitch27°
Vertical264 ft
Length1,875 ft
Average pitch9°
FacesSE
Top10,189 ft

Black Powder drops 264 vertical feet over 1,875 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 27° about 680 feet below the top. That's steeper than 35% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 71st steepest of 195 named runs at Steamboat. It faces southeast.

How well Black Powder holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing southeast at an average 9°, Black Powder gets about 117% of the winter sun that flat ground at Steamboat does, December through March. That's sunnier than 85% of the runs we've measured, and the 29th sunniest named run at Steamboat. Its top sits at 10,190 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.

Black Powder profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Black Powder elsewhere

Nearby at Steamboat

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.