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Chicken Yard

Black diamond Vail, CO

Steepest pitch43°
Vertical1,045 ft
Length2,581 ft
Average pitch24°
FacesS
Top10,773 ft

Chicken Yard drops 1,045 vertical feet over 2,581 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 43° about 1,610 feet below the top. That's steeper than 98% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 4th steepest of 194 named runs at Vail. It faces south.

How well Chicken Yard holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing south at an average 24°, Chicken Yard gets about 146% of the winter sun that flat ground at Vail does, December through March. That's sunnier than 98% of the runs we've measured, and the 3rd sunniest named run at Vail. Its top sits at 10,770 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.

Chicken Yard profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Chicken Yard elsewhere

Nearby at Vail

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.