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Headwall

Black diamond Vail, CO

Steepest pitch33°
Vertical844 ft
Length2,358 ft
Average pitch21°
FacesS
Top11,035 ft

Headwall drops 844 vertical feet over 2,358 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 33° about 300 feet below the top. That's steeper than 76% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 25th steepest of 194 named runs at Vail. It faces south.

How well Headwall holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing south at an average 21°, Headwall gets about 148% 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 2nd sunniest named run at Vail. Its top sits at 11,040 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.

Headwall profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Headwall 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.