Black diamond Vail, CO
Orient Express drops 1,177 vertical feet over 5,017 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 39° about 3,750 feet below the top. That's steeper than 95% of the 4,740 black diamond runs we've measured in North America, and the 9th steepest of 194 named runs at Vail. It faces south.
Facing south at an average 14°, Orient Express gets about 129% of the winter sun that flat ground at Vail does, December through March. That's sunnier than 92% of the runs we've measured, and the 19th sunniest named run at Vail. Its top sits at 11,230 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.
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.