home of the Pure Awesomeness Factor Better Data, Better Skiing

Upper Switchback

Blue Whiteface Mountain, NY

Steepest pitch26°
Vertical165 ft
Length723 ft
Average pitch13°
FacesE
Top3,869 ft

Upper Switchback drops 165 vertical feet over 723 feet of skiing, with a steepest pitch of 26° about 10 feet below the top. That's steeper than 81% of the 5,615 blue runs we've measured in North America, and the 30th steepest of 90 named runs at Whiteface Mountain. It faces east.

How well Upper Switchback holds snow

Snow preservationPoor

Facing east at an average 13°, Upper Switchback gets about 114% of the winter sun that flat ground at Whiteface Mountain does, December through March. That's sunnier than 83% of the runs we've measured, and the 24th sunniest named run at Whiteface Mountain. Its top sits at 3,870 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.

Upper Switchback profile

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

Where it is on the mountain

Runs like Upper Switchback elsewhere

Nearby at Whiteface Mountain

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.