How steep is steep?

[dloveski]

Much of the skiability of any steep slope is dependent on snow depth and characteristics. Deeper soft snow slows one down and is more forgiving. No matter the slope.

 

[QCskier]

Much of the skiability of any steep slope is dependent on snow depth and characteristics. Deeper soft snow slows one down and is more forgiving. No matter the slope.

I agree with this. Tremblant has a double diamond called Expo which is pretty steep and when it gets icy it becames very intimidating. If it is in good shape I find I can handle it so long as I take my time and just focus on getting my technique right, however if it's icy I will usually stay away from it.

 

[marzNC]

Much of the skiability of any steep slope is dependent on snow depth and characteristics. Deeper soft snow slows one down and is more forgiving. No matter the slope.

One of the reasons I like both Alta and Taos is that there are short, seriously steep, runs that are good practice when starting to get interested in seeing if skiing steeps is fun or not. Meaning potentially less than a dozen turns until you pop out onto a groomer or are on relatively flat terrain.

Last week at TSV, Moe's was groomed out completely midweek after a busy holiday weekend. If I'm interpreting Hillmap properly, the top section get to about 30º. Not super steep for an advanced skier, but quite a challenge for an advancing intermediate even when freshly groomed. Before my Ski Week instructor started down with his advanced group (building skills on black bumps at TSV), he went over self-arrest basics. As it turned out, one of the midwest skiers who decided to try to make turns in the chopped up snow on the edge had to self-arrest after catching an edge and falling.

I've skied Moe's in 10 inches of fresh powder. Certainly a different experience.

In short, "steep" is a relative description and depends on many factors besides pitch. What I've enjoyed about becoming a better skier who can handle steeper terrain is that the snow is typically better and there isn't a crowd around who need to be avoided.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

I was surprised that the JH Hobacks were 40 degrees.... Must only be in certain spots, it didn't feel that steep after the initial drop in at the top of Middle Hoback.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

In fact, Saratoga bowl felt way steeper.

 

[emmthorpedo]

30 is my max as an advanced beginner. I will work up from there. I wouldn’t say I’m a wet blanket or that risk averse either.

 

[tinymoose]

30 is my max as an advanced beginner. I will work up from there. I wouldn’t say I’m a wet blanket or that risk averse either.

This is really great for an advanced beginner. I was gonna say as a low advanced skier I'm probably comfortable up to 30 or so and anything over low to mid-30s is iffy. I can ski up to low 40s but it's not pretty at that pitch.

 

[emmthorpedo]

Y

This is really great for an advanced beginner. I was gonna say as a low advanced skier I'm probably comfortable up to 30 or so and anything over low to mid-30s is iffy. I can ski up to low 40s but it's not pretty at that pitch.

I only did that once and I didn’t really feel all that comfortable yet. It was dry powdery snow which helped. I’m trying to push myself as much as possible. Above 40 would freak me out - well done

 

[Skisailor]

Just wondering about the numbers. 30 degrees is definitely black terrain. Anything above that starts to approach double black depending on some other factors. I know that as an advanced beginner there was no way I could ski anything even close to 30 degrees. There's always that degrees vs. percent thing too . .. . confusing.

Most blue runs are in the teens and low twenties.

Here is an excerpt from a SkiBum article:

"The angle of the slope, expressed in degrees, is probably the best method for a moderately educated person. Most of us know that if a cliff goes straight up, it’s a 90° angle. That’s too steep to ski. Cut that down quite a bit, say, to the angle of a modern staircase, which is about 38°. Still too steep for most people to ski. If you cut even that in half — less than 20° — you’d say that’s a very low angle staircase. But put on a pair of skis, and even most advanced skiers will pause at the top of a 19° slope to pick their route."

 

[Skisailor]

Meant to add - the Big Couloir at Big Sky ranges from about 42 to a short stretch at 50 - and it's a pretty terrifying pitch, IMO. Other double blacks off the peak at Big Sky are in the 35-42 range.

 

[tinymoose]

Meant to add - the Big Couloir at Big Sky ranges from about 42 to a short stretch at 50 - and it's a pretty terrifying pitch, IMO. Other double blacks off the peak at Big Sky are in the 35-42 range.

I could side slip the Big Couloir like a champ.

 

[tinymoose]

Y



I only did that once and I didn’t really feel all that comfortable yet. It was dry powdery snow which helped. I’m trying to push myself as much as possible. Above 40 would freak me out - well done

Well, I'd also wager I've been skiing a fair bit longer than you. So less well done and more lessons and miles. You're doing great!

 

[tinymoose]

@Skisailor ... I found this interesting... " you’d say that’s a very low angle staircase. But put on a pair of skis, and even most advanced skiers will pause at the top of a 19° slope to pick their route."

I really doubt most advanced skiers would pause at 19 degrees. I'm assuming they're treating "advanced" differently than we would here. Advanced recreational/occasional/intermediate skiers?

 

[Skisailor]

Here's the view from the top of the bottom half - after the scariest part. Maybe 42 here??

 

[Skisailor]

@Skisailor ... I found this interesting... " you’d say that’s a very low angle staircase. But put on a pair of skis, and even most advanced skiers will pause at the top of a 19° slope to pick their route."

I really doubt most advanced skiers would pause at 19 degrees. I'm assuming they're treating "advanced" differently than we would here. Advanced recreational/occasional/intermediate skiers?

Yeah - that sounds like a stretch to me too. Doubt it would require a pause for advanced skiers. But I also think that 19 degrees is steeper than we realize.

 

[tinymoose]

Yeah - that sounds like a stretch to me too. Doubt it would require a pause for advanced skiers. But I also think that 19 degrees is steeper than we realize.

I mean, I'm a low advanced, I'd never call myself advanced and I wouldn't blink twice at 19 degrees.

 

[Skisailor]

Well . . I think you're an advanced skier!!!

 

[CarverJill]

It seems my ski tracks isn't very accurate at measuring the degrees of the slope. I went down a bunch of the ones mentioned by @WaterGirl on page 2 at Diva West last year and have didn't register anything steeper than 39 degrees. I also got a 39 degrees at Crested Butte and did get a 48 degree measurement from Mammoth March 2017 but can't remember that day as anything significant skiing-wise. I'm not sure slope angle measurements are all that accurate.

 

[emmthorpedo]

Just wondering about the numbers. 30 degrees is definitely black terrain. Anything above that starts to approach double black depending on some other factors. I know that as an advanced beginner there was no way I could ski anything even close to 30 degrees. There's always that degrees vs. percent thing too . .. . confusing.

Most blue runs are in the teens and low twenties.

Here is an excerpt from a SkiBum article:

"The angle of the slope, expressed in degrees, is probably the best method for a moderately educated person. Most of us know that if a cliff goes straight up, it’s a 90° angle. That’s too steep to ski. Cut that down quite a bit, say, to the angle of a modern staircase, which is about 38°. Still too steep for most people to ski. If you cut even that in half — less than 20° — you’d say that’s a very low angle staircase. But put on a pair of skis, and even most advanced skiers will pause at the top of a 19° slope to pick their route."

Thats helpful. My degrees and %s may be mixed up. I have never ski'd black terrain so any beginners out there please ignore what ive just said. My bad

 

[Jenny]

View attachment 10225
Here's the view from the top of the bottom half - after the scariest part. Maybe 42 here??

AFTER the scariest part, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!