Interesting comparisons from
Gondyline:
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST. It's just a comparison of some popular trails that we're able to make pretty good measurements on. That's all it is.
Angle in Degrees of Select Ski Trail Sections
Minimum section length 2000'
Ski Area, Trail Name, Angle (Degrees), Length of Measurement, Vertical Drop of Measured Length, Notes
Arapahoe Basin, CO Pallavicini 32° 2152' 1113' virtually entire length
Taos, NM Al's Run 31.4° 2841' 1481' virtually entire length
Stowe, VT Lookout 29.6° 2148' 1062' entire upper section
Sugarloaf USA, ME Gondy Line 29.6° 2027' 1001' Snowfield & entire upper section
Killington, VT Outer Limits 29.5° 2241.5' 1105' virtually entire length
Sun Valley, ID Limelight 29.2° 2607' 1273' upper & middle section
Jay Peak, VT Can Am 25.7° 2006' 870' avg of upper & middle section
Plattekill, NY Freefall 21.7° 2144' 791' virtually entire length
Minimum section length 1000'
Ski Area, Trail Name, Angle (Degrees), Length of Measurement, Vertical Drop of Measured Length, Notes
Crested Butte, CO Banana Chute 39.5° 1723' 1096' avg overall; 1st 1k is 40.9°
Squaw Valley, CA KT-22 38.3° 1367' 847' 75 Chute
Alta, UT Alf's High Rustler 36.5° 1606' 955' top to cat track
Smugglers Notch, VT Black Hole 35° 1013' 586' virtually entire length
Cannon, NH DJ's Tramline 34.1° 1035' 581' below Middle Cannon
Hunter Mt, NY Westway 34° 1307' 738' 2/3 of length
Sun Valley, ID Exhibition 32.5° 1279' 688' from dogleg left turn to bottom
Whiteface, NY The Slides 32° 1441' 758' Slide 1
Killington, VT Double Dipper 31° 1207' 625' from drop off point to bottom
Snowbird, UT Mach Shnell 29° 1404' 671' from drop off point to bottom
Whiteface, NY Upper Northway 28° 1035' 483' main pitch
Sunday River, ME White Heat 27° 1635' 742' snowfield section
Jay Peak, VT Haynes 27° 1319' 602' upper section
Whiteface, NY Mountain Run 26° 1384' 620' the steep part
Whiteface, NY Upper Skyward 26° 1708' 737' Approx. 1/2 of trail
Beaver Creek, CO Ripsaw 26° 1169' 519' most of trail
Gore, NY The Rumor 25° 1335' 566' entire route
Beaver Creek, CO Birds of Prey 24.4° 1108' 458' Pete's Arena
Beaver Creek, CO Cataract 23.7° 1079' 434' most of trail
Snowshoe, WV Shay's Revenge 23° 1172' 455' headwall
Copper, CO Sawtooth 22.5° 1535' 588' lower half
Beaver Creek, CO Birds of Prey 20.4° 1213' 423' Golden Eagle & Abyss
Sundown, CT Gunbarrel 19° 1014' 332' upper 3/4 of trail
Seven Springs, PA Avalanche 18.8° 1098' 353' most of trail
Minimum section length 500'
Ski Area Trail Name Angle(Degrees) Length of Measurement, Vertical Drop of Measured Length Notes
Squaw Valley, CA KT-22 43° 790' 540' Johnny Moseley's Run
Squaw Valley, CA KT-22 42° 709' 475' GS Bowl
Arapahoe Basin, CO Pallavicini 40° 706' 453' Pally Face
Stowe, VT Upper Starr 38.7° 512' 320' headwall from top
Alta, UT Alf's High Rustler 38° 795' 491' Upper half
Jay Peak, VT Can Am 32° 740' 390' top section only
Cannon, NH Avalanche 31° 545' 281' Banshee Cut to Banshee section
Sugarloaf USA, ME Gondy Line Extension 31° 537' 275' snowfield section
Breckenridge, CO Mach One 30.8° 686' 351' from drop approx 150' down trail
Whiteface, NY Upper Skyward 30° 806' 406' topmost section
Blue Knob, PA Extrovert 29.9° 909' 453' top to dogleg right
Mountain Creek, NJ Pipeline 28.6° 607' 291' headwall to old Fitz' Folly trail
Vail, CO Riva Ridge 28.4° 517' 246' Tourist Trap headwall
Gore, NY The Rumor 28° 615' 284' top half
Whiteface, NY Cloudspin 26° 933' 414' from a bit below the top
Beaver Creek, CO Birds of Prey 26° 866' 383' The Flyway
Wengen, SWITZ Lauberhorn 22.6° 828' 318' Hanneggschuss
Seven Springs, PA Goosebumps 20.7° 634' 224' most of slope
Massanutten, VA Mak Attack 19.4° 628' 209' drop off to Showtime connection
Minimum section length 300'
Ski Area, Trail Name, Angle (Degrees), Length of Measurement, Vertical Drop of Measured Length, Notes
Jackson Hole, WY Corbet's Couloir 53° 350' 280' average of drop + chute
Jay Peak, VT Green Beret 38° 361' 223' headwall
Jay Peak, VT Face Chutes 37° 352' 212' with trees
Arapahoe Basin, CO Pallavicini 36° 465' 275' Pally Main Street
Jay Peak, VT Tuckerman's Chute 36° 400' 240' with trees
Mount Snow, VT Ripcord 35° 437' 235' headwall only
Montage, PA White Lightning 32° 400' 213' headwall only
Belleayre, NY Upper Yahoo 30° 300' 151' headwall only
Attitash, NH Middle Ptarmigan 26° 332' 145' section between cross trails
Blue Knob, PA Stembogen Bowl 22.7° 329' 127' skier's left into funnel
Seven Springs, PA North Face Slope 18° 327' 100' headwall
So what can we conclude from this? Would the 31° of Al's Run on Taos powder be more or less challenging than the 29° on Killington concrete? Would 100 yards of 53° packed powder on Corbet's Couloir be hairier than 100 yards of 35° blue ice on Ripcord? This table, as it continues to grow, is neither intended nor qualified to be the final arbiter in a discussion of trail difficulty...it is merely an additional point of reference.
While individual steep sections give the above trails their notoriety, there are other trails that are better known for the overall experience. These are the grand courses of downhill skiing: Trails or routes over one mile in length, universally known by name. Some are steep in sections; a few of those sections are listed above. With these trails it is more important to consider the length and vertical drop of the overall run. The slope angles may not appear impressive, but remember this is the average of the entire course -- in some spots it can be twice the number shown.
Average Angle in Degrees of Entire Courses
Minimum Length One Mile
Ski Area, Course Average Angle (Degrees), Length of Measurement, Vertical Drop of Measured Length, Notes
Aspen, CO Ruthie's Run 14.3° 5507' 1366' length of lift
Beaver Creek, CO Birds of Prey 16.8° 8606' 2484' regular mens downhill
Beaver Creek, CO Birds of Prey 18.4° 7002' 2215' mens downhill weather start
Beaver Creek, CO Birds of Prey 19° 6165' 2005' mens super G
Timberline Lodge, OR Palmer Snowfield 16.4° 5295' 1497' summer public lane
Wengen, SWITZ Lauberhorn 13.3° 14,698' 3373' regular mens downhill