Trail Steepness Stats Wanted

[nrthest]

I can't seem to find good stats on trail steepness at different places.

ie - most of the the time you don't get precise enough info on both vdrop and distance per trail to even work out a back-of-the envelope estimate, and even that could be pretty misleading depending on the lenths of steep and flatness in a given run.

ie - the trails at okemo seemed pretty non-steep. Decent vertical, but over a lot of distance. Seemed more like blue squares than black diamonds. But it seems that there is not a really ~good way to know that w/o going..

There was a ~'steepest'/nastiest thread running a while back, and some runs w/credible steep that I know of, but don't have #'s for:
jericho at jimpeak
outerlimits at kton
riptide/ripchord? at mt snow

Any good sites out there with #'s, or anyone on this site w/such #'s?..

 

[SAB]

A few words of warning when figuring "pitch" of ski trails.

First of all, average pitch over the entire length of the trail often doesn't have much to do with finding really steep sections to ski. Since trails generally start and end in about the same place, often there will be a trail with a consistent pitch located near a trail that has a really steep section, followed by a long, somewhat flat run out. The trail length and vertical drop are about the same, but the trails definately are not. As an example, Lower Cloudspin at Whiteface drops 325 vert ft. in 2100 ft. length - for an average of 9 degrees. However, there is a short section of this trail (probably 200 ft) which the locals call Victoria Falls which is about 32 degrees.

Second - make sure you distinuish between pitch (in percentage terms) and degrees. This can make a big difference. A 45 degree slope is a 100 percent pitch. So when you look at White Heat at Sunday River (advertised as the steepest sustained slope around) at a 70 percent pitch - It really is only about a 35 degree angle.

Finally, don't believe ski area hype. White Heat is advertised as a 70 percent pitch (or a 35 degree trail) and the steepest sustained trail in the East. I have skiied White heat and although it is fairly steep, I think 70 percent is quite a stretch - as is the steepest trail in the east claim.

Also, remember, many of the trails listed in that 'Nastiest' thread a while ago (like the tramline at Cannon) are nasty not because of the steepness, but because of the steepness along with the objective hazards (i.e., narrowness, boulders, moguls, always icy, etc.)

Your best bet is to go to topozone.com and find a map of the area you want, then dig out a ruler and calculator and start figuring. I did alot of this a few years ago when I took an avalanche course. A big factor for avalanches is steepness of slope. They taught us how to calculate this in the field, so to practice I would calculate it on a run, then go home and check how close I really was. The bottom line - despite what the ski areas claim, very few slopes at ski areas are over 35 degrees.

I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I hope it helps a little.

SAB