Which trail is the steepest?

[klop]

I'm curious to know which Sugarbush trail has the steepest pitch top to bottom? My sense is that it's Black Diamond - the pitch should be the same as FIS but it sure seems steeper. I'm sure there are sections on trails such as CR liftline and Ripcord that are steeper as well, but I'm interested in the entire trail.

[HowieT2]

I'm curious to know which Sugarbush trail has the steepest pitch top to bottom? My sense is that it's Black Diamond - the pitch should be the same as FIS but it sure seems steeper. I'm sure there are sections on trails such as CR liftline and Ripcord that are steeper as well, but I'm interested in the entire trail.

This may help.

http://3dskimaps.com/

[shadyjay]

I'd have to say FIS... doesn't look like the pitch every loosens up on that run. Ripcord is steep, same with Organgrinder, but mixed in with less steep sections. So for consistancy top-to-bottom, I'll gather its FIS.

[summitchallenger]

FIS and Black Diamond.

[flakeydog]

I vote Black Diamond. No run in, no runout, steep from top to bottom. That part of the mountain is steeper on the left side (looking up) and FIS tends to be steeper on that side as well. FIS can be hard to judge because it can depend a lot on where and how the snowguns pile up the snow. The rest of the mountain (north and south) the steepness is in naturally occuring bands, think Tumbler or Inverness or even Sleeper.

[noski]

lol- this noski discovered Inverness is alot steeper than it looks from the bottom. Scared myself silly, but dammit, I made it down in one piece.

[Tin Woodsman]

lol- this noski discovered Inverness is alot steeper than it looks from the bottom. Scared myself silly, but dammit, I made it down in one piece.

Might have to change your screen name to "Sometimes Ski".

I always thought they look steeper when trying to hike up in the summer.

[Lostone]

If you can do Inverness, you can do a lot! Should have tried Walt's Trail, off the same lift. It is a green dot, and a really pretty trail. I prefer it greatly, myself.

[shadyjay]

If you can do Inverness, you can do a lot! Should have tried Walt's Trail, off the same lift. It is a green dot, and a really pretty trail. I prefer it greatly, myself.

Try a nicely groomed Ripcord!

[noski]

Did I forget to mention it took me 40 minutes to descend? noski=slowski. One time as a joke, I put an orange triangle on my back- the kind ag equipment uses when they go on the open road... Doug Lewis will attest to this.

[Lostone]

Takes a long time to try to convince yourself to make that turn, then sidestep down, at the side of the trail.

That's why it is so much easier to get comfortable on the green trails, and easier blues.

[Jacksun]

Call me crazy, but shouldn't Stein's be mentioned in this thread? Consistently steep top to bottom, with no breaks. Skiing it nonstop is an accomplishment and a real thigh burner!

[barkbiter]

It's a discussion of the steepest run, not why you like to ski the greens and easier blues. Please post on the correct thread. Lostone is really lost. Is there a bowling alley nearby ? Oh but then your SchoolMarm rules won't like the lane because it is too fast. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Hardbooter]

We covered this topic a few years ago at our ski house. It was fairly definitively solved when the patroller in the house got the specs (rise/run etc) from the mountain for the various trails. The steepest trail from beginning to end is Black Diamond at north. He had a nice chart of the various contenders. I'll try and remember to get that and maybe scan it. Some trails that people think of as steep (like lift line) have a few sections with pitch but lose the contest because of long run-outs.

I prefer not to measure resorts by steepness since there are plenty of blues out west with long sections that are steeper than anything sugarbush could hope for. In general sugarbush (and all eastern resorts) are pretty flat and get there black-diamondness from narrow trails, rocks, trees and sketchy snow conditions. Also, if someone hasn't mentioned it before, the green/blue/black designations for trails only rank trail difficulty within the mountain, not from ski area to ski area.