Vail

3,502 feet of lift-served vertical, from a base of 8,047 ft to a summit of 11,549 ft. Measured from the lowest and highest lift terminal on this mountain — not a box around a map pin — and cut into 8 five-hundred-foot bands.

3,502

ft vertical

8,047

ft base

11,549

ft summit

uphill lifts

8,592

footprint acres

3D terrain render of Vail with the
current HRRR snowfall forecast painted on the mountain — The mountain as measured: USGS 3DEP terrain under USGS orthoimagery, rendered from the slope's own mean aspect, with the HRRR forecast painted by elevation band and the snow line drawn on the terrain. Updated each forecast cycle.

The column

8 bands · base to summit

8,000–8,500259 ac · 17.6° · S253 mm

8,500–9,000458 ac · 18.7° · S261 mm

9,000–9,500777 ac · 19.7° · SSW354 mm

9,500–10,0001,472 ac · 20.5° · SSW535 mm

10,000–10,5002,294 ac · 19.6° · SW537 mm

10,500–11,0002,388 ac · 18.4° · SW535 mm

11,000–11,500938 ac · 17.6° · W514 mm

11,500–12,0006 ac · 13.1° · W517 mm

under 15° easier 15–25° more difficult 25–33° most difficult over 33° expert bar length = acres · fill = elevation

Bands: 8
All lifts: 33
Lift length: 40.3 km
Steepest band: 20.5°
Operator: Vail Resorts
Coordinates: 39.6105, -106.3576

Band by band

slope, aspect and winter normal

Band (ft)	Acres	Slope°	Rating	Aspect	Deg	NDJFM mm
8,000–8,500	259	17.6	more difficult	S	187	253
8,500–9,000	458	18.7	more difficult	S	186	261
9,000–9,500	777	19.7	more difficult	SSW	194	354
9,500–10,000	1,472	20.5	more difficult	SSW	199	535
10,000–10,500	2,294	19.6	more difficult	SW	236	537
10,500–11,000	2,388	18.4	more difficult	SW	230	535
11,000–11,500	938	17.6	more difficult	W	267	514
11,500–12,000	6	13.1	easier	W	265	517

Slope and aspect are the Horn 3×3 method on a ~13 m DEM. A band's aspect is the direction of the mean unit vector, not the mean of the angles. NDJFM mm is the PRISM 1991–2020 November–March precipitation normal at that height — liquid equivalent, not snow depth.

How this mountain gets scored

the verification station

Vail Mountain SNOTEL (842:CO:SNTL) is 2.1 km away at 10,290 ft — 1,259 ft below this summit. It reports hourly precipitation, snow water equivalent and temperature at a surveyed elevation, which is the only truth at height that does not have to be interpolated first. Forecasts for this mountain will be scored there, and the score published whether or not it flatters.

Nearby

Beaver Creek 15 km Copper Mountain 22 km Breckenridge 29 km Ski Cooper 29 km Keystone 36 km Loveland Basin Ski Area 39 km

Fly this mountain in 3D → · ← All 33 ski areas in Colorado · How these numbers are measured

Vail

The column

Band by band

How this mountain gets scored

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