Superior South Ridge

The South Ridge of Mount Superior is a jagged exposed line that is a the most direct route to the summit. It has a good mix of class 4/5 scrambling, exposure, and beautiful views. The last time I was up on the east ridge I decided it would be fun to shoot some photos of my friends on the south ridge from the east ridge. I immediately thought of my friend Brody Leven. He recently got back from an amazing trip to climb North America's highest peak, Denali, with a huge historic expedition. 

Parker and I had been talking about doing the ridge for a while so he made the list as well. We met up at the mouth of the canyon and spent the drive up prodding Brody for details on his trip. I dropped them off at the base of Superior and headed for the trail that would take me up the east ridge. I hurried up the route and got myself into position. It was nice to be up in the alpine with an excuse to sit for a decent amount of time. 

I snapped photos until they were out of sight, then I ended up following a hear of mountain goats around for an hour or so. They were surprisingly fine with me getting close. All in all I thought the evening was a success. 

Mount Superior

There is a long list of places in the mountains I have been in the winter, but have never thought to go in the summer. After work the other night I grabbed my camera, a water bottle, and some running shoes to go tag a familiar summit in an unfamiliar way.

It felt strange to hit the trail head with the hum of insects and an overgrowth of greenery. I made my way uphill passing memories of frigid winter mornings and deep powder days. The ridge to the summit isn't any less beautiful in the summer and I hope to tag more summits this way before the snow flies. I sat on the summit and thought back to the last time I was there. It doesn't take long for the world to change completely. I hope to make this a habit. 

Superior: Good morning, bad afternoon

I hopped out of my car at the base of Mount Superior a little after 6 a.m. to check the snow. I expected to feel a hard sun crust when I pushed my hand into the snow but found it to be soft. I couldn't believe it. We suited up and quickly started up the skin track toward Flagstaff. I continued to check the snow as we climbed higher thinking there would be a crust somewhere. The soft snow and stable conditions made us rethink our destination. Josh hadn't bagged Mount Superior yet so we set our sights on the summit.

We found a good rhythm and made Cardiff Pass before the sun was on it. I knew the day was going to warm up fast so we hurried up the ridge to avoid a warming snow pack. We hit the summit a little before 9 a.m., snapped a few photos, and dropped in. We passed up some better snow to hit the summit, but it was worth it. The line was tracked but we found some good turns amongst the tracks. 

Later that day a report came in that the same line had avalanched. The slide carried a skier roughly 1,700 feet. He suffered a dislocated shoulder, bumps and bruises, not to mention lost skis. The avalanche popped around noon. The daytime warming had created instability in the snow and the unlucky skier hit the trigger.

There is always the possibility of something going wrong when you are out in the mountains. The trick to spending time in them is minimizing your risks. I don't doubt that the party that was caught in the avalanche was experienced and that they followed protocol. The problem they encountered was failing to beat the fuse that the sun had lit as soon as it hit that south facing slope. I readily admit that I was lulled into a sense of security with the amount of tracks on the line we skied. The difference for us was that we were on the right side of the clock. The snow was stable and we rode it without incident.  Springtime in the Wasatch is a touchy time. Get up early and get off it early.

Superior and Monte Cristo

We crested Cardiff as the sun began to peak over the horizon. Hiking in the dark seems to pass more quickly than in the light of day. All you can focus on is the small bit of light your headlamp casts out in front of you and the squeak of the snow underfoot. The long ridge to the summit laid out before us.

Deep wind-drifted snow plagued our path as we kicked in a boot pack up the steeper sections. The clouds moved in and the light went flat. Time passed faster than we had anticipated but as we gained the summit of Superior the cloud cover cleared and we were rewarded with a cloudless ascent of the last little bit to Monte Cristo. Standing on the summit was pretty surreal, a lot different than I had anticipated.

The Heart of Darkness was our next objective so we harnessed up and traversed down the north ridge of Monte Cristo in amazing snow. I pulled out the rope and fixed it in the narrow hallway that we would descend. Sitting in the narrow slot canyon, with looming walls framing the snow covered peaks in the distance, was like a little bit of Zion National Park had found its way north.

After seeing the Wasatch from a new perspective we descended through Mill B South. A long slog out. I had to stay in ski mode with my splitboard because of how flat it was. Parker and I had a heck of a time with the brief downhill sections.

"I HATE SKIING!" Parker screamed, with added expletives, at one point after yet another fall. If it weren't for the awesome surroundings I think he may have completely blown a fuse.

Next time we won't go out that way...Not faster. Not at all. Hayden then hitchhiked down to his car and we drove back to Alta to get our vehicles. Waking up at 4 a.m. and getting home at 5:30 p.m. made the journey feel like multiple days. Can't wait for the next summit.

Still a ways to go.

Nothing beats a ridge line sunrise.

Parker getting close to the Summit

11,132 ft.

On the summit of Monte Cristo.

Into the Heart of Darkness