Scrambling Fun!

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My wife and I parked next to the “Our Lady of the Snows” church and hit the trail at about 8:30am. Study a map prior to heading out on this one; I was surprised to not see one sign the entire trip. What a beautiful day, hardly a cloud in the sky. This route over Cardiff Pass has a lot of sun exposure the entire route. Luckily we loaded up on sun block prior to heading out this fine day. With such a short rout and significant elevation gain the trail starts a descent climb right off the bat and continues the climb all the way to Cardiff Pass. Once at the pass, you get treated to some fairly level trail for a bit. Then the falling exposure presents itself and doesn’t really go away the rest of the rout to the summit. As I read on a previous trip report, this hike will in my mind make or break your fear of heights. After a somewhat gradual climb and some time to adjust to the exposure, you encounter some loose rock.

















Then the class 3 starts, you are treated to an enjoyable scramble pretty much the rest of the way to the summit. The whole way you are reminded of the falling exposure as you step and grab on loose rock big and small with the beautiful but steep terrain below. This isn’t a big deal as long as you pay attention to what you’re grabbing and stepping on. Also pay extra attention to the route you use to get up; there are several misleading trails that branch off (see the attached gpx file).




















Once on top the views are great in all directions!

We were disappointed to see the local weather forecast the previous night changed from full sun to possible thunderstorms. This is always a challenge while trying to summit peaks. With a combination of the forecast and quickly building dark cumulus clouds, we opted to settle for just Superior this day and skip Monte Cristo. We’ll definitely hit Cristo the next time we visit this scenic summit.




















I would recommend this summit to anyone who likes scrambling. I would compare the scrambling skill level to that of Mount Raymond or Mount Olympus, the scrambling section here just lasts longer and has a little more exposure (sun & falling). I kept talking myself out of doing this one all summer, I’m glad we finally did it. I logged 2.30 miles with about 2700’ of elevation gain one way to the summit. About 3000’ elevation gain after some route finding on the way down when it was all said and done (up’s and downs). My wife and I both had a really enjoyable time on this Wasatch scrambling classic!

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