Mt. Superior is an amazing peak in Little Cottonwood Canyon across from the ski resorts of Alta and Snowbird. The summit sits at 11,045 feet above sea level.
The trip to the summit of Mt. Superior from the trailhead in Little Cottonwood Canyon isn’t that far, but it gains a lot of vertical and has some terrific scrambling along the way. Depending on the route, out and back is around 5.5 miles with a cumulative vertical gain of around 2,600 feet.
So what was my hike like? I went up Superior with a girl I had met on a previous hike who knew a guy who had summited several times. He agreed to show us the route. This was a peak I would not have done solo my first time and I was grateful to have Randy as a guide.
The hike started up the Michigan Road by Out Lady of the Snow Center. This road was once used to get to many mines in the area tht were active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It went up around 1.25 miles to Cardiff Pass with a vertical gain of almost 1400 feet. That was a really good warm-up for what was to come!
The view on the way was is spectacular. We started at 6:30 am and watched the sun start to kiss the peaks above Alta and Snowbird as we got higher. Looking down at the valley floor was stunning, but it was about to become even more amazing.
After taking a quick break at Cardiff pass we went up the short, but steep, distance to 10,277 foot Cardiff Peak. From here to the summit of Mt. Superior was just another mile, but it was about to get challenging. The hike took is lower to a saddle and the climb to the peak started.
The first half mile was on the southern slope of a ridge along an actual trail with quite a bit of loose dirt and rock. When the actual scrambling started there really wasn’t a trail. We had options – take the top of the ridge, go a little below the ridge, or a little of both. We did a little of both!
I got some pretty good photos and video along the way, but much of this last half mile required too much concentration with careful foot and hand placement to mess with a camera.
When Randy, Belle and I reached the summit we were ready for a break. It was time to relax, refuel with some food and drink and take in the unbelievable views! On one side we were looking down 2500 feet down to the valley floor and across to Alta and Snowbird. To the west we stared at some amazing ridges and the peaks Monte Cristo and Dromedary. To the north we looked down at Sundial Peak above Lake Blanche, which was hidden below, and across to Mt. Raymond and Gobblers Knob, both of which I have summited.
We lingered on the summit for around 20 minutes and then started the careful decent down the ridgeline. After getting off the ridge if was just another couple of miles back to our cars.
By the way, we saw maybe 25 or so people on the way up and back down Superior. I was very surprised, and kind of flattered, that 7 of them recognized this Old Hiking Dude from my social media posts. I found that pretty interesting because I just started posting on TikTok and Instagram less than 90 days ago!
The trip up Mt. Superior had a little of everything. It wasn’t long, but it was steep! I think the average slope from the trailhead to the summit was over 20%. It had some very challenging (for me) scrambling. It had the best views all along the way of any hike I have done since moving to Utah in 2022.
Now that I had done Superior, I want to hike the Pfeifferhorn next.
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