Recommended Wasatch Scrambles

[jared_j]

I'm passing through UT in a couple of days and my schedule would allow a day trip in the Wasatch. I've read up on Timpanogos but looks long and not very interesting. I've had a hard time separating the wheat from the chaff over on SP. Anyone care to share their favorites? Thanks. Alternately, if there's some sorta 14ers.com-style resource for info on the Wasatch lemme know.

[Nelson]

Mt. Superior, across from Snowbird is a short fun class three scramble (2500 vert). Devil's Castle at Alta is a harder (class4/low class 5). These start at upper little Cottonwood.

From the S turn in Big Cottonwood you can go up Broad Fork and do the Salt Lake Twins, O Sullivan , or Dromedary. These are class three, maybe some class 4 moves. Any one of them is a 5000 ft. Day . If you do them all it is 6000+ and a very long day.

There is a guide book ( I'm not in Utah now so I don't have the name). The route descriptions are rather vague. I am not aware of a 14ers.com type website.

There is still snow on all North Facing aspects and I would take spikes and an ax for everything but Superior. I did it last week and no equipment was necessary unless you would want to go over to Monte Cristo.

Nelson

[Exiled Michigander]

If you're looking for something snow-free, I just hiked 9,000 ft. Mt. Olympus this morning. Great little hike with excellent views and a real quad burner: ~4,000 ft. of vert. in about 3.75 miles, and some fun scrambling near the top. Roundtrip distance is about 7.5 miles. I really enjoyed it, and despite its lower elevation it was quite a workout. TH is on Wasatch Blvd., about a 15-20 minute drive from downtown SLC. If you like solitude, start early. I started hiking at 4 a.m. and didn't see a soul until I was over half-way down, but then there was a caravan of folks heading up. Popular hike.

If you'll be in SLC on a weekend and want company for this or another hike, PM me and I'll see if I can make it work.

[Scott P]

I've read up on Timpanogos but looks long and not very interesting.

Actually Timpanogos is one of the most spectacular mountains in the US Rocky Mountains, so it would be a shame to miss it. This time of year even the standard route will be fairly challenging since you are on snow. From my cousins recent trip report, it looks like the snowline is around 8000-9000 feet?

If you are really good with an ice axe you can climb the Razorback Ridge (on Timpanogos), but it's not a beginner climb at this time of year. This time of year, it would be a little more difficult than say Capitol Peak (which I noticed that you were recently looking into), but maybe a little more scary because of the traverse across the Razorback Terrace.

Broads Fork Twin Peaks, Dromedary Peak, Sunrise (O'Sullivan) Peak, and Pfeifferhorn are all classic scrambles.

[Gahugafuga]

The Wasatch doesn't really have the kind of long, sustained scrambling that CO has. For example, Lone Peak is typically regarded as the most difficult Wasatch 11er, yet I only recall needing to make one or two scrambling moves, and not very interesting ones at that. That said, Lone Peak has arguably the most beautiful alpine cirque in the Wasatch, so it's a worthwhile climb for that reason alone. I tended to chase solitude on obscure peaks - Unnamed 10292 lets you explore 3 beautiful canyons, I once found a huge rattlesnake on the summit of Unnamed 9773, Lookout and Big Mountain are usually covered in horned toads at this time of year.

[Scott P]

The Wasatch doesn't really have the kind of long, sustained scrambling that CO has.

I would have to disagree (I've climbed almost every peak in the Wasatch and done most of the ridge traverses there as well, plus have climbed 600+ mountains in Colorado including many ridge traverses).

Wildcat Ridge (Mount Olympus to Mount Raymond), for example, is a sustained 12-16 hour scramble, much of it 4th class. Cottonwood Ridge (Mount Superior to Broads Fork Twin Peaks) is similar in length and difficulty, but more alpine. Those are as long and sustained as anything in Colorado that I can think of (the Cottonwood Ridge is definitely longer and more sustained than any of the 4 great 14er traverses, for example). Cottonwood Ridge, for example, is similar in both difficulty and scenery to the Wilson-El Diente Traverse, but is longer and more sustained, and the rock is generally more solid (though there is still loose rock on the route).

Pfeifferhorn to Thunder Mountain/Bells Canyon ("The Beatout") is also a long scramble, but only 3rd class unless you continue to Lone Peak, in which case it is low 5th class. The Coxcomb Ridge, Provo Canyon to Timp is also sustained class 3-4 and gains 7000+ feet elevation.

The mentioned Razorback Ridge is also a good scramble, but isn't as sustained as the above. Difficulty wise, it's not much harder or longer than the scrambling on Capitol, but it is more risky than Capitol when covered in snow.

The Lisa Falls direct on Broads Fork Twins is 4900 feet elevation gain of sustained class 3 with moves 5.7. I don't know of any sustained scrambles (other than ridge traverses) with that much gain in Colorado. The Tetons are the closest range I know of that exceeds this.

Anyway, here are the links to the routes mentioned above.

Cottonwood Ridge, Class 4, 7450 feet elevation gain, 11.6 miles:

http://www.summitpost.org/cottonwood-ri ... rse/162322" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wildcat Ridge, Class 4, 7600 feet elevation gain, 11.5 miles:

http://www.summitpost.org/wildcat-ridge/165266" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Beatout, class 3, 4850 feet elevation gain (7400 feet loss), 12.6 miles

http://www.summitpost.org/beatout-pfeif ... yon/163416" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Lisa Falls Direct, class 3-5.7, 4900 feet elevation gain, 2.08 miles

http://www.summitpost.org/lisa-falls-direct/160008" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Razorback Ridge:

http://www.summitpost.org/razorback-rid ... mit/164974" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Coxcomb Ridge is not on SP yet.

All the above routes are enjoyable scrambles, but the Wildcat Ridge is less alpine than the others.

[rockyalps]

I'd agree that while no standard route on a single peak in the Wasatch has as much sustained scrambling as what you'd get on many of the more difficult Colorado 14ers, there are some great ridge scrambles combining multiple peaks in the Wasatch that will give you all the scrambling you can handle, rivaling most anything you'd see in Colorado besides maybe along the main spine of the Gore range. All of the scrambles Scott listed above are awesome (the Cottonwood Ridge in particular, is a beast, so I'll likely just try the Triple Traverse section of it later this summer), and another one I'd recommend is the Bullion Divide. We took the Snowbird tram up and just did the peaks that require scrambling (AF Twins, Red Baldy, & White Baldy), but starting at scenic Albion Basin you can bag a couple more 11ers on the way as well (Sugarloaf & Baldy):

http://www.summitpost.org/good-as-gold- ... ide/871906" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you're an animal like Kilian Jornet then you could try the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup (WURL), which includes doing the Cottonwood Ridge, Bullion Divide, and Beatout all at once in one giant ridge traverse around Little Cottonwood Canyon (not recommended for mere mortals like myself, though).

It's completely subjective, but I came up with a list of the "7 best peak scrambles" close to SLC for a lot of the peaks already mentioned here (if you only care to get to the top of a single peak), with stats for mileage, elevation gain, etc:

http://www.summitpost.org/salt-lake-cit ... hub/867646" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For an easy but fun lesser-known scramble check out Sundial Peak (passes by Lake Blanche, one of the prettiest lakes in the Wasatch):

http://www.summitpost.org/secluded-scra ... dge/735201" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[antonkrupicka]

The Wasatch has some great scrambling! I have no idea what snow conditions are like there, but the Broad Forks Twins via Staircase Gulch (out of Big Cottonwood Canyon) is a fun one with close to a vertical mile I think?

Other two that I can personally recommend are the south ridge of Superior up near Alta (http://www.mountainproject.com/v/south-ridge/105984407" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and the West Slabs of Olympus (http://www.mountainproject.com/v/the-we ... /105740522" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

For Olympus I like to continue on up the ridge to the north summit of Olympus (Class 3?) traverse over to south summit (this is the one that the standard trail goes to) via a somewhat tricky downclimb (probably 5th class, but only a couple moves) and then run the trail back down to Wasatch Blvd (I usually park at the middle school at the junction of Oakview and Wasatch Blvd; there is a sneaky use trail from the Olympus TH back over to the middle school that lets you skip a lot of the Blvd if you're doing the whole loop).

I've also had recommendations of the Pfiefferhorn and Dromedary, but don't have any personal experience with them.

[The Android]

A few scrambles that I have done:

S. Ridge of Superior -- Several thousand vert of sustained scrambling at 4th class or maybe low 5th? Plenty of exposure as well. Last I was up at Snowbird (June 1) it looked pretty dry.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/south-ridge/105984407" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Broads Twins -- N Ridge Variation to standard route down. This can be a pretty long day. Would probably be snow up to the ridge as well as on the standard route. 3rd with possibly a 4th class move or two?
http://www.willhiteweb.com/wasatch/broa ... ry_195.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pfiefferhorn -- A classic. Might still have some snow? Class 3. If the peak alone isn't enough, add in the beatout (as previously mentioned by others).

[Scott P]

but the Broad Forks Twins via Staircase Gulch (out of Big Cottonwood Canyon) is a fun one with close to a vertical mile I think?

Yes, that's a great one. 5500 feet of elevation gain in only 2.7 miles and almost all sustained class 3-4.

http://www.summitpost.org/stairs-gulch/165484" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The only problem with that one is that you should hit it before the snow melts out in Stairs Gulch. It may be too late in the season? The route is excellent on snow, but once the snow melts, it's loose with much scree. Early to mid-June is usually good, but in fairly light snow years it may be somewhat melted out by now(?).

Tanners Gulch and the Triple Traverse is a similar route, but it may be getting a bit late in the season as well(?).

[jared_j]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately, my window was today but weather was crap. I'll keep these in mind if I get back to the area anytime soon. Driving cross country for a move doesn't give me tons of flexibility to wait a day or two with my wife and daughter waiting on the other side for me.