Mt. Superior & the line we skied on May 14th, 2020. image: snowbrains taken on April 3rd, 2020

Yesterday, May 14th 2020, Martin & I cruised up Mt. Superior and skied its legendary South Face.

Superior’s South Face is one of the “50 Classic Ski Descents of North America”.

“The South Face of Superior is the ultimate Wasatch gem, offering excellent skiing in an incredible location.”

– Andrew McLean in “The Chuting Gallery“

South Face – Mt. Superior, UT Details:

Summit: 11,040′
Vertical from car: 2,300′
Vertical skied: 2,500′
Pitch: 40º
Distance: 4.1-miles round trip (3.1 miles if you hitchhike or get ride from base of Superior)
Time from car to summit: 2 hrs 30 mins
Car to car time: 3 hrs 15 mins (includes 1-mile walk up road to car from base of Superior)

Martin on the ever-popular “catwalk”. image: snowbrains

This was my 4th time skiing Superior’s south face this season.

The last time I skied Superior’s South Face (Jan 30th, 2020) I was caught in a small but very scary avalanche.

Wasatch Mts, UT Backcountry Report: I Was Caught In An Avalanche on Mt. Superior Today

Yesterday’s weather was sunny at times and cloudy at times and cool with no wind.

Mt. Superior, UT - South Face - May 2020

We parked next to the Alta Lodge, skinned up to Cardiff Pass, and took the East Ridge to the summit.

From the car at the Alta Lodge, we skinned up to Superior’s eastern ridgeline at Cardiff Pass, and scrambled and boot packed our way up the ridge to the summit.

The east ridge was rockier than I’ve ever experienced it which made for very fun, somewhat spicy, super engaging rocky crag climbing in many spots along the knife’s edge of the ridge.

Martin on the top of Mt. Superior with Monte Cristo and SLC in the background. image: snowbrains

We had a blast climbing up and summited at about 1pm.

The clouds had taken away the blue sky at this point but visibility was still great.

The top section of the South Face of Superior held perfect corn.

From the top, we chose the skier’s left route and the skiing continued to be great.

The 2 long aprons of Superior’s South Face still held great corn (thanks to the cloud cover not letting the sun cook these zones into a sticky mess) but the sun cups were a challenge.

We arrived at the bottom elated.

Ryan charging up with spines all around near the summit. image: snowbrains

Due to social distancing, we didn’t hitchhike nor carpool back to our cars at the Alta Lodge but we did see the Sheriff giving two other guys a ride back up the hill on the tailgate of his pickup truck.

Too cool.

Alta is too cool.

If you’re thinking of skiing/riding Superior you’d better hit it soon – it’s melting fast and the exit between the 1st and 2nd apron is just about melted out.

2-days before skiing Superior we skied Mt. Timpanogos’ “Cold Fusion Couloir” and it was a hoot.