Trip Report: Mt. Superior

By benwhiteskis on July 06, 2023
2 min read

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By Ben White The weather looked good, the avalanche conditions looked good, and the snow looked good. It was a recipe for a great day in the mountains, so we decided that skiing Superior was going to be great. From the previous days, there were a few sets of tracks down it which was inspiring, as we weren’t sure if there was quite enough snow to cover up all the rocks, but the turns made prior looked fluid enough to suggest that there was plenty of the white stuff. I gathered a gang of three other guys, Riley, Jackson and Justin, who were in on the plan. We decided that an early start would be best, as it would be warm and the snow would get sticky later in the day. At 5:30 in the morning, we started up the skin track to Telephone Pole Pass, the same way that skiing under the Supermoon in June started. The January moon was a day past full and we kept our headlamps off for the most part while the moonlight bathed us in its soft rays. We quickly made it up to the ridge and saw the sun rise.

Seeing the moon  set just before the sun rise with the prize in view was nice

Seeing the moon set just before the sun rise with the prize in view was nice

Soft morning glow of the sun is nice

Soft morning glow of the sun is nice

The sun is coming up

The sun is coming up[/caption] After following the ridge a little ways and taking a slightly different and more difficult route than intended, a cool guy named Greg caught up with us. At this point, Riley and Jackson decided that skiing instead of rock scrambling would be more enjoyable. Justin, Greg and I continued up.

Riley on the Ridge

Riley on the Ridge

Riley and Jackson skiing down

Riley and Jackson skiing down

Greg and Justin on the ridge with the summit in sight

Greg and Justin on the ridge with the summit in sight[/caption] We summited shortly after Riley and Jackson split and our descent looked great. The snow was soft and hadn’t really started to melt and we enjoyed great powder turns. Riley and Jackson were waiting for us at the car and we finished the day with a couple laps at Snowbird. The day couldn’t have been more straightforward.

Justin snapped this of me on the summit

Justin snapped this of me on the summit

Looking down the line, we are stoked

Looking down the line, we are stoked

Justing enjoying some prime snow up high

Justing enjoying some prime snow up high[/caption] The descent was great. The first part was a short chute that opened up and then went into another choke. After the choke, a wide apron begging to have jet-fighter turns laid out on it waited for us. Justin, Greg and I skied down to the upper parking lot at Snowbird where Riley and Jackson were waiting for us, and then we took a couple tram laps to finish out the morning. Mt. Superior is in the book 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America. With 3000 vertical feet of consistent skiing that starts out steepish and gets mellower towards the bottom without any benches or rests, it is certainly fun. Being the stage that Alta and Snowbird are the seating for, it gets looked at every day by all sorts of people, from locals who ski it before work some mornings to tourists from Texas who might not even consider hiking up a mountain to ski down. It’s not the burliest mountaineering objective, nor is it the hardest thing in the world to ski down, but it sure is beautiful and easy to look at. I’d definitely consider it a classic.

A nice view of our tracks afterwards

A nice view of our tracks afterwards

benwhiteskis
benwhiteskis

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