It snowed the night before I climbed this one, making it my first summit of the 2011/2012 winter season.
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Earlier in the week I climbed my 50th mountain (Mt. Wire). Although it was cold, there wasn’t any snow on the trail or on top. It snowed several inches on Friday night and I was itching to get away from my computer, so I decided to go up a slightly higher peak called Little Black Mountain.
There are a few nice things about this mountain:
- There’s very little avalanche danger on the route.
- It’s tall enough and the trail is long enough that it’s a solid workout.
- The trailhead is half a mile from where I live.
- There’s some interesting and exposed 3rd/4th class scrambling along the ridge right before the top, making the ascent more involved and interesting (especially in winter).
Here are some stats from the hike:
- Summit elevation: 8,040 feet
- Trail length: 9 miles round trip
- Elevation gain: 3,100 feet
- Time to top: 2 hrs 30 min
- Round trip time: 4 hrs 20 min
Pics [as always, click on one for the larger version]
Map showing location of the mountain. The route goes up the ridge coming down to the west from the summit.
Little Black Mountain on right. Grandview Peak (which is on the list) is the snowy white one to the left.
Looking south to Mt. Olympus and the high peaks of the central Wasatch.
Downtown Salt Lake
The beginning of the steeper slope.
Looking down from partway up the mountain. That's City Creek Canyon in the background.
Awesome layers of clouds (and smog...).
Looking back along the summit ridge from near the summit.
Looking west toward the Great Salt Lake.
Grandview Peak. This one requires a long approach in the winter, but I'll do it sometime this season.
View of Salt Lake Valley from the summit.