Superior Scramble

Over the weekend our friend Amiee, in her infinite wisdom, suggested that we climb the South Ridge of Mt Superior. Like the ski lines on Superior, this is an iconic scrambling route. Not extreme in terms of difficulty... but it is challenging, fun, and incredibly scenic. We felt bad having this much fun while Andrea was in the midst of 20 hours of travel on her way back from China, but justified it by saying this was a good way to learn the route and then take Andrea out for a climb before El Nino hits.

Superior's South Ridge is essentially a 3000 foot scramble from the road to summit, on somewhat exposed (at times) but stable rock. This is exactly the type of scrambling I love, so it was a blast. We hiked back down via the East Ridge and Cardiff Pass trail.

The fall colors are peaking in the Cottonwood Canyons right now. With the unusally warm temperatures, its a great time to be in the mountain and enjoy some bonus Indian Summer.

Here's the route: cut through the bushes, go up the white rock to the ridge, then stay on the ridge until you are on the summit!

And here's one shot I took at Empire Pass the day before...