By: Jaromy Jessop

The Little Matterhorn or “Phifferhorn” up Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah is one of the most challenging and striking hikes I have ever done. I summited this peak on the 30th of July 2010 for the second time and it was the first time my wife had ever reached the summit. We made an attempt last August but were thwarted by Thunderstorms. The Phifferhorn is an 11,326 foot peak located on the crest of the Wasatch Range between 11,250 Lone Peak in the West and 11,321 foot White Baldy in the East. It’s northern face overlooks Hogum Fork and Maybird Gulch of Little Cottonwood Canyon. On the south it broods over Dry Fork Canyon and 11,101 foot Box Elder Peak. The easiest way to get to the summit and I use “Easy” lightly because it is anything but easy, is to follow Interstate 215 east to the 6200 south exit. Follow the signs to the ski resorts once you have exited the freeway and look for the “Little Cottonwood Canyon Road” which is Utah State Highway 210. Little Cottonwood canyon contains some of the most stunning mountain scenery in the State of Utah with white jagged granite peaks, coniferous forests, red rock ridges, alpine lakes and all kinds of beautiful wildflowers. The world class Snowbird and Alta Ski Resorts are also located in this canyon. The Canyon is a classic “U” shaped canyon. It gets its shape from being gouged out by enormous glaciers in the last ice age. This ice action created large glacial moraines, sharp peaks, cliffs and all around difficult terrain. The Wasatch Mountains are a rugged young range and they are what is called a “Fault Block” range. This means that the range is constantly getting higher because the Wasatch Fault on the west base of the range is continually pushing up. The mountains get roughly a centimeter higher each year. Geologically speaking that is quite fast. Once you are within the Canyon on UT HWY 210, follow it east for about 3 or 4 miles to the “White Pine” Trailhead. There is a nice parking lot here with clean restrooms. From this trailhead you can access alpine lakes in White Pine Fork, Red Pine Fork and Maybird Gulch of Little Cottonwood Canyon. For the Little Matterhorn, follow the trail past a good information board with a terrain map on it and then across a bridge over Little Cottonwood Creek. Continue west on the trail for a mile to where the Red Pine Trail splits off and heads west across the stream, around the arm of the mountain and then south up into beautiful Red Pine Fork. After several steep miles you will come to a trail junction. If you cross the stream here and head west you will be on the Maybird Gulch Trail. Instead, continue south past the foot of an old orange mine dump and up a steep slope for another mile to incredible Red Pine Lake. This large deep emerald lake is where we always like to stop for lunch and relax as there are excellent spots for doing just that on the south shore where there are large granite boulders in the pines at a point where the feeder stream flows into the lake. From this point you continue south west on a faint trail which will be lost and found and then lost again. Your objective is to get up above the treeline below the white castle like peak dominating the cirque to the south. This peak is White Baldy and it is a worthy and extremely challenging destination itself. At the treeline you will find a small lake with a trail heading due west up a very steep shoulder of the mountain. This trail becomes nearly vertical near the top of the ridge and we experienced some tense moments attaining the summit of the ridge.  It is important to take care not to knock rocks down onto hikers that may be below you while you are negotiating this portion of the route. Once you are on the summit ridge you will have fine views down into Utah Valley and of the Timpanogos Area to the south. Continue west along a pretty descent stretch of trail for about .3 miles to where the trail completely disappears as it ends at an impossible looking knife ridge composed of heaved up boulders. There is dangerous exposure on both sides of this ridge so the utmost care must be taken to negotiate it successfully. Use your best judgment on this stretch. It may be that the hike is beyond your abilities. If it is, turn back here. When I have hiked the Phifferhorn, I have always dropped just below the crest of this ridge on the north side overlooking the massive glacial moraines of upper Maybird Gulch. There are rock cairns guiding the way but this traverse at the top of the cirque is treacherous to say the least. It is only about .2 of a mile across this stegosaurus ridge but it is a very slow go with each handhold and foothold being placed with the utmost care and apprehension. Once you get past this dreadful stretch you will have the summit cone of the Little Matterhorn before you and it will appear to be to impossibly vertical to scale. Keep heading west and right up a sort of scrape in the east face of the summit cone as an improvised trail has come into being there. This stretch is treacherous and steep as well but if care is taken it can be successfully negotiated. Once you reach the top of this chute you will be on the 11,326 foot summit of the Little Matterhorn and the views are incredible! To the West you will see Chipman Peak, Upper Bells Peak, 11,152 foot South Thunder Mountain, Lightning Ridge, and North Thunder Mountain. In the background is Lone Peak and the Oquirrh and Stansbury Ranges beyond. To the north you will see the matched summits of 11,330 foot Broads Fork Twin Peaks, 11,250 foot Sunrise Peak, 11,109 foot Dromedary Peak and 11,132 foot Mount Superior / Monte Cristo Peak. To the east is the nasty, jagged ridge you crossed to get to the Matterhorn with White Baldy, Red Baldy and 11,391 foot Red Pile in the background. To the south you will see 11,101 foot Box Elder Peak dominating the scene with 11,750 foot Mount Timpanogos in the background. The summit is a small area with extreme exposure on the north side down into Hogum Fork. From the summit you have a 360 degree view of Wasatch Mountain splendor. This hike would be only for the most experienced hikers and climbers. It took my wife and I four hours to reach the summit from the parking area and this included taking tons of pictures and stopping a few times for breaks so it could be done faster but you would be really hauling. Once you are on the summit ridge above Red Pine Fork you will be totally exposed to the elements and above the treeline. If there is ANY chance of thunderstorms this area and the Little Matterhorn should be avoided. Hikers will encounter snowfields, loose rock and talus, boulder fields, and extensive exposure. This is a challenging hike so know your limits and if you have any question in your mind as to if you are up to it physically and skill wise, don’t even attempt this peak. If you can handle it, be prepared, take plenty of water and use good judgment. Best climbing season here is probably mid July through the first week of September. After that there will be snow on White Baldy and the Little Matterhorn. The Little Matterhorn is located in the Wasatch National Forest and is part of the Lone Peak Wilderness Area. For more information on the area contact the U.S. Forest Service at:

Wasatch National Forest Salt Lake Office
(801) 236-3400
125 South State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84138

Related posts:

1. The Incredible Wasatch Mountains of Utah
2. SNOWBIRD TRAM – Ticket to summertime adventure in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah
3. BRIGHTON – Jewel of the Wasatch Mountains of Utah
4. Tukuhnikivatz – “Where the Sun last sets” – La Sal Mountains, Utah
5. PONY EXPRESS TRAIL EXPLORATION: Part VIII – The Old Riverbed

Tags: cottonwood canyon road, foot, little cottonwood canyon, little matterhorn, Maybird, Phifferhorn, range, Red, stunning mountain scenery, wasatch mountains

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 1:21 pm and is filed under Nature, Recreation, Trails, Uncategorized, UTAH. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.