High Adventure Ogden: Snow Climbing Mt. Ogden Peak
Published On: April 17, 2017 Posted by: Jeremy Peterson
One of Ogden’s greatest assets is its amazing recreational opportunities. The trail system that crisscrosses the mountain side provides abundant opportunities for someone looking for anything from a quick jaunt outdoors to a high adventure experience.
Recently, I took the high adventure route with some friends as we attempted to summit Mt. Ogden. Our adventure began at the trail head at the top of 27th St. We got an early start at 6am when temperatures were just above freezing.
The first leg of our trip took us up the ever-popular Malan’s Peak trail. After a brief break, we turned east and descended into Malan’s Basin. This was my first time visiting this part of the mountain.
The trail descends gradually for about a half mile until it reaches a flat area adorned with a historical placard recounting the days when the area hosted a hotel in the early 20th century. The snow was still deep in this area but crusted over and easy to walk on. At this point, due to the stiffness of the snow, we dropped our snowshoes and put on our shoe chains and crampons.
Our journey took us across the snow fields gradually out of the basin and toward the final accent to Mt. Ogden. The peak seemed close but that would prove to be deceiving.
The snow was icy and the temperature at the higher elevation was in the 20’s.
The final stretch of the hike entailed overcoming ice while hiking at a grade greater than 45 degrees.
Fortunately, our most experienced team member used his crampons to kick steps in to the snow for those of us who only had chains.
The views at the top were breathtaking. After lingering to enjoy the beauty and splendor of it all, we slowly began our descent.
By this time, the sun had warmed the snow to a point that the top several inches has softened. It made our descent easier and safer. But it was slower than we would have like. That is when I decided to experiment with some body sledding. It worked, and the rest of our party slid on our backsides about 1,000 feet down the face of the mountain.
The hike was about 9.8 miles round trip with a 4,550 ft. accent. It took us 9 hours to complete. If you are looking for pointers on how to make this trip for yourself, give me a call and I will fill you in on the details. Certainly, it’s a great adventure in our own backyard!
