The Pfeifferhorn is the triangularly-shaped peak located in the most isolated part of the

Lone Peak Wilderness The Lone Peak Wilderness is a wilderness area located within the Uinta and the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in the U.S. state of Utah. The Lone Peak Wilderness was established in 1978 as part of the Endangered American Wilderness Act and wa ...

Area of the

Wasatch Mountains The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the G ...

in northern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. This rugged Utah mountain, commonly referred to as the Little

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

, is the fifth-highest peak in the Wasatch Range. The summit can be reached by hiking, though some scrambling is required. There are several technical rock climbing routes with the north ridge being the most popular. This summit also makes an excellent winter mountaineering adventure.

Routes

The easiest and most popular route is the East Ridge via Red Pine Lake trail up

Little Cottonwood Canyon Little Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern side of the Salt Lake Valley, roughly 15 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah. The canyon is part of Granite, a CDP and "Community Council" designated by Salt L ...

. The trail is approximately to lower Red Pine lake and roughly to the upper Red Pine Lake. From here proceed southwest up the steep talus slope to the top of the 'false summit'. A well-defined trail should be visible here in the absence of snow. Continue west along the ridge through a series of large boulders to a second steep slope. You can either wrap around this slope to the south and switch-back up to the summit (easier) or just continue west until you reach the summit (steep). Another way to climb Pfeifferhorn is to hike in through Maybird Gulch. A small foot bridge breaks off to the right from the Red Pine Lake trail and will take you into Maybird. You will pass three small lakes nestled under the Hogum Divide with the Pfeifferhorn rising straight ahead. Once past the uppermost lake you will find yourself in a large boulder field (

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

talus) which is difficult and slow to cross. At the other side, a steep scramble will take you to the summit base. A loop trip can be made starting at Maybird Gulch, climbing to the peak, then down by way of upper/lower Red Pine lakes or vice versa.

Gallery

File:PfeifferhornNearRidge.JPG, alt=Pfeifferhorn as seen from the south side of the Lone Peak Ridge above the Dry Creek trail, Pfeifferhorn as seen from the south side of the Lone Peak Ridge above the Dry Creek trail File:Pfeifferhorn peak from Maybird.jpg, alt=Pfeifferhorn from Maybird Gulch, Pfeifferhorn from Maybird Gulch File:Pfeifferhorn Summit.jpg, alt=Pfeifferhorn summit, Pfeifferhorn summit File:20190730-FS-UWC NF-BH-Pfeifferhorn from Superior-01 Hotze-scenic (48952950248).jpg, alt=Pfeifferhorn in the distance from Mt. Superior, Pfeifferhorn in the distance from Mt. Superior File:Little Cottonwood Ridgeline.jpg, alt=Little Cottonwood ridge line and Red Pine lake from ridge east of the Pfeifferhorn which is the easiest route to the summit., Little Cottonwood ridge line and Red Pine lake from ridge east of the Pfeifferhorn which is the easiest route to the summit. File:North Ridge of Pfeifferhorn.jpg, alt=North ridge of Pfeifferhorn, North ridge of Pfeifferhorn Pfeifferhorn (8654570403)

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Pfeifferhorn Mountains of Utah Mountains of Salt Lake County, Utah Mountains of Utah County, Utah Wasatch-Cache National Forest Wasatch Range