Hidden Peak

I mentioned several posts back that I rode the tram from Snowbird up to the top of Hidden Peak. The ski village of Snowbird sits at about 7700 feet, but Hidden Peak is 11000 feet. I was happy to see that the tram was enclosed. If it had been only a simple ski lift, I might not have made the trip. Even in the tram, I politely, but firmly, held on with both hands and waited for the ride to the top to complete.

The view at the top was worth the trip, but it was also free for me (thank you, American Birding Association). There was still plenty of snow lying about. I heard several folks say that it is fairly late for this much snow to still be on the ground, a symptom of the amounts of snow that the area received over the previous winter. That melting snow generates angry streams of runoff in the valleys below.

This picture shows the view from Hidden Peak looking west. The valley on the right side is Little Cottonwood Canyon. The southern end of Salt Lake City is in the distance, only visible to those with excellent vision or suitable imagination.

Here is a photo looking back down to Snowbird, located at the upper end of Little Cottonwood Canyon. If you squint your eyes just so (or click through to the photo in Flickr so that you can look at the larger sizes), you can see the hotel (fifteen stories tall, I think) that I stayed in during this trip.