Backcountry Ski Cardiff Fork
4 Miles
Snowboarding, Photography, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Hiking
Advanced
Spring, Autumn, Winter
Out-and-Back
Cardiff Fork is a great Wasatch backcountry tour, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon up Mill D South. Cardiff Fork can also be reached from Little Cottonwood Canyon. Approaching Cardiff Fork from the Big Cottonwood side is definitely takes a lot longer than the approach from the Little Cottonwood side, but that just means more time in the mountains and who doesn't want that? Cardiff offers a wide variety of wide open bowls and awesome chutes.
Drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon until you reach the Mill D South parking lot (aka Donut Falls parking). Head up the main road until you reach the bathrooms at the Donut Falls trailhead. Here you can either keep straight past the bathrooms, but the best way to go is to keep right along the road. You will follow this skin track and along the way you will pass a cabin and an old abandoned mine. Once you get to the basin of Cardiff, you can either keep straight along the Power Line ridge, or you can hang a right and skin up into Cardiac Bowl. Power Line will take you up to the ridge between Little and Big Cottonwood Canyon giving you an awesome view of the Wasatch. Overall elevation gain is about 2,880 feet with a max elevation of 10,148 feet.
If you are approaching from Little Cottonwood, it cuts the trip in half distance-wise and vertical feet gained. The trailhead in Little Cottonwood is the Central Alta Trailhead which takes you up to Cardiff Pass.
Make sure to check to avalanche forecast for the day before you ever travel in the backcountry. Know before you go!
Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations.
