Little Water Peak is a nondescript summit between Mill Creek and Big Cottonwood Canyons that rises to an elevation of 9605 feet. But what it lacks in stature, it more than makes up for in honest-to-goodness killer backcountry ski lines. North, south, east and west, you can make tracks off the summit of Little Water until your heart’s content, but you have to be willing to work for it while also being vigilant of avalanche danger on the notoriously dangerous north face.
While many ski touring party ascends Little Water for the peak-bagging experience, the mountain is also a good stop on a multi-peak tour in Mill D North Fork. You can easily tick off summits that line up in a row such as Short Swing, Tom’s Hill, Reynolds Peak and Little Water in a day for one long epic ski tour. Either that, or you can make the north side of Little Water be the final run on a shuttle tour that starts in Big Cottonwood and ends in Mill Creek Canyon.
Ascending Little Water is simple enough from Dog Lake as a skin track generally can be found there rising into the aspen trees. The climb is long, and has a false summit that can be devastating to those touring parties who are exhausted after a full day on the snow. But from that fake peak the true summit isn’t far off, and the skinning is mostly low angle and easy.
As far as the skiing goes, if you like open spaces paired with aspen groves and semi-low angle slopes, then Little Water can provide. If you’re looking for something more steep and risky, then the north face awaits, with her slide-prone incline that should only be skied when avalanche danger is low. However, from the top of the mountain you can choose any aspect and depending on recent weather, your choices are limited only by snow quality.
To ski Little Water Peak from Mill D North Fork, drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon and park at the Spruces Campground, located 10 miles up the canyon. Walk across the highway to Mill D. Follow the skin track north through a neighborhood of summer cabins and into the main drainage where the landscape opens up. Continue until you reach a fork marked by a sign. Go left toward Dog Lake. Once you reach the lake, head right (north) on a skin track that goes to the top of Little Water Peak. You can also link Little Water after skiing off Reynolds into Big Water where skin tracks usually ascend to the summit from the west as well.
View My Saved Places in a larger map