Although Breath of the Wild doesn't have dungeons in the traditional sense that caused many gamers to fall in love with the Legend of Zelda series in the first place, it does, instead, have 120 Shrines to complete as well as 42 associated Shrine Quests that lock certain Shrines behind story events or other puzzles. One of these side quests is The Secret of Snowy Peaks, which unlocks the Suma Sahma Shrine when completed.
In execution, this quest is straightforward, though it may test the player's patience in some regards. The reality, however, is that The Secret of Snowy Peaks is an easy quest to miss if players aren't actively exploring everywhere they can go and the quest itself requires some awareness of Link's surroundings that not all players will possess.
Where To Begin The Quest
To begin this quest, Link must find the derelict Mountain Peak Log Cabin, found between Daval Peak and Mount Granajh. The quickest way to get there is to fast-travel to the Lake Tower, or if players have found it, the Ishto Sho Shrine and head southwest towards the highest peak of the mountain, between Ishto Sho Shrine and the South Lomei Labyrinth. From here, there should be a burnt-out building with a campfire at its heart and a book laying open on a pedestal. Reading this book will tell the story of a researcher trying to find the secret of the area, as they are convinced that they can open the way to the Shrine if they figure out its puzzle.
Although the diary is somewhat vague, the core of the message is that the Shrine requires Link to "cast a cold shadow" on the Shrine pedestal in order to raise the Shrine from the ground. This clue is also somewhat vague, but there are hints all around the cabin as to what Link needs to do to activate the Shrine. The general idea is to stand in front of the pedestal while holding a large enough snowball, wait for the sun to appear behind Link, and position the snowball so that it is in line with the center of the pedestal.
Finding The Right Location
Even if players know what they are doing, finding the pedestal itself is a little tricky, especially if they traveled from the east side of the cabin. Because there are several large rock formations at the peak of the mountain, as well as the fact that many similar Shrine puzzles are found at the highest point of a mountain, many players may start looking for the pedestal up there. While there are several enemies and a Korok hiding on the tallest formation, there is no Shrine in this direction.
The pedestal is actually very easy to miss and found right behind the abandoned cabin, facing southeast and set into the side of the cliff. Once the pedestal has been found, Link will need to pick up one of the handful of snowballs that litter the area and wait for the sun to cast a shadow in the correct spot. Unfortunately, this will result in some time simply standing around and waiting for the right time, as, although there is a campfire in the cabin where Link can wait, there is no way to wait until a specific time. The most efficient way is to wait until noon, grab the snowball, get into position, and do something else for a few minutes until the shadow is in the right position. Before this, however, players should do one more thing.
Potential Threats
This region of Hyrule is crawling with monsters, everything from Lizalfos and Stalfos to Chuchu and Lynels are hiding around the area. Lizalfos and Stalfos can be particularly annoying, as they can leap at Link and destroy the snowballs very quickly without the player even realizing they were there at all. Players can get around this by wearing either the Lizalfos Mask or Majora's Mask if they have found it, though the easiest way to avoid losing precious snowballs is to defeat all of the enemies in the area.
There is one Lizalos hiding just in front of the pedestal, though there is also one that can attack Link from behind if players aren't paying attention. If players came from the peak of the mountain behind the cabin, they may also get attacked by Lizalfos that hide up on that part of the mountain as well. Once there is little chance of being attacked by enemies, Link can stand patiently with a snowball above his head unit the shadow reaches the right position, which is somewhere between 4 pm and 6 pm, depending on where the player chooses to stand.
Suma Sahma Shrine
If the player stands in the right spot, they will need to stay in the position for several seconds while the pedestal glows in order for the Suma Sahma Shrine to rise from the ground, coming out on the opposite side of the cabin. If the Shrine pedestal isn't glowing even though it seems as though the snowball's shadow is in the right place, the snowball may not be big enough to cast the shadow correctly and needs to be made bigger. This is somewhat difficult to do without accidentally rolling it down the hill, but it can be made easier by pushing it toward the cabin rather than away from it, though players should be careful if the campfire is still lit.
Once the Shrine appears, the side quest will be completed and players can enter the Shrine, take the Gerudo Scimitar inside the chest, and receive their Spirit Orb reward from the Sheikah monk.