Little Cottonwood Canyon

Bigtooth (a.k.a. Wasatch or Rocky Mountain Sugar) maple leaf, Little Cottonwood Canyon

View of Salt Lake Valley from Hidden Peak summit

Quaking Aspens, Little Cottonwood Canyon

Fall Foliage, Little Cottonwood Canyon

Albion Basin Wildflowers

Albion Basin Wildflowers

Only 25 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah, Little Cottonwood Canyon lies along the eastern border of the Salt Lake Valley where the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Basin. Visitors enjoy the sheer ruggedness and beauty of the canyon as they drive up this glacially carved corridor.

At the mouth of the canyon is the site where Mormon pioneers quarried massive granite blocks to build the Salt Lake Temple. Mountain goats inhabit the surrounding mountains.

Wilderness Areas are located on both sides of the steep canyon. Summer recreational activities here include rock climbing, camping, picnicking, and hiking.

The canyon is home for two of Utah's ski and summer resorts. At world class Snowbird, Utah's only aerial tramway carries visitors up to a panoramic view from 11,000-foot Hidden Peak. One mile further is Alta, home of the Alta Ski Area. Notorious for shootings in its 26 saloons during the mining days of the 1860s and 1870s, Alta died quickly, but livened up again in 1939 as the seat of Utah's first ski resort, now famous for its light abundant snow. The Albion Basin at Alta is famous for wildflowers and is one of the most photographed areas in northern Utah.

Rock climbing in the canyon

The lower third of the canyon is strewn with granite outcroppings, mostly consisting of smooth steep faces, some up to several hundred feet high. The earliest recorded climbing activity dates from the 1930s, when Harold Goodro put up some routes before shifting to predominantly climbing on the quartzite of Big Cottonwood Canyon and elsewhere. Many of the major routes in Little Cottonwood were established in the early 1960s by the Alpenbock Club, some in conjunction with well-known visitors including Fred Beckey, Layton Kor, and Royal Robbins. The Lowes - George Lowe, Greg Lowe, and Jeff Lowe - came to prominence through the rest of the 60s and early 70s. More recent climbers have pushed the standards to the highest levels, establishing several 5.13 routes.

Access can be a problem. On the north side, the "Church Buttress" above the Mormon archives, and the Black Peeler Buttress, are on private land and not legally accessible, as are parts of the south side. This still leaves some 20-odd named buttresses and gullies available for climbing, mostly on the north side. Approaches involve parking alongside the road and hiking a short distance up through scrub oak, sometimes scrambling through fields of enormous boulders.

Face climbing is the predominant technique, typically using bolts and cracks for protection, but there are many notable crack climbs as well. Most routes are 2-4 pitches in length, with walkoffs involving still more scrub oak.

The highest-quality face routes are to be found on The Fin, an almost-featureless expanse high above the canyon. Its route The Dorsal Fin (5.10d) is a classic of the Wasatch; first ascended by George Lowe and Mark McQuarrie in 1965, the bolts of this four-pitch were all drilled on the lead.

Perhaps the most popular is the Gate Buttress, whose 80+ routes include the aptly-named Schoolroom (5.6), a five-pitch route requiring a wide variety of techniques, along with routes ranging up to 5.12a in difficulty. Below the buttress and near the road is the Gate Boulder, a popular gathering spot shaded by large trees.

Reference

• Bret Ruckman and Stuart Ruckman, Wasatch Climbing North (Chockstone Press, 1991, ISBN 0-934641-39-0)