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Little Cottonwood Canyon Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Albion Basin 23 / 52 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 18 / 74

Allen's Ridge Area 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Altered States Gully 26 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 28

Black Peeler Buttress 45 / 13 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 9 / 1 / 0 / 60

Bongeater Buttress 5 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Boulders - Little Cottonwood 0 / 0 / 4 / 919 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 920

Burner Buttress 8 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8

Cake Wall 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Cloud Wall 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 2

Coal Pit Buttress 20 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 24

Coalpit Gulch 2 / 18 / 5 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 20

Coffin Buttress 5 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 9

Commitment Buttress 4 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Conifer Crag 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Contact Buttress 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Crescent Crack Buttress 30 / 9 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 39

Dragon Arch 10 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 12

Eagle Buttress and Environs 9 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 10

Early Bird 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Egg, The 14 / 5 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 19

Fin, The 16 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 19

Gargoyle Wall 6 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 6

Gate Buttress 106 / 25 / 15 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 133

Great White Icicle Area 19 / 6 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 27

Green Adjective Gully 50 / 9 / 5 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 61

Hellgate Cliffs 22 / 101 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 9 / 122

Hogum Fork 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 7 / 7

Humane Society Wall 3 / 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7

Intensive Care Slab 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Japanese Garden 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Keel, The 17 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 19

Kermits Wall 9 / 4 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 14

Lisa Falls 13 / 14 / 5 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 29

Little Pine Ice Climbing 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1

Lizard Head Wall 18 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 19

Lonely Bashie Buttress 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 3

Lots of Balls Slab 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Maybird Slide Area 7 / 15 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 22

Memorial Day Buttress 13 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 13

Pawn, The 8 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 8

Pentapitch Area 14 / 3 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 17

Perla's Ridge and Environs 5 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Peruvian Buttress 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Plumb Line Gully 9 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 10

Red Pine Crag 13 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 14 / 14

Resort Buttress 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Rodeo Buttress 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0

Sail, The 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7

Scruffy Band 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 8

Super Slab 7 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 9

Tanners Gulch 45 / 14 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 54

Team Serious Wall 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Thumb Area, The 22 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 22

Thumb Nail, The 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Triangle Wall 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 5

Upper Burner Wall 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Waterfront, The 26 / 14 / 6 / 0 / 1 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 40

Westwind Buttress 14 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 14

Wheeler-Newsome Wall 4 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Elevation:	5,379 ft
GPS:	40.5727, -111.77699 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	4,274,066 total · 16,368/month
Shared By:	Eric Jacobsen on Oct 2, 2001 · Updates
Admins:	Andrew Gram, Nathan Fisher, Perin Blanchard, GRK, DCrane Page Updates (admin only)

Access Issue: Gate Buttress Area Recreational Lease: Climbs on Church Buttress above vault remain closed Details

Climbers Partner with LDS Church on Stewardship of Little Cottonwood Canyon Climbing

June 1st, 2017:The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and Access Fund announce the signing of an unprecedented lease for 140 acres in Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC). The parcel, known as the Gate Buttress, is about one mile up LCC canyon and has been popular with generations of climbers because of its world-class granite.

The agreement secures legitimate access to approximately 588 routes and 138 boulder problems at the Gate Buttress for rock climbers, who will be active stewards of the property. The recreational lease is the result of several years of negotiations between LDS Church leaders and the local climbing community.

Access Note: The climbs on the Church Buttress above the vault as well as the Glen boulders that have been traditionally closed will remain closed.
Please help us steward this area and leave no trace.

Read More:

saltlakeclimbers.org/climbe…

SLCA and AF recreational leased area on LDS Church land

Description

LCC offers primarily quartz monzonite (white granite, essentially) with a few areas of limestone.

Trad, sport, bouldering, and ice climbing are all well-represented here. Most of the climbs are on the sunnier, north side of the canyon, but shade may be found for those hot summer days. In addition, north-facing classic routes are found on the south side of the canyon (see especially Pentapitch Area and Coal Pit Buttress.

On the north side of the canyon, roughly from The Egg past the Gate Buttress, the rock is either owned by or the approaches to the tock cross land owned by the LDS Church. Be considerate when crossing/using these areas.

The Wasatch Resort about one mile up the canyon on the right (south) presents access problems to some of the crags on that side of the canyon as well.

SLCA Annual Fundraiser

JOIN US FOR OUR 9TH ANNUAL SALT LAKE CLIMBING FESTIVAL!

Presented by Black Diamond and Momentum Climbing

August 27th-28th, 2022, Solitude Mountain Resort (Moonbeam parking lot), Utah

Tickets: saltlakeclimbingfestival.com

CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITY. ELEVATE YOUR CLIMBING SKILLS.

A weekend of skills based climbing clinics and festivities brought to you by the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance and fueled by our local guide outfitters, artists, and outdoor industry partners.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT GO BACK TO STEWARDSHIP OF WASATCH CRAGS.

Set in our own beautiful backyard of the Wasatch Front, there are skills-based climbing clinics for both beginner and seasoned climbers. Clinics will run in single and two-day formats, with our base camp, dinner and festivities held at Brighton Ski Resort.

Saturday night only tickets that include dinner, activities, live music, and drinks are also available. For ages 14+ we welcome all ability levels and identities to learn and grow with us as our local climbing community blossoms.

Be sure to invite your friends!

Ice Climbing

This is a well known area. The Falcon guide has numerous routes listed, but realistically only 2 that come in real thick (at least that I've seen in the last 7 years of my ice climbing experience). There are a lot of other thin routes throughout the canyon. The 2 main lines are Scruffy Band and the Great White Icicle. The GW Icicle has always got a crowd! Last year I went up there at 10 at night for a late night run up the ice thinking the route would be free. There were still 2 groups just starting up the trail. This wouldn't be too bad, but the route is somewhat narrow, so anyone climbing above you will knock ice on you. So if you're looking for a remote, backcountry experience, this is not the area. Both Scruffy and GW icicle have easy approaches (10-30min) and the routes are moderate in difficulty (WI 2-3). So if you want a close easy climb with a crowd, these are probably good places to climb.

Getting There

From the I-215 beltway around Salt Lake, take the 6200 South exit at the southeast corner of the loop. Follow signs to the ski resorts and Big and Little Cottonwood canyon. Pass the left turn into BCC and continue on Wasatch Blvd (Route 210) for a few more miles. This road leads directly up into LCC. From the south, exit I-15 at 9000 South (Route 209). Head east as 209 becomes 9400 South and eventually hits Wasatch (210) at the mouth of LCC. Turn right and head up the canyon. (camping info#littlecottonwood)

1,994 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Little Cottonwood Canyon

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

V4 6B 100 ● Tequila Sunset Boulder Boulders - Litt… > … 1 > Party Pit Area > Tequila Boulder
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 793 ● Pentapitch Trad 5 pitches Pentapitch Area
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 620 ● The Coffin Trad Coffin Buttress
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 667 ● Sasquatch Trad Pentapitch Area
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 414 ● Gordon's Hangover Trad Green Adjective Gully
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a R 120 ● S-Direct Trad 7 pitches Thumb Area
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 469 ● Mexican Crack Trad Crescent Crack Buttress
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b R 95 ● The Fin Arete Trad 3 pitches Fin > Upper Fin
5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b 128 ● The Flakes Trad 2 pitches Gate Buttress > E Gate Buttress
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 334 ● Bongeater Trad Bongeater Buttress
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 224 ● Equipment Overhang Trad Gate Buttress > Dihedrals Area
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 135 ● Tick Fever Trad Wheeler-Newsome Wall
5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c 147 ● Enter the Dragon Trad 3 pitches Dragon Arch
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a 133 ● Medussa Sport Hellgate Cliffs > Tower One
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 90 ● Cool Your Jets Sport Coalpit Gulch > Waterfall Wall