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Little Cottonwood Canyon Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Albion Basin 81

Allen's Ridge Area 6

Altered States Gully 31

Black Peeler Buttress 63

Bongeater Buttress 6

Boulders - Little Cottonwood 1,000

Burner Buttress 8

Cake Wall 1

Cloud Wall 2

Coal Pit Buttress 29

Coalpit Gulch 21

Coffin Buttress 9

Commitment Buttress 6

Conifer Crag 3

Contact Buttress 2

Crescent Crack Buttress 42

Dragon Arch 12

Eagle Buttress and Environs 10

Early Bird 5

Egg, The 19

Fin, The 23

Gargoyle Wall 7

Gate Buttress 141

Great White Icicle Area 28

Green Adjective Gully 64

Hellgate Cliffs 128

Hogum Fork 7

Humane Society Wall 7

Intensive Care Slab 10

Japanese Garden 1

Keel, The 22

Kermits Wall 14

Limber Pine 4

Lisa Falls 37

Lizard Head Wall 19

Lonely Bashie Buttress 3

Lots of Balls Slab 5

Maybird Slide Area 22

Memorial Day Buttress 13

Pawn, The 9

Pentapitch Area 18

Perla's Ridge and Environs 5

Peruvian Buttress 1

Plumb Line Gully 10

Red Pine Crag 14

Resort Buttress 3

Rodeo Buttress 0

Sail, The 8

Scruffy Band 8

Super Slab 10

Superior Apron 3

Tanners Gulch 58

Team Serious Wall 4

Thumb Area, The 26

Thumb Nail, The 2

Triangle Wall 6

Upper Burner Wall 2

Waterfront, The 43

Westwind Buttress 14

Wheeler-Newsome Wall 4

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Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Elevation:	5,379 ft	1,640 m
GPS:	40.5727, -111.77699 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	4,293,999 total · 14,939/month
Shared By:	Eric Jacobsen on Oct 2, 2001 · Updates
Admins:	Perin Blanchard, GRK, David Crane Page Updates (admin only)

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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.

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)

2,159 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 339 ● Twisted Boulder Boulders - Litt… > Secret Garden > Copperhead Boulder
V4 6B 342 ● Surfboard Boulder Boulders - Litt… > 5 Mile Boulders
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b 747 ● Beckey's Wall Trad 3 pitches Gate Buttress > Beckey's Wall Area
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b 473 ● Squeeze My Lemon Trad Lizard Head Wall
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 918 ● Pentapitch Trad 5 pitches Pentapitch Area
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 628 ● Satan's Corner Trad 2 pitches Gate Buttress > Dihedrals Area
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 707 ● The Coffin Trad Coffin Buttress
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 385 ● After The Fall Trad Green Adjective Gully
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 773 ● Sasquatch Trad Pentapitch Area
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 520 ● The Green Adjective Trad 3 pitches Green Adjective Gully
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 463 ● Gordon's Hangover Trad Green Adjective Gully
5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a 524 ● Mexican Crack Trad Crescent Crack Buttress
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 382 ● Bongeater Trad Bongeater Buttress
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 257 ● Equipment Overhang Trad Gate Buttress > Dihedrals Area
5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 351 ● Stiffler's Mom Trad 12 pitches Coal Pit Buttress