Santaquin Canyon Ice Climbing

With a good number of reliable, multi-pitch routes, Santaquin Canyon is a quality destination for ice climbing. In addition, difficult mixed lines will challenge even the best climbers.

Just far enough out of the way to not be too crowded, winter weekdays can make for lonely climbing. But on holidays and weekends when the ice is fat climbing parties are found on most popular lines. When there is a good layer of snow the sound of snowmobiles fills the canyon.

The ice season is usually best from mid-December to the end of February. Most of the ice routes are located on the south side of the canyon protected from the sun, and many routes can be spotted from the canyon road. Some ice formations may collapse during a mid-winter thaw and then reform later to climbable conditions.

Routes are most often found in potential avalanche gullies. Under the right conditions the avalanches can be enormous. Be sure to check the avalanche forecast before climbing.