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kenjo
Jun 15, 2005, 1:29 AM
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Registered: Feb 5, 2004
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Just a naive question from a naive climber. I'm moving there soon so I'd like to hear some details about each one. Which is your favorite and why?I've seen Maple so I know what it's like.
Big & Little Cottonwood
City of Rocks
AF
Narrows
Uineenta (or however you spell it)
Etc.
Many thanks
-kenny
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climb1212
Jun 15, 2005, 1:52 AM
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Registered: May 10, 2004
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Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons are very accessible from SLC and surrounding areas . . . 15-30 minutes depending on where you are coming from. BCC has both traditional and sport routes on quartzite rock. LCC is primarily trad with some bolted routes here and there on granite.
The City of Rocks is about a 3 hour drive north of SLC and offers both traditional and sport routes on granite.
American Fork offers sport climbing on chossy limestone about 45-60 minutes south of SLC.
The Narrows is west of SLC about 45-60 minutes. Pretty good limestone and all but a couple of routes are 5.12 and harder, with many in the 5.13 range.
I haven't climbed in the Uintah's but I believe the rock is quartzite and the climbing is good. This is a good summer area, from what I hear.
If you are in SLC, you will never be short on climbing opportunities and options.
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tenesmus
Jun 15, 2005, 2:05 AM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2004
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Kenny you sound psyched to be coming to slc. most of what you listed is daytrippable - even the City of you're used to back-east crag commutes. Right in slc you basically have bcc, lcc and ferguson. lcc is primarily trad and bouldering, but in mid-summer Hellgate has some prime choss. If you bring a helmet and an open mind there are some fun .11's and a few .12's with some of actually pretty steep.
Hellgate has 6+ pitch sport choss at 11k feet. Its generally an adventure and can be cold on the hottest of days.
Of course, if you live in sugarhouse its about the same distance to American Fork as it is to drive all the way up to Alta (where Hellgate is).
Its not the Obed, but you'll keep busy.
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hortisb
Jun 15, 2005, 2:10 AM
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Registered: Mar 30, 2005
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I just moved to Utah also... So far I've only climbed in Rock Canyon in Provo. It's a great canyon with some classic climbs, though I'm not sure if it's worth the drive from SL.
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tenesmus
Jun 15, 2005, 2:21 AM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2004
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philly to provo? ouch. you allright? school?
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kenjo
Jun 15, 2005, 2:24 AM
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GREAT info fellas.
What is Ferguson?
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hortisb
Jun 15, 2005, 2:40 AM
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Registered: Mar 30, 2005
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It has been quite a transition: Provo is very different from Philly, but I'm getting by... I'm here for school, so hopefully Utah won't end up being my permanent residence.
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jg
Jun 15, 2005, 3:19 AM
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Registered: Mar 11, 2005
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The Salt Lake area has a number of very different sport climbing crags. People tend to hit different areas at different times of year. Summers are hot, so the cooler crags are a better option. Maple Canyon is ~2 1/2 hrs from Salt Lake, very popular, lots of routes at all grades, and has lots of shade for hot days. The Hellgate Cliffs at the top of Little Cottonwood are a good hot weather option; sport climbing on limestone; 30 minutes from town and getting more popular. The Uintas are a very pretty mountain range ~1 1/2 hr from town. Strictly a summer area (except for all of the great skiing); 6-7 developed cliffs, mostly sport with a few trad lines. A great place to escape the heat, I really love climbing there. Some people dis the place, say there isn't anything hard there.
Big Cottonwood is right outside town; a wide variety of sport climbs and some trad lines scattered on a bunch of quartzite cliffs throughout the canyon. I tend to use Big Cottonwood as a summer evening after-work area, or if I can only get out for a little while on a weekend. Lots of good climbing there. Ferguson is a smaller granite area between Big and Little Cottonwood; there are a few routes that are easily toproped so all the high-school jocks like to go there. Some good routes, but I never cared for that canyon too much much. American Fork is ~40 minutes south of town; some of the cliffs are warm and dry enough to climb in winter, yet there are shaded crags that are good on hot days. Lots of routes from easy elevens up to way harder than I can climb. A convenient area with a high concentration of climbs with generally easy approaches, I can get a lot of climbing in during a day at AF. Rock Canyon is next to Provo; I have only been there a couple of times; good climbing, but I have never liked driving through Provo; years ago I couldn't find anyplace to buy beer on a Sunday, so I have boycotted the place ever since.
The Narrows is a little area about 1 1/2 hrs west of town; it has a handfull of hard routes; definitely not a popular area as far as I know. I go skiing out near there, never bothered to climb. City of Rocks and Castle Rock are great; ~3 1/2 hr from town; leave after work on Friday, climb to Sunday afternoon and back in town at a reasonable hour is an ideal arrangement, although day trips are feasible. Areas a little ways to the north of Salt Lake like Logan Canyon and the areas around Ogden are great climbing. There is just so much to do closer to SLC that many Salt Lake climbers never even go to these areas. Also, right around Salt Lake there are lots of little areas (I call them neighborhood crags) that people develop that do not get a lot of traffic; go climbing at The Reef if you want to shred all the flesh from your fingertips. Anyway, just go to the Routes section on this web site and start clicking on all the sections for Utah and you will get a pretty good idea of all the areas there are.
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girlrocker
Jun 15, 2005, 12:57 PM
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Registered: Jun 10, 2005
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The others have mentioned most of the good places to check out close to SLC. Don't forget down south if you have time to get away. There is killer stuff in Moab, St. George, and even Red Rocks in Vegas. These are short (3-6 hrs) road-trips away to really great climbing.
And some "neighborhood crags" that I enjoy: Pete's rock, the rip-tide wall and Iron curtain area at the mouth of Parley's canyon.
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unrooted
Jun 16, 2005, 5:01 PM
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Registered: Mar 13, 2003
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What grades do you climb?
There are also excellent sport routes in Ogden at the school room wall but only in the winter and early spring/late fall cause its in the sun all day. Noone ever goes there cause its a 45 minute hike but very much worth it. Logan has some prime climbing especcially Hardware wall near Hyrum (probably the best sport routes in northern utah). American fork is fun especcially for building endurance. Big Cottonwood Canyon (BCC) is susposedly great as long as your willing to hike just a little bit, otherwise your sure to find crowds, and little (LCC) is basically a training ground for Yosemite!
The City or Rocks is so incredibly good for both sport and trad, the sport routes vary a lot; friction, steep jug hauls, and vertical/crimpy/balancy 80's/smith style climbs.
You may be planning to stay in Utah for only a short while but this is the place to be if you climb, bike and ski. You will probably fall in love with it, especcially the cost of life (CHEAP thanks to the mo's scaring everyone away) and the short drive times to great climbing.
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atg200
Jun 16, 2005, 6:10 PM
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Registered: Jul 27, 2001
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is the narrows that limestone along the road on the way to the deseret peak trailhead?
you don't really need to hike far to find uncrowded lines in BCC. there are just so many small little crags that you just keep going if the one you want is full. BCC has nice sport routes in all grades from 5.5 to 5.13+
i love the uintahs in mid-summer. really nice quartzite - much nicer than BCC. really beautiful setting, though most routes seem to be in the 5.10 - 5.11 range with a few harder and a few easier.
the nice thing about the salt lake area is the tremendous diversity of rock within a short distance. not really any sandstone nearby, but within an hour of downtown there is good limestone, quartzite, granite, and conglomerate.
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screamer
Jun 16, 2005, 6:35 PM
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Registered: Aug 14, 2001
Posts: 214
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Best SPORT...
All less then 2 hours away
Maple: All grades fun climbing in spring, summer, fall
AF: 5.10 and up, better grades are 11's, 12's and 13's. Usually good spring, shade in summer, fall is primo and sunny crags on good winter days
Narrows: Fun techy climbing in the summer, good after work crag, not much there though, harder stuff
Uintah's: Good 10's and 11's, nice setting for summer
Logan Canyon: Good techy limstone climbing, all grades
Hyrum: Really good harder climbing on Limestone
Thats for starters...there is more, some of the small obscure crags too...
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