SLC – Little Cottonwood Canyon

On Friday morning, very early, I boarded a plane bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. I slept through the short flight and woke up when the plane bumped softly into the terminal. Around 10:15am, I met up with Barry & Frances & co-worker of Frances named Peter. We got in a rental car and drove to our hotel, The Little America . After dropping off our things, Barry & I took off for some climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon (LCC).

Clare Start of Crescent Direct Barry at the Summit of Crescent Crack Direct

LCC is very much like the climbing in Tuolumne Meadows. The granite formations offer lots of variety; cracks, chimneys, thin face, and bulges. Since we were arriving so late in the day (around 1pm), we chose to do a 3 pitch climb called Crescent Direct (5.9+). It is the more serious version of Crescent Crack (5.7). The climb was in the sun, and the granite was warm which felt great as the temperature was probably only 63 outside!

Clare at 3rd piece

I put up the first pitch, and it was swell. Several really fun moves, all with good protection. It was beautiful in the canyon too, with lots of pretty fall colors (still!!!).

Clare at 1st Belay

Barry put up the second and third pitches, electing to do the more strenuous direct finish. The second pitch includes a very tricky chimney. The secret decoder beta involves climbing with your BACK against the wall. Facing outwards is quite different, but it was the only way to go. And jamming your body into the chimney in this fashion is quite bold!

Mountain Man Barry at 1st Belay

The third pitch was a very small seam-with small pockets and indentations every 4 feet or so. There is a small bulge protruding above the seam, so it pushes the climber out, and below the seam the rock is slick and featureless. So the feet smear is not satisfying as they keep sliding downward. In the book it is listed as 5.9+ but we were both surprised at that rating. It felt much more tricky.

After the seam, there is a very steep crack flanked on each side by rock (from which to stem) but it is also smooth and tenuous. It was at this spot that I lost a #3 cam. It got wedged in the crack so much that I couldn’t release it from the rock. The trigger was worthless. It was a sacrafice to the Crescent Goddess for being able to get this climb in on our very first day of the trip! Overall a worthy climb, but an obtuse ending.

The Strange Exit of Crescent Crack Direct Clare at Summit of Crescent Crack Direct

By the time we got back to the packs, the sun was sinking low on the horizon and the temps were dropping rapidly. Time to head out, for sure. I wish we had been there all day, so we could climb a couple more routes-as LCC has so much to offer!

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