Project Overview & Phase Two Accomplishments

The Gate Buttress Project is designed to address 60 years of recreational impact on a 140-acre parcel of land owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located in lower Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. With the signing of a recreational lease in 2017, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) was named active stewards of the Gate Buttress parcel. The Gate Buttress Parcel contains approximately 588 rock climbing routes and 138 boulder problems, spread over 35 areas. The long-term stewardship goal for the property is to create sustainable recreation infrastructure, protect Salt Lake City’s watershed, and deepen the relationship and sense of caring for nature through volunteerism within the climbing community and supporting outdoor industry.

The Gate Buttress is located within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, whose visitation numbers are higher than all five of Utah’s national parks combined. As outdoor recreation and rock climbing specifically continues to grow in popularity, overcrowding is stressing outdoor landscapes beyond their ability to recover naturally. Soil erosion and compaction along with degradation of vegetation create run off and dirties waterways, hence negatively impacting the watershed health. The area’s spider web of social trails hinders search and rescue operations. Lack of signage and unofficial trails also confuse hikers and other visitors to this property. Fixed anchors that were installed in the late 60s and 70s need replaced. This is Phase Two (of Three) of a multi year project that prioritizes high trafficked areas.

To address these needs, we hired professional trail crews expert in stone masonry work for 2,100 hours of work and 331 fixed anchors on 58 climbing routes were replaced. 1,400+ volunteer hours valued at $34,500 supported the stewardship work this year. 14,500+ individuals (or 29,000 passes) were recorded on a heat sensored trail counter at the Gate Buttress trailhead from April 1st- November 24th, 2019.

Thank you to all of the volunteers and sponsors who have supported this ongoing project including, but not limited to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation, DNR’s Recreational Trails Program, The Petzl Foundation, Access Fund, Eccles Foundation, Miller Foundation, REI, Salt Lake County, and more.