Little Cottonwood Anchor Maintenance Recap

May 15/23 - 19/23

Altered States Gully Recap

Recap by Anchor Maintenance Coordinator, Andrew Brodhead

This month the Anchor Maintenance Crew started its season with a week-long visit up at the Altered States Gully in Little Cottonwood Canyon. This zone is located on the Western side of the SLCA’s leased property at the Gate Buttress. It lies just east of the East of the Fin and Lizard Head. This area was not the first time this area saw some rebolting attention.  Back in the Spring of 2018 and 2019, routes like Betty’s Altered Elbow saw some attention.  

This spring the main focus was on the central and right side of Altered States.  Routes like Borrowed Time’s second pitch saw an update. This route was noted by the Granite Guide that “this would be a worthy route for modern bolts” (Smith, Burr, Phillips Granite Guide page 193).  Quarter inch button heads with old SMC and Leaper hangers were removed and replaced with half inch stainless steel FIXE five piece bolts. If venturing to this route anytime soon, a 70 meter rope is mandatory!

All of the slab routes above the Eagle Roof saw the same update from quarter in button heads with SMC and Leaper hangers to modern bolts. This past week was the largest concentration of this outdated hardware removed and replaced within the last few years.

Throughout the week, many belays with old, sun-bleached, lichen covered webbing were removed and updated with sustainable anchors. By doing so, we hope to reduce stress on the vegetation while increasing safety and reliability to the anchors we depend on. Most, if not all, of the routes from Borrowed Time and to the right have new anchors.  

The SLCA Anchors Crew is always vigilant when it comes to loose rock on routes we maintain. We do our best to remove any obvious loose features but impossible to mitigate all the risk. Our mission for our anchor maintenance program is to:

“Assess the current condition of established anchors, identify and monitor current and future maintenance needs, and replace antiquated and unreliable anchors as necessary and in partnership with land owners and agencies.” 

Rock climbing is an inherently dangerous activity and we encourage anyone who participates to obtain the appropriate education and training in order to minimize accidents.  We also encourage participants to consult resources including but not limited to guiding outfitters, SAR, Utah Avalanche Center, ranger stations, and weather reports. Nevertheless and although tragic, accidents can happen even when the participants have the proper training and have consulted authorities on conditions. Participants in outdoor climbing are assuming a risk, just as they do in skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, or other outdoor activities.  Anchors once maintained by the SLCA are not guaranteed to be in the same state or condition as when they were maintained.

Rock climbing is an inherently dangerous activity and we encourage anyone who participates to obtain the appropriate education and training in order to minimize accidents.  We also encourage participants to consult resources including but not limited to guiding outfitters, SAR, Utah Avalanche Center, ranger stations, and weather reports. Nevertheless and although tragic, accidents can happen even when the participants have the proper training and have consulted authorities on conditions. Participants in outdoor climbing are assuming a risk, just as they do in skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, or other outdoor activities. Anchors once maintained by the SLCA are not guaranteed to be in the same state or condition as when they were maintained.