An expensive ski transportation project is set to obliterate many of Little Cottonwood Canyon’s idyllic roadside boulders. As the public comment period closes, climbers prepare for the worst.
Snowbird and Alta ski resorts perch at the top of Salt Lake City’s Little Cottonwood Canyon. Alongside the 10 miles of winding road that lead back down to the city sit a plethora of granite blocks sacred to boulderers. Soon, a sweeping transportation project designed to serve the resorts will destroy many of them.
Roadside Bouldering in Little Cottonwood Canyon at Stake
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is in the final stages of approving either a massive gondola or a bus-only lane expansion in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Either of the $500-million-plus solutions could alleviate the heavy traffic the canyon experiences at the height of ski season — but it will also alter the canyon for good.
Any taxpayers not invested in the success of Snowbird or Alta will also grit their teeth, as either project will reportedly be publicly funded.
In response, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) has advocated for solutions involving increased or incentivized bussing and tolls for passenger cars. The solution is not as extensively planned as UDOT’s proposals, but it would be more flexible and less invasive to the canyon’s multiple user groups.
To that end, it’s worth noting that the bus lane or gondola would not service backcountry skiers, only paying in-bounds skiers at the resorts.
UDOT closes the public comment period on September 3. At that time, it will decide between the gondola and bus lane and submit the project to the state legislature. If you want to submit a comment to UDOT now, you can do so at the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance website.
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The “Why?”: Heavy Ski Season Traffic
The Gondola: Emissions Savings, but a Massive Footprint
Bus-Only Lanes: Lateral Road Expansion, Plus a Parking Structure
‘Irreplaceable’ Boulders in the Crosshairs
![SLCA analysis of UDOT impact on little cottonwood canyon bouldering SLCA analysis of UDOT impact on little cottonwood canyon bouldering](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2021/08/DEIS_Impacts_Stats-1-700x467.jpg)
“The thing to realize is that every rock [in LCC] is unique. Every rock is an impossible combination of coincidence,” Coleman said. “The boulders that are going to be destroyed are some of the best boulders in the canyons. They host climbs that are challenging and technical and teach climbers how to move over rock. And they are truly irreplaceable.”
Ambiance and Watershed Impacted, Resorts Benefit
Little Cottonwood Canyon Construction: Are There Alternatives?
![Boulderer hands Paolo Cremones bouldering hands](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2021/08/Boulderer-hands-Paolo-Cremones-700x467.jpg)