Little Cottonwood Canyon

Last updated
Little Cottonwood Canyon
Little Cottonwood Canyon.jpg
Near the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon looking west toward the Salt Lake Valley.
Elevation 5,400 ft (1,646 m)
Location Salt Lake County, Utah
Range Wasatch Mountain Range
Coordinates 40°34′24″N111°46′35″W / 40.57333°N 111.77639°W / 40.57333; -111.77639
USA Utah relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Utah
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
Location in the United States

Little Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern side of the Salt Lake Valley, roughly 15 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah. The canyon is part of Granite, a CDP and "Community Council" designated by Salt Lake County. The canyon is a glacial trough (U-shaped canyon), carved by an alpine glacier during the last ice age, 15,000 to 25,000 years ago. A number of rare and endemic plant species are found in the canyon's Albion Basin. Introduced Mountain goats inhabit the surrounding mountains. [1]

Contents

The Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was built of blocks of quartz monzonite, granite, and granodiorite which Latter Day Saint pioneers quarried from the Little Cottonwood Stock near the mouth of the canyon. [2] [3]

State Route 210 is the primary access road to the canyon, running from the canyon mouth up to Alta. Little Cottonwood Creek runs down the length of the canyon, beginning at Cecret Lake at Alta and flowing westward.

Geology

The Little Cottonwood stock is a granitic intrusion that extends from the mouth of the canyon almost to Snowbird ski resort. It is Oligocene in age, roughly 30.5 to 29 million years old, composed primarily of granodiorite, quartz monzonite, and granite, with some mafic enclaves. The Little Cottonwood stock is intruded in its northeast corner by another unit called the White Pine intrusion, and other smaller igneous units, collectively about 27-26 million years old, which are the source of the inactive White Pine molybdenum ore deposit in White Pine fork. [4]

The intrusion and its associated ore deposit have several interesting features, including quartz-bearing porphyry, pebble dikes, and other features related to hydrothermal ore deposit processes, and possibly volcanism, that occurred during intrusion. [4]

The intrusion is also the footwall of the East Traverse Mountain Mega-Landslide, and its presence is probably a second-order control on the cause of the landslide, in addition to the elevation gradient caused by the nearby Wasatch Fault. [4]

Hydrology

The Little Cottonwood Canyon watershed provides drinking water to much of Salt Lake County. [5] The National Forest Service considers Little Cottonwood Canyon a protected watershed area. In order to prevent contamination of the watershed by fecal runoff, no dogs (except service animals and avalanche search dogs) are permitted in the canyon. [6]

Recreational activities

Recreational activities in Little Cottonwood Canyon include hiking, camping, fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, Bouldering, skiing, snowboarding, and backcountry use. There are two resorts in the canyon, Alta and Snowbird, providing both summer and winter recreational opportunities. The Utah Native Plant Society often conducts wildflower walks at Albion Basin and in other locations in the canyon. The road is approximately 8.3 miles from the base of the canyon to the top with an average grade of 9.2%, making it a popular road cycling challenge. [7]

Skiing and snowboarding

Mt. Superior Mt. Superior Alta UT.JPG
Mt. Superior

Little Cottonwood Canyon is home to two ski areas, Snowbird and Alta. Both areas are well known for the amount of snow they receive each year with Alta averaging around 550 inches per year. [8] The canyon is also well known for its backcountry skiing access, with over 300 named backcountry runs [9] including one of the most prominent peaks in the canyon, Mount Superior.

Rock climbing

The lower third of the canyon is strewn with quartz monzonite, granite, and granodiorite outcroppings, mostly consisting of smooth steep faces, some up to several hundred feet high. Local climbers informally refer to the rock as granite, which is a close relative to quartz monzonite.

The earliest recorded climbing activity dates from the 1930s, when Harold Goodro put up some routes before shifting to predominantly climbing on the quartzite of Big Cottonwood Canyon and elsewhere. Many of the major routes in Little Cottonwood were established in the early 1960s by the Alpenbock Club, some in conjunction with well-known visitors including Fred Beckey, Layton Kor, and Royal Robbins. The Lowes – George Lowe, Greg Lowe, and Jeff Lowe – came to prominence through the rest of the 1960s and early 1970s. More recent climbers have pushed the standards to the highest levels, establishing several 5.13 routes.

Access can be a problem. On the north side, the "Church Buttress" above the Granite Mountain Records Vault, and the Black Peeler Buttress, are on private land and not legally accessible, as are parts of the south side. This still leaves some 20-odd named buttresses and gullies available for climbing, mostly on the north side. Approaches involve parking alongside the road and hiking a short distance up through scrub oak, sometimes scrambling through fields of enormous boulders.

Face climbing is the predominant technique, typically using bolts and cracks for protection, but there are many notable crack climbs as well. Most routes are 2-4 pitches in length, with walkoffs involving still more scrub oak.

The highest-quality face routes are to be found on The Fin, an almost-featureless expanse high above the canyon. Its route The Dorsal Fin (5.10d) is a classic of the Wasatch; first ascended by George Lowe and Mark McQuarrie in 1965, the bolts of this four-pitch were all drilled on the lead.

The canyon also includes Gate Buttress, whose 80+ routes include the aptly named Schoolroom (5.6), a five-pitch route requiring a wide variety of techniques, along with routes ranging up to 5.12a in difficulty. Below the buttress and near the road is the Gate Boulder, a popular gathering spot shaded by large trees.

The Pfeifferhorn is one of the highest peaks to climb in the Wasatch. The peak is usually climbed from the Red Pine Lake area, a ten-mile roundtrip climb that gains 3,700 feet. The peak was named after Chuck Pfeiffer, a Wasatch Club leader from long ago. [10]

With 529 climbs currently established, Little Cottonwood Canyon has the second most bouldering routes in Utah. [11] These routes vary in difficulty, from V0 to V16. [12] Some of the most commonly climbed areas throughout the canyon include Secret Garden, 5 Mile, and White Pine. [13]

Gondola Controversy

On August 31, 2022, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) announced "Gondola Alternative B", a plan to build a Gondola transit system connecting the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon with Alta and Snowbird ski areas. [14] A coalition of environmental groups opposed to the gondola have filed lawsuits against UDOT to block the gondola, claiming UDOT exceeded its authority and violated the National Environmental Policy Act . [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alta, Utah</span> Town in Utah, United States

Alta is a town in eastern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 228 at the 2020 census, a large decrease from the 2010 figure of 383.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasatch Range</span> Sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the western United States

The Wasatch Range or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about 160 miles (260 km) from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region. The northern extension of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River Mountains, extends just into Idaho, constituting all of the Wasatch Range in that state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snowbird, Utah</span> Unincorporated community in Utah

Snowbird is an unincorporated community in Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is most famous for Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, an alpine skiing and snowboarding area, which opened in December 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alta Ski Area</span> Ski resort in Alta, Utah, United States

Alta is a ski area in the western United States, located in the town of Alta in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, in Salt Lake County. With a skiable area of 2,614 acres (10.58 km2), Alta's base elevation is 8,530 ft (2,600 m) and rises to 11,068 ft (3,374 m) for a vertical gain of 2,538 ft (774 m). One of the oldest ski resorts in the country, it opened its first lift in early 1939. Alta is known for receiving more snow than most Utah resorts, with an average annual snowfall of 545 inches (13.8 m). It is also regularly ranked as having the best snow in North America. Alta is one of three remaining ski resorts in the U.S. that prohibits snowboarders, along with nearby competitor Deer Valley and Vermont's Mad River Glen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quartz monzonite</span> Type of igneous rock

Quartz monzonite is an intrusive, felsic, igneous rock that has an approximately equal proportion of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars. It is typically a light colored phaneritic (coarse-grained) to porphyritic granitic rock. The plagioclase is typically intermediate to sodic in composition, andesine to oligoclase. Quartz is present in significant amounts. Biotite and/or hornblende constitute the dark minerals. Because of its coloring, it is often confused with granite, but whereas granite contains more than 20% quartz, quartz monzonite is only 5–20% quartz. Rock with less than five percent quartz is classified as monzonite. A rock with more alkali feldspar is a syenite whereas one with more plagioclase is a quartz diorite. The fine grained volcanic rock equivalent of quartz monzonite is quartz latite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Ski Resort</span> Ski resort near Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Brighton Ski Resort is a ski area in the western United States, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon in Brighton, Utah. About thirty miles (50 km) from downtown Salt Lake City, it is owned and operated by Boyne Resorts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Cottonwood Canyon</span> Canyon in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States

Big Cottonwood Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The 15-mile (24 km)-long canyon provides hiking, biking, picnicking, rock-climbing, camping, and fishing in the summer. Its two ski resorts, Brighton and Solitude, are popular among skiers and snowboarders. The canyon is accessed by The Big Cottonwood Canyon Scenic Byway (SR-190), which runs its length to Guardsman Pass at the top of the canyon, allowing travel to Park City in the summer months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Route 171</span> State highway in Utah, United States

State Route 171 (SR-171) is a state highway in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area in northern Utah that runs from SR-111 in Magna in the west side of the city to Interstate 215 in the city of Millcreek in the eastern part valley. In its sixteen-mile span, the route is named 3500 South and 3300 South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traverse Mountains</span> Mountain range separating the Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley

The Traverse Mountains, or sometimes Traverse Range, are an anomalous, geologically complex, east-trending range that separates Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley in Salt Lake and Utah counties in the U.S. State of Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Peak (Utah)</span> Mountain in the U.S. state of Utah

Lone Peak is a mountain summit in the Wasatch Range southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, and the center of the Lone Peak Wilderness, established in 1978. With an elevation of 11,260 feet (3,430 m), it is one of the highest peaks in the range and among the most prominent of the Wasatch Front, towering over the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper and easily visible from most of the valley, which makes it a popular destination for hiking and rock climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pfeifferhorn</span> Mountain in the American state of Utah

The Pfeifferhorn is the 11,331 feet (3,454 m) triangularly-shaped peak located in the most isolated part of the Lone Peak Wilderness Area of the Wasatch Mountains in northern Utah, United States. This rugged Utah mountain, commonly referred to as the Little Matterhorn, is the fifth-highest peak in the Wasatch Range. The summit can be reached by hiking, though some scrambling is required. There are several technical rock climbing routes with the north ridge being the most popular. This summit also makes an excellent winter mountaineering adventure.

Granite Mountain is a mass of solid rock one mile up Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of Utah, not too far from Salt Lake City, Utah. Despite its name, Granite Mountain is primarily composed of quartz monzonite, an igneous rock similar to granite in appearance, physical characteristics, and chemical composition. This is the same material used to construct the Salt Lake Temple and the facade of the LDS Conference Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Route 210</span> State highway in Utah, United States

State Route 210 (SR-210) is a state route in the U.S. state of Utah that is the access road for Little Cottonwood Canyon and the ski resorts of Alta and Snowbird. The 13.62 mi (21.92 km) highway straddles the southeastern edge of the Salt Lake Valley before it enters the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Route 190</span> State highway in Utah, United States

State Route 190 (SR-190) or the Big Cottonwood Canyon Scenic Byway is primarily an east and west state highway and scenic highway in eastern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, that begins at Interstate 215 (I-215), runs through Big Cottonwood Canyon, and ends at the Salt Lake and Wasatch county line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utah State Route 209</span> State highway in Utah, United States

State Route 209 (SR-209) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Utah, following 9000 South and other east–west streets south of Salt Lake City. It connects the Bingham Canyon Mine with I-15 in Sandy and the ski areas of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecret Lake</span> Alpine lake in Utah

Cecret Lake is a small alpine lake in Albion Basin which is within the town limits of Alta in the U.S. state of Utah. This area is also part of the Wasatch National Forest. Cecret Lake is also a protected watershed for Salt Lake City. The United States Geological Survey officially spells the name of this lake as "Cecret Lake".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Cottonwood Creek (Salt Lake County, Utah)</span> River in Utah, United States

Little Cottonwood Creek is one of the principal streams entering Salt Lake Valley from the east. The creek rises near the summit of the Wasatch Mountains, a short distance south of the ski resort town of Alta, and flows in a westerly direction through Little Cottonwood Canyon until it emerges into Salt Lake Valley about eleven miles from its source. Thence its course is north westerly through Sandy, Midvale and Murray, Utah until it empties into the Jordan River, about six miles south of Salt Lake City. Its whole length is nearly 27 miles (43 km). The headwaters of Little Cottonwood Creek are in Little Cottonwood Canyon, a glaciated canyon in Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains eco-region. One of the main tributaries of the creek rises in Cecret Lake, a small sheet of water situated near Alta. The entire Little Cottonwood Creek drainage basin encompasses 46 square miles (120 km2), ranging in elevation from about 4,490 to 11,500 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Cottonwood Creek</span> River in Utah, United States

Big Cottonwood Creek is located in the Wasatch Mountains just east of Salt Lake City. It is part of the Big Cottonwood Creek Watershed, which ranges in elevation from 5,000 to 10,500 feet with the headwaters around 9,600 feet. The creek flows through the Big Cottonwood Canyon in a westerly direction until it emerges into Salt Lake Valley about eighteen miles (29 km) from its highest source. Thence its course is northwesterly through Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, and Murray, Utah for a little over twenty-four miles from the headwaters until it empties into the Jordan River about five miles (8.0 km) south of Salt Lake City. The water eventually flows into the Great Salt Lake. In the summer, its waters are all used for irrigation purposes. From its source to its original outlet in the Jordan River is about twenty-six miles.

Skiing in Utah is a thriving industry which contributes greatly to the state’s economy. Skiing started off in the state as a recreational activity enjoyed by only a few, but since the 1930s, it has increasingly developed into a substantial industry, which creates thousands of jobs and brings in millions of dollars in revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Superior</span> Mountain in the American state of Utah

Mount Superior is an 11,045 feet (3,367 m) mountain peak in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States.

References

  1. ↑ "Hiking in Utah's Mountains".
  2. ↑ "Little Cottonwood Canyon Scenic Drive".
  3. ↑ Jensen, C.J., Multi-stage intrusion and differentiation: petrologic development of the Little Cottonwood stock, Utah: GSA Annual Meeting, Seattle, 2017
  4. 1 2 3 Jensen, Collin (2019). "Multi-Stage Construction of the Little Cottonwood Stock, Utah: Origin, Intrusion, Venting, Mineralization, and Mass Movement". Brigham Young University Scholars Archive-Theses and Dissertations.
  5. ↑ "Watershed 101". Central Wasatch Commission. 27 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "Watersheds in the Salt Lake Valley". USDA.gov.
  7. ↑ "Salt Lake Cycling - Salt Lake area rides - Little Cottonwood Canyon". Archived from the original on 2007-11-11.
  8. ↑ "10 Ski Resorts with the Deepest Snow in America". Adventure. 2017-01-31. Archived from the original on May 4, 2017. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  9. ↑ "Wasatch Backcountry Skiing Desktop Map". wbskiing.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  10. ↑ Pfeifferhorn Trip Report
  11. ↑ "Boulders - Little Cottonwood Bouldering", Mountain Project, Recreational Equipment, Inc., 2019
  12. ↑ "The Grand Illusion (V16) First Ascent - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  13. ↑ MacDonald, Cara (April 20, 2019). "Outdoor bouldering highlights in Little Cottonwood Canyon". www.ksl.com. Deseret Digital Media . Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  14. ↑ "UDOT identifies Gondola B as the preferred alternative in Little Cottonwood Canyon". udot.utah.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  15. ↑ "Gondola - LittleCottonwoodCanyon.org". littlecottonwoodcanyon.org. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
Bibliography

40°34′16″N111°42′25″W / 40.571°N 111.707°W / 40.571; -111.707

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.