The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance is a nonprofit organization focused on the stewardship of local climbing areas.
Executive Director Julia Geisler said its work includes preserving land access, maintaining climbing routes, and even managing parking.
“Think about it like Mountain Trails Foundation where you have a trail crew, we have an anchor maintenance crew going out and replacing old hardware on these routes with stainless steel hardware,” Geisler said. “This stuff needs to be maintained because it’s sometimes put up in the '60s.”
The organization is bringing its annual festival to Camp Roger - about 15 miles east of Kamas - in the Uinta Mountains later this month.
“It has always been in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon. We wanted to mix it up, the camping in Big and Little is quite hard to source,” Geisler said. “Having the Uintas and having Camp Roger as the home base is really going to create a vibe of being able to stay up there for the weekend and not have to drive up and down the canyon. The climbing clinics are spread throughout the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, but we’re encouraging carpooling.”
She said the Uintas offer a different type of climbing.
“The rock in the Uintas is some of my favorite type of rock, it’s quartzite. It’s really hard rock and it’s got a bunch of horizontals and kind of vertical face climbing," she said. "So in those cracks, you can place gear, there is trad potential in the Uintas for sure. A lot of bolts, a lot of sport climbing, and then some limited bouldering as well.”
Festival tickets are $55 and include tent and van camping, three meals, live music, and a local art market, among other things. Some of the climbing clinics being offered have sold out, but Geisler said some are still available to join, like the first aid clinic and another focused on anchor maintenance.
The festival is the weekend of Aug. 26 and 27. Visit saltlakeclimbingfestival.com for tickets and more information.
