Little Cottonwood Canyon’s crags harbor over 1,000 routes of all grades and styles. Splitter cracks, blank friction slabs, pumpy face climbs and multi-pitch rambles—even a few necky aid routes. Little Cottonwood offers the full spectrum of granite exploits, and if you’re looking to train for bigger climbs and bolder trips, there’s no better place to go.

While LCC’s proximity to the bustling Wasatch Front has kept it from becoming a true backwater crag, the nearby city and relative obscurity compared to other Utah climbing areas has prevented Little Cottonwood from making it onto most roadtrip itineraries. Storied names like Beckey, Robbins and Lowe have all spent time in the canyon, but Little Cottonwood is at its very essence a local’s crag—untold numbers of passionate Wasatch climbers have left their marks over the years, contributing to the incredible volume of climbing that the canyon offers today.

Of the two Cottonwood canyons, BCC is the lesser-known, despite its amazing climbing. There are hundreds of routes on dozens of crags scattered throughout the length and on either side of the canyon.

Climbing is primarily on quartzite, which tends to be slippery and hard; however, the quartzite also offers numerous holds jutting out at all angles. Because protection may be more difficult in quartzite than in the granite of LCC, BCC has more sport routes than LCC, but the majority of BCC routes are trad climbs.