Date: May 1, 2026 (Fri)

Partner: Sean McLane

We started the day with a 5.9 splitter called The Coffin. I led it. Super fun.

Date: May 1, 2026 (Fri)

Partner: Sean McLane

After our warm-up on The Coffin (5.9, 1p), we climbed Enter the Dragon (5.11-, 3p).

Enter the Dragon follows a long, varied corner system with a bit of everything. The first pitch is forgettable, but the second is the real prize—sustained, engaging, and full of character. Lots of laybacking with a crux move around a bulge and fun final airy move on jugs to the anchor. On the third pitch, things turn more technical and airy with some "Kung-Fu” footwork on chickenheads.

I led Pitch 1, Sean took Pitch 2, and I started up Pitch 3 but couldn’t unlock the crux at the first bolt. Sean ended up taking over the lead, and with a bit of beta in hand I was able to cruise it on toprope. Next time—on the sharp end.

Date: May 1, 2026 (Fri)

Partner: Sean McLane

After Enter the Dragon (5.11-, 3p), we moved parking lots and headed to the Dihedrals area. I started us off by leading Satan's Corner, a fun classic 5.8 corner climb. 

Date: May 1, 2026 (Fri)

Partner: Sean McLane

After climbing Satan’s Corner (5.8+, 1–2 pitches), we moved a few routes left to Equipment Overhang (5.11a, 1 pitch). Sean had been on it before and he took the lead and snagged a proud redpoint. I followed and had to puzzle out the crux at the first bolt, but once that clicked, it went smoothly to the top. Really fun route—definitely one I’d like to come back and lead now that I’ve got the beta dialed.

Date: May 2, 2026 (Sat)

Partner: Josh Schmidt

For the second day of my stretch in Little Cottonwood Canyon, I climbed with Josh Schmidt, a friend of Sean’s. The plan was to tick off a couple of multipitch classics: Pentapitch with the Sasquatch variation (5.9+, 4p) and Stiffler’s Mom (5.11a, 6p).

We started on Pentapitch, opting for the Sasquatch variation. I led the excellent 5.9+ finger crack—arguably the highlight of the route. After topping out, we headed over to Stiffler’s Mom, only to find two parties queued at the base. Rather than wait, we decided to kill some time on something nearby.

A quick look at Mountain Project led us to Angering the Angered (5.9+, 7p), the furthest-left route in the area. Josh had climbed it before and said it climbed better than it looked. With plenty of bolts for protection, it felt like a casual but worthwhile adventure. He was right—it was surprisingly decent and perfect for passing a few hours while adding seven more pitches to the day.

When we returned, Stiffler’s Mom was finally free. We swung leads (sort of): Josh took P1–2 (linked), I led P3–4 (linked), then took P5 (the 5.10+ corner), and Josh finished with P6, featuring the cruxy 5.11a moves. We skipped the final pitch due to wet rock.

Seventeen guidebook pitches for the day—nice! I got a great taste of the south side of Little Cottonwood Canyon: lots of trusting your feet and committing to the smears.

Below is an overlay and pitch by pitch photos for Pentapitch with the Sasquatch variation. Pentapitch is a true Little Cottonwood classic, featuring fun and varied crack and face climbing on high-quality granite. The first three pitches were climbed by Bob Toepel and Rick Reese, with the rest of the line completed by their crew two weeks later. Though originally described as five pitches, it’s now commonly done in three or four. The Sasquatch variation adds a splitter finger crack to the right of the original line, increasing both the difficulty and the quality.

Date: May 2, 2026 (Sat)

Partner: Josh Schmidt

This was the second route Josh and I climbed, between Pentapitch (5.9+, 4p) and Stiffler's Mom (5.11-, 6p), when we were looking for a route to kill some time due to the queue of parties on Stiffler's Mom. A quick look at Mountain Project led us to Angering the Angered (5.9+, 7p), the furthest-left route in the area. Josh had climbed it before and insisted it climbed better than it looked. With plenty of bolts for protection, it felt like a casual but worthwhile adventure. He was right—it was surprisingly decent and perfect for passing a few hours while adding seven more pitches to the day.

There are a lot of pins on the route, meant to mark the route. They are all World War 2 surplus pins we bought from and Army Navy store in 2008. They were all installed on the FA.

Date: May 2, 2026 (Sat)

Partner: Josh Schmidt

This was Josh and my third route of the day, after Pentapitch (5.9+, 4p) and Angering the Angered (5.9+, 7p). We swung leads (sort of): Josh took P1–2 (linked), I led P3–4 (linked), then took P5 (the 5.10+ corner), and Josh finished with P6, featuring the cruxy 5.11a moves. We skipped the final pitch due to wet rock.

This route was put up in traditional style, from the ground up. It lies about 300 yards east (left) of Pentapitch.

Date: May 3, 2026 (Sun)

Partner: toprope solo

After climbing Outside Corner (5.7, 3p) and Crescendo (5.9, 4p) in Big Cottonwood Canyon that morning, we were back at the car before noon. I had a few errands to run, but the pull of Bongeater—a striking dihedral visible from the Little Cottonwood Canyon Park & Ride—was too good to pass up. With its easy top access via a bit of scrambling, it makes for an ideal top-rope solo setup.

I hiked up, rigged the rope, and started up the route. At first, it felt straightforward—just good, honest crack climbing. “This isn’t so bad,” I thought. But a body length from the top, I hit a wall. The sequence wasn’t obvious. I tried laybacking and greased off.

After hanging and working through the moves, I lowered to give it a proper go. Second attempt: close, but I botched the transition. Third time, it all clicked.

My sequence from the final finger pod: layback → left-hand jam → knee bar → layback → beached whale. No idea if that’s the standard beta, but it did the trick.

A fun little battle to finish the day.

Listed roughly longest to shortest:
• S-Direct on The Thumb (5.9+ R, 7p)
• Hook, Line, Sinker (5.10b, 6p)
• Arm and Hammer (5.10b, 6p)
• The 7th Way (5.11a/b, 5p)
• Betty’s Altered Elbow (5.9, 4p)
• The Dorsal Fin (5.10d, 4p)
• Crescent Crack (5.7, 2p, 300')
• Bushwhack Crack (5.8, 2p, 250')
• Gordon's Hangover (5.9+, 1p, 150')
• After the Fall (5.9, 1p, 100')
• Mexican Crack (5.10a, 1p, 90')
• Black and White Frosted, John and Mary (5.10c, 1p, 80')
• Tick Fever (5.11a, 1p, 80')

Date: April 30, 2026 (Thu)

Partner: solo

After a 6-7 hour drive from Red Rocks, I arrived in Salt Lake around midday the day before my climbing plans and decided to hike up Mount Olympus. The route tops out at 9,030 feet with sweeping views over the Wasatch Valley and Salt Lake City. Most of the trail is straightforward Class 1–2 hiking, packing over 4,000 feet of gain into less than 4 miles, but it finishes with some Class 3 scrambling near the summit. Meltwater from lingering snow left the quartzite slick up high, which slowed things down a bit. Still, the views were excellent. It took about 4.5 hours at a relaxed pace—and I definitely felt more out of shape and less acclimatized than usual after a winter at sea level. Only one fix for that….