The B.E. Butress

Overview

The B.E. Butress (not my name for it, however according to many books and some climbers that is indeed the "official" name) is an enjoyable granite trad climb located at the bottom of Little Cottonwood Canyon's south side. There are several routes here and there can be several groups out on it on any given weekend, so do not count on being alone. If you want to climb this area and have it to yourself I would suggest getting up early for sure. Even in the middle of winter I have personally witnessed groups on this route. Still this area offers enough challenging climbs to keep you coming back for more and more.

Getting There

Drive to the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Make a left turn at the base into the well marked Little Cottonwood Park'n Ride. Drive to the top of the lot near the bathrooms and park here. You should see a trail right from your car. Follow this trail keeping left as you go up.

Route Description

There are several climbs you can climb here. The 2 most popular routes are the 5.10 and 5.11 trad climbs. Each of these climbs are both exciting as well as challenging. Trust me these routes will put your hand jams, fist jams and shmearing techniques to the test. As a bonus there is a large chicken head that one must scale to reach the very top. For those who want to get a good long look at the route before taking it on, you can scramble up the right side and rappel down.

The Gear

There are some bolted chains avalible at the top, so top rope and lead climbing are both options on these routes. To set up your top rope just scramble up the climbers right of the boulder (class 3-4) and you should be able to see the chains.

Images

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