This weeks FTF we linked up with local climber, Brandon Hobush and retreated to Little Cottonwood Canyon for some epic fall bouldering on world class granite. Little Cottonwood is known for providing the best powder skiing and snowboarding on the planet. With Alta and Snowbird resorts at the top of the 7 mile canyon, respectively.

But while we wait for more of the white stuff to fall on the ground, rock climbing and bouldering will have to work for now. 

Little bit about bouldering. Most beginner and intermediate climbers find out the hard way that outdoor bouldering is quite a bit harder than indoor climbing. You may have heard climbing friends say, “we climbed a V6 today.” The "V" scale simply measures the difficulty of a climbing route, with the numbers indicating ascending difficulty. For example, V0-V3 would be considered beginner, V4-V7 would be moderate, V8-V10 would be advanced and V11+ is expert.

The granite is quite possibly the ultimate testing grounds for our silicone rings. Jagged edges and extremely rough surfaces wreak havoc on fingers and hands. A traditional wedding band simply does not fly on the rock.

For more information on Utah bouldering, head to visitutah.com for a listing of climbing and bouldering options all around the beehive state. 

Keep in mind, LCC is a watershed so your K-9 companion is not allowed in the canyon. Also, plan on limited parking spaced along the road and consider carpooling and/or riding public transit up the canyon. 

Enjoy and tread lightly!