PRINT: Rock Climb Sonic Boone, Big Cottonwood Canyon

Sonic Boone

5.8, Trad, 450 ft (136 m), 4 pitches, Grade II,

Avg: 2.1 from 21 votes
FA: Dylan Pike and James Garrett, 16 July 2020
Utah > Wasatch Range > Central Wasatch > Big Cottonwood… > Granite Flume > Windy Canyon

Description

This is an easy multi pitch bolted BCC route with a very short approach. For that, it is somewhat unique for the area. Definitely fun. Dylan and Emily's infant namesake son Boone now has something to aspire to:).

Pitch #1: Easy scrambling leads to a bulge with a bolt and continue straight up past a few other easy bulges and small roofs to a small two bolt rappel ledge. Continue past this rappel station passing another bolt to 3rd class scrambling (pass some loose shale here with care) to the huge ledge and two bolt belay. 5.5, 60m, 7 bolts.

Pitch #2: Continue straight up following bolts passing some broken up terrain passing two or three bulgy roofs to another ledge and two bolt belay. 5.6, 35m.

Pitch #3: Pass a small roof to the left and climb a steep pillar like feature passing three bolts. Can be tricky here. Some of the bolts here may not follow the easiest line but were placed in better rock. Climbing a bit left and then reaching out right may be easier than climbing bolt to bolt. Surmount this roof and then enter an OW section (one bolt) and finally scramble the last few meters to the two-bolt belay. 5.8, 30m, 5 bolts.

Pitch #4: Pass the bolt protected roof on right edge to another two bolts trending left. After the third bolt expect easy exit moves without fixed protection to the two bolt belay. 5.7, 20m, 3 bolts.

Rappel the Route. 70m rope recommended. Possible with a 60m.

Location

See attached photo/topo for clarity. This is on the South Facing quartzite of the Granite Flume and basically ascends the right buttress of the formation.

Approach as for the little canyon, but as you reach the old aqueduct pathway 4 way path intersection, follow that for a short distance to the west (left). Instead of continuing up the little canyon, follow the aqueduct for about 100m until you are in a clearing and the south face is directly above you. From the aqueduct trail, follow some cairns up (north) and through some scrub oak clearings connecting some boulder/scree clearings to the foot of the wall. A quick 10-15 minute approach time.

Protection

8 QDs and assorted Camalots to #5 work well to supplement the fixed protection.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

The area within the triangle is the Highline Hang area. The line from the summit is the route "Sonic Boone". The blue line is the route "Amyloid Plaques" and the few purple dots at the bottom is t…

Sonic Boone Topo

Lots off loose rock on this new route helmets recommend…..

Approach and location of first pitch

On the trail looking North to the route

Here on the aguaduct trail walking West immediately below the South Face, Turn North and follow cairns to the beginning of the route.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Exiled Michigander

5.8

Well bolted--no supplemental pro needed. Pitch 1 (5.5) and Pitch 2 (5.6) are the price of admission for Pitch 3 (5.8), which is quite good and worth the trip. Pitch 4 only has a couple of moves surmounting the roof (I'd rate these at 5.8 as well) and after that it is just a scramble. Fantastic views of the crags of lower Big Cottonwood Canyon from Narcolepsy to Dogwood, so take your camera or phone. The route gets plenty of sunshine, and we were warm climbing it in mid-December on a 45-degree day. It's a fun little adventure. Thanks for the hard work, Dylan and James.

Descent: We did 5 raps to get down with a 70 m. You can definitely get by with a 60, but you might need to do some easy downclimbing on the third rap down. I'm not sure if you can get by with fewer raps with a 70 m or not . . . it didn't seem like it and I wasn't in the mood to experiment. If you follow the natural rope line on the second rap, you'll be far climber's left of the rap station and may miss it (like I did!). Also, use caution on the fourth rappel--a lot of loose shale on the ledge at the beginning of the rap that can be knocked down onto climbers below if you don't use caution. Other than that the rappels were pretty straightforward. Dec 8, 2020

Bj Viehl
Salt Lake City

This was a really fun route. We saw hummingbirds, bats, pretty wildflowers, slack liners. A very relaxing moderate climb.

The approach off of the old flume trail isn't as straight forward. Had to kinda bushwhack heading north off of the flume trail in order to find the resemblance of a trail. We climbed and repelled 5 pitches. (You can climb it in 4 by combining the first 2 pitches) but need to rappel all 5.

The second pitch is pretty sketchy. A lot of loose scree and shale type rock that can fall down onto people below. Just be really mindful of pulling off loose shale and kicking down scree, especially on the rappel. I hid in a few nooks where I could when my partner was repelling above me, just to make sure.

This is a good place to practice placing trad gear as supplemental or building anchors in certain spots though the bolted route and anchors obviously work great, ( maybe a little run out in a few scrambly spots) Aug 31, 2021

Dylan Pike
Knoxville, TN

5.8

I climbed this route again today. It was a little chilly on a late September morning! I was paying attention to bolt spacing, etc, especially in light of the accident that happened here a few months ago. I would highly recommend bringing a few cams in the 0.3 to 0.75 Camalot range. A 0.5 or 0.75 would really be clutch protecting the step up to the first bolt on pitch 3. That being said, a confident 5.10 climber shouldn't have any problem climbing this route with only quickdraws, just be aware that this isn't a sport route and there are several runout sections with serious ledge-fall potential if you are only clipping the bolts. Sep 29, 2021

Kevin L
Ut

5.8

Sweet new addition to the BCC easy/moderate adventure climbs. Easyer then starstruck harder then itchy scratchy. Needs some cleaning but should improve over the years, expect a good amount of loose rocks. I would recommend bringing some cams if not very comfortable at this grade. I found the climb to be fine with just quick draws but there was some healthy run outs. * probably no need for a #5 unless you just really want to place that large cam you never use. Jun 16, 2022

Tim G.
Salt Lake City, UT

This is a fun, super easy multipitch outing. We brought some cams, but didn't place any. I don't see why you would need gear if you can lead 5.8 comfortably. All the tricky parts are close to bolts. The first 2 pitches are more of a 5.easy scramble and 3 and 4 only have a handful of 5.8 moves.

You can get down in 4 rappels by scrambling down to the first pitch middle anchors from the top of pitch 1. This section is an easy down climb for those that feel comfortable. This avoids the danger of pulling your rope across lots of loose shale on the big ledge.

This route is also a good approach to get to the ledge to climb Smoochie Poochie and 5th Grade Bully. Just scramble to the right at the top of the first pitch. Jun 21, 2022

Josh V

5.8 R

Climbed this route summer of 2022 hoping it could become a new first multi-pitch route in BCC for new climbers. Though the climbing wasn't hard it was a bit scary, bolt placement allowed us to climb this route without placing any additional gear but with the amount of loose rock and ledge fall potential it was a scary lead. That being said views were awesome and it made for more of an adventure climb than a rock climb in my opinion. Dec 9, 2022

Jake Sankari
Indianapolis, IN

5.7

You can link pitches 3 & 4 with a 70 meter rope. Recommend 5 slings and skip every other bolt.
Pitch 1: 5.2
Pitch 2: 5.5
Pitch 3 & 4: 5.7

You can make these pitches harder by climbing harder lines but the least resistance is really quite mellow. Also definitely a sport route at this point. You do not need to bring any gear for this route. Feb 23, 2024