13th ANNUAL SLCA CLIMBING FESTIVAL

Climb. Connect. COMPETE. Protect.

PARTY FOR A CAUSE

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Goldminer’s Daughter Lodge – 10160 E Hwy 210, Alta, UT 84092

explore albion basin and beyond all day, Chill Into the Evening

Demos. Clinics. Competition. Mobility. Stoke. Stories & high alpine vibes.

GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!

Your ticket is your all‑access pass to a full day in the mountains. Ticket includes breakfast, coffee, a mobility warm‑up session, entry into the Cecret Challenge: Bag Your Bolts, and chances to win premium gear from sponsors like Black Diamond, Tenaya, Gear Room, and more. You’ll also get access to discounted pro‑level clinics (separate sign‑up required), plus an evening party with live music, a powerful keynote presentation, and a film screening.

A full day of climbing community, stewardship, and summer alpine fun

expand your skills by signing up for a day long clinic

be sure to purchase your festival ticket first, then take a look at the discounted clinics coming up for the fest

All clinics are $99 in addition to your Climbing Festival ticket - Inspired Summit Adventures, Snowbird Mountain Guides, Wasatch Mountain Guides, and Utah Mountain Adventures are supporting the SLCA and Climbing Festival with this one-time-only discount.

inspired summit adventures

Wasatch Mountain guides

snowbird mountain guides

utah mountain adventures

Introducing the Cecret Challenge: Bag your Bolts

For the first time ever, test your Little Cottonwood knowledge and bring home some big winnings.

A mountain scavenger hunt that will get you moving and exploring. Golden bolts retired by the SLCA Anchor Maintenance Crew will be hidden throughout Albion Basin and surrounding Alta terrain. On festival morning, every ticket holder gets an email with exclusive clues leading to these bolts — find one, find many, and boost your chances to win.

You’ll check in at Goldminer’s Daughter, then you have 10:30 AM–4:30 PM to hike, scramble, or climb your way across the basin and bag as many bolts as you can. The top three finishers score premium gear packs from SLCA sponsors like Black Diamond, Tenaya, Gear Room, and more.

No special skills required — just curiosity, legs, and a festival ticket. It’s part treasure hunt, part alpine adventure, and fully one‑of‑a‑kind.

What to expect on Saturday, August 22, 2026

9:00 AM - Breakfast by Climbers for Christ, coffee by Alpha Coffee.

Don’t miss the gear demos - Demos include Harnesses & Helmets from petzl, & climbing shoes from la sportiva & Tenaya.

9:30-10:30 AM - Mobility & warm-up session

Join SLCA's proud sponsor converge physical therapy for your climbing specific warm-up & mobility. You will learn functional & equipment-free warm-up essentials for your gym or crag days to stay injury-free & continue climbing without limits. A small discussion on how to fuel for a crag day will also be shared from our Registered Dietician.

10:30 AM - Clinic’s head into the mountains & the first ever Cecret Challenge starts

Clinics by our local guide outfitter companies including: Utah Mountain Adventures, Wasatch Mountain Guides, Red River Adventures, Inspired Summit Adventures, Snowbird Mountain Guides, and Converge Physical Therapy

5:00 PM -PARTY IN THE MOUNTAINS

Cecret Challenge cut off

vendor village & Lawn games

Live music with Adam Lenkowski from Herban Empire

dinner, & drinks available for purchase

6:00 PM - Cecret Challenge awards

7:00-8:00 PM - Keynote Presentation - Inside the Rescue: Stories from the Wasatch

Go behind the scenes of some of the Wasatch’s most significant climbing incidents during this featured multimedia keynote presentation. Through powerful images, firsthand storytelling, and personal reflections, rescuers, survivors, and recovery professionals will take audiences inside local climbing accidents in Little Cottonwood Canyon and beyond—sharing how rescue operations unfold, lessons learned, and the long road to recovery. This unique program offers a rare inside look at local rescues while highlighting the resilience, community, and support systems that help climbers return to the places they love.

Speakers include Michael Finger (Salt Lake County Search & Rescue), Katey Blumenthal, DPT (University of Utah Climber’s Clinic), Toya Eastman (USA Para Climbing), and climbing accident survivors Garrett Day and Elise Timothy Day.

8:30 PM - Film showing

Fixed Points originally was a Camp 4 Collective intern project. I was given the opportunity to follow alongside the SLCA anchor maintenance crew, filming their work and putting together an authentic way to tell a story about the work they do. Fixed Points is a 12.5 minute short film that provides a glimpse into some of the social and moral challenges the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance faces when rebolting routes. Most of us are aware of the incredible amounts of physical labor that goes into the rebolting process, however what does the other side look like? Fixed Points touches on the complexities of working with first ascensionists, navigating the climbing community, and emphasizes the importance of safe bolts.

One of the goals of the film was to show a different side of the climbing community, the challenges within, and to hear it all right from the anchor technicians themselves. - Director: Dante Kroner