Anchor Maintenance: American Fork

During the week of June 16, 2025, the SLCA Anchor Crew headed down to American Fork Canyon. Our focus this week was on smaller crags—areas that had seen past maintenance—as well as popular routes still missing quality lower-offs.

We visited several areas, including Hell Area, The Hitcher, Little Mill, Division, Cannabis Wall, and The Membrane. Our efforts centered on popular routes with rusty or inadequate hardware. Much of the problematic gear we found was concentrated at The Membrane.

Three routes—Nelson, Flight Fright, and Reverse Osmosis—contained the dangerous 3/8" PB+ bolts. These bolts are substandard for climbing use and are known to snap when repeatedly tightened. SLCA is actively working to identify and remove all hardware of this type. Please help us by keeping an eye out for bolt heads marked with “PB+” and fill out our observation form (see image below).

Over the course of the week, we:

  • Replaced over 140 bolts

  • Maintained 28 anchors

  • Visited 26 individual routes

The SLCA remains committed to maintaining and upgrading hardware at climbing areas throughout the state. We’ll continue standardizing anchors and replacing aging or unsafe hardware—keeping climbers safe and the experience reliable.

Julia Geisler