RECAP Rescue Little Cottonwood Canyon Event

November 30th, 2023

Utah Museum of Fine Arts - University of Utah

Recap by Advocacy Coordinator, Andrew Brodhead

The "Rescue Little Cottonwood Event" was held at the University of Utah's Museum of Fine Arts on December 30th. This event brought together many original members of Utah's Alpenbock Club, first ascensionists, climbers, and Little Cottonwood Canyon enthusiasts to share their passion for the special canyon. The event included a screening of the film "The Grand Rescue," directed by Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, the daughter of Alpenbock founding member and former SLC Mayor Ted Wilson.

"The Grand Rescue" depicts the story of the 1967 rescue off the North Face of the Grand Teton. This three-day rescue pushed modern search and rescue standards, culminating with no deaths. The rescue team received the Department of Interior Valor award for their participation in this rescue. The team mainly consisted of Salt Lake climbers who later returned to the Salt Lake Area to create one of the nation's first Search and Rescue (SAR) teams. During this event, we were fortunate to have the remaining surviving members of the rescue team: Bob Irvine, Ralph Tingey, and Ted Wilson.

After the showing of "The Grand Rescue," a panel was held to discuss the film, climbing in the 60s, and how to move forward with rescuing LCC. This panel included Bob Irvine, Ralph Tingey, Ted Wilson, Mayor Wilson, Zach Rohovit (Students for the Wasatch), and Julia Geisler (SLCA). We had wonderful conversations with these six impactful people around the Wasatch. Thank you to everyone who came out and participated by listening in and submitting questions.

After the panelists spoke, we loved seeing everyone hanging around, talking with each other, and engaging with the first ascensionists from the Wasatch. Overall, this was a great way to see the community come together to support what we love most: Wasatch climbing.