This is one of the craziest geological formations I’ve ever seen.
My buddy Eric recently moved back to the area after living in Las Vegas for the past few years. I told him recently about my goal to climb one mountain a week in 2011, and said he wanted to join me for the next one.
I chose Step Mountain (6,117′ or 1864m) because I was struck by its incredible geology. It looks like someone stacked a bunch giant of railroad ties in a pile. Except that each railroad tie is a basalt column.
There’s a lot of rock in the Salt Lake City area: limestone, sandstone, quartzite, granite, cobblestone. Each type of rock is different to climb on. Granite is smooth with beautiful cracks. Limestone is sharp with lots of pockets and holes. Quartzite cracks are jagged. I was intrigued when I saw photos of Step Mountain because I didn’t even realize there was basalt nearby. As an avid climber, I was keen to check out the rock to see if it was climbable.
Step Mountain from the approach road.
What an incredible geological formation!
Kennecott Copper Mine, the deepest open pit mine in the world.
Eric on top, with the Salt Lake Valley behind him.
Me on top of Step Mountain.