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Funding to Complete a Reroute of the Jacob's Ladder Trail in Unincorporated Salt Lake County
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Description: The Mayor's Administration is asking the Council to consider an urgent funding request from the Salt Lake Climber's Alliance for the Jacob's Ladder Trail Project located in unincorporated Salt Lake County to help complete a reroute of the current trail. The project will have a 4,000 feet trail shortfall without an immediate influx of $38,000. The funding shortfall is due to a National Forest Foundation Grant that was not funded, as well as budget increases on account of unanticipated complexities of the project. The project area is three hours from the trailhead and is situated on steep technical terrain. As a result, more rock work has been required than what was initially anticipated. The trail's destination is the summit of Lone Peak (11,260 feet), gaining 5,600 feet of elevation over six miles from the Peak View Trailhead. The most challenging part of this approach is this middle section, where 1.3 miles of a section known as (upper) Jacobs Ladder gains 2,200 feet, with an average grade of 32%. To improve the recreation experience of hikers and climbers and to protect the resource, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance began construction on a three-mile reroute in the fall of 2021 after years of planning. This new segment will switch back across the slope rather than climbing directly up it. The Salt Lake Climbers Alliance has raised over $120,000 to complete this project but remains $38,000 short as of today, resulting in 4,000 ft of trail left to complete. If funding cannot be secured, the new alignment will tie back into the old trail site. Currently, work crews are camping overnight to complete the trail. If the trail is not completed at this time, there will not be enough scope to get another crew up to complete the trail. This last push will require a few more weeks of work, and then the project will be compl...
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