Rock climbing is an inspiring pursuit, one that drives people to scale a cliff to gaze upon the landscape from a bird’s-eye view. The sport, which has deep roots in Utah, is experiencing an explosion of newly interested athletes.
Julia Geisler, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance (SLCA) executive director, stewards the climbing landscape while spearheading the organization and its vision of safeguarding access to well-managed and sustainable climbing.
Geisler’s path to the SLCA began with a ski resort. “I grew up in a rural ski town in western Maryland, and my dad managed a ski resort there called Wisp for 40 years. I have skiing in the blood,” she says, describing how she landed in Park City nearly two decades ago after a post-college nomadic period of traveling the world.
“I was lucky enough to walk into White Pine Touring the first summer I was living here, and saw they had a rock-climbing guide program,” she recalls. Upon meeting White Pine’s program manager and former owner, Charlie Sturgis, she says, “He took me under his wing and became a mentor to literally teach me the ropes.”
Geisler was guiding for White Pine when she was encouraged to apply for the executive director position with the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance—which had been around since 2002 as a completely volunteer board and organization without any staff. When Geisler was offered the job in 2011, the SLCA had a well-developed mission, and “we’ve stayed true to that original mission. The words stewardship and advocating for Wasatch climbing have remained in the mission statement the whole time.”
With Geisler’s attention and direction, the SLCA has gained momentum in elevating the organization’s four main pillars: advocacy, stewardship, education, and community.
“Climbing has grown in popularity with the new climbing gyms in the valley, leading to more people getting into outdoor climbing,” she continues.
“That’s why it’s important to have an advocacy group representing climbers’ interests.” Geisler fosters conversations with the US Forest Service and other agencies as a climber’s advocate.
Stewardship, Geisler explains, “is a whole system from the parking lot to the top of the cliff and back. We focus on trails and routes. We hire a professional trail crew, fund it, direct the work, and get the community to care about these landscapes by coming out to volunteer in that capacity.”
The SLCA is setting a precedent regarding route stewardship for the country. “We have the nation’s only professional anchor maintenance crew,” she says. These experts replace worn-out climbing anchors and bolts. “This leads to the education portion,” Geisler continues, referring to how the SLCA is sharing the framework for professional anchor replacement with other climbing advocacy groups. “We are doing things like anchor symposiums, which bring other climbing groups nationwide. It also brings in people who are out there developing routes.”
Geisler masterfully blends the advocacy, stewardship, and education aspects to engage the climbing community. “It’s our job to create a community that cares for these landscapes.”
For the past two years and in August 2025, the SLCA climbing festival and annual fundraiser is Uinta Mountains-based. “Our events bring climbers together, because if you don’t have that community, you don’t have any followers of the organization.”
Geisler views sharing Utah’s climbing history as essential, so she spearheaded a film project. “The Alpenbock film is a legacy story that honors the rich history and enduring spirit of rock climbing in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons in Utah.”
Her goal with all SLCA activations is to engage climbers to act as stewards. “As climbing continues to grow in numbers and evolve, the routes and the passion for where we climb remain the same,” she says. “We have a challenge and responsibility to preserve and protect these iconic climbing landscapes that are rich with historical value. We can save a place a thousand times but lose it only once.”
