Welcome Schelene. I've planted a few clematis in my daughter's garden in Salt Lake City. No problems getting and keeping them going. I think especially in a hot, dry summer climate it's important to first amend the soil with lots of good organic material to help hold moisture, water consistently the first summer at least, and also to shade the root area through the hot part of the day. A good, deep organic mulch over the planting area, plus you can plant flowers that will grow tall-ish nearby, (but not close enough to compete) or situate the clematis where a structure or wall will shade the root area.
An old basic rule of thumb for clematis is to plant them with "their heads in the sun and their feet in the shade". This is probably very important to keeping the plants going in the dry Intermountain climate.
