If Smith Rock is the sport climbing capital of America, then Indian Creek is the crack climbing capital. Located an hour south of Moab, UT, Indian Creek’s cracks are sandstone walls with thousands of cracks running up them. Thanks to a grant from my school’s outing club, I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks in the Creek this March.
The first thing you learn about sandstone is that you should never climb it when it’s wet. “Gosh, do you think that cracks will explode today?” asked one local dirtbag facetiously as rain bounced off the top of his car. We spent that first day roaming Donnelly Canyon, scoping routes and drinking out of the impermanent waterfalls.
The next day, it snowed.
Thursday, we hiked to the confluence of the Green and the Colorado river—it’s a 10-mile hike roundtrip and if you’re in the area and unable to climb due to whether, it’s a nice hike. It’s flat, the trail is good, and the scenery stunning.
Given the two weeks we were in the creek, I’ll spare you the blow-by-blow of the entire trip. Instead, I’ll share a few noteworthy days and climbs.
Friday we finally got to climb. My first ever climb in the Creek was Wavy Gravy, a short but classic 5.10 that takes almost exclusively #2 Camalots (almost nothing in the creek is easier than 5.10 but it’s all hand-size dependent anyway). That day I also did my first off-width—a decidedly painful and exhausting experience.
Though my body and strength were in decent condition (i.e. I wasn’t quite “off the couch”), my mental strength was still very much on the couch or buried somewhere deep inside it. The Creek, however, is great for this. As long as the cam is bigger than a .3, you’d be hard pressed to pull gear (note: climbing is dangerous, gear can pull, especially if used incorrectly). In short, the Creek is a relatively safe place to trad climb. We walked up to the ultra-classic “Generic Crack” (5.10-) to find it empty. After pulling the awkward crux, I enjoyed 100’ of hand-jam delight, plugging 7 #2 all in all.
I hopped on “Unknown 5.10+” that day, which tested my lieback fingertip climbing limits. Still, we had a fun day.
When we needed a rest day, four of us headed up to South Six Shooter. The tower sticks out of the skyline and appears far more impressive than anyone who’s actually climbed it will tell you it is. Though most of the day’s vertical gain comes from the chossy approach, the climb is a great experience, nonetheless. The climb goes at 5.8 (it may be worth simul-climbing the first two “pitches). The third pitch has two moves of 5.8 climbing protected by a bolt.
Jolly Rancher, at Pistol Whipped was one of the best pitches I climbed in the creek. The route is 140 feet of perfect #2s and 3s. Feeling unmotivated to climb, I had a friend hang a static line next to the climb and spent over an hour shooting photos of friends as they led the delightful pitch.
There’s too much climbing at Indian Creek to encompass into a single trip report, or to do in a single season. Due to the enormous amount of climbing, the Creek has a vibrant community of friendly dirtbags who return season after season. This differentiates the Creek from other crags almost more than the superb quality of the cracks.
