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Indian Creek Climbing

Indian Creek

- 1st Trip to the Creek: 1 weekend and 12 routes
- Thanksgiving at the Creek: 2 days of climbing + snowstorm! (14 routes)
- Spring Break at the Creek: 6 days of climbing (31 routes)
- Thanksgiving at the Creek: 7 days of climbing and Lightning Bolt Cracks (5.11-, 2-4p) (22 routes, 2 hikes, 1 tower)
- Spring Break at the Creek: 3 days of climbing (11 routes, 1 hike)

Region: Utah

Elev: ~5,800 ft

Rock type: Wingate sandstone

Type:

Trip Report 1:

Date(s): September 14-16, 2018 (Fri-Sun)

Partner(s): Alex Haeger & Penny

Trip Report 2:

Date(s): November 25&28, 2019 (Mon&Thu)

Partner(s): Mike Cichon

Trip Report 3:

Date(s): March 22-27, 2020 (Sun-Fri)

Partner(s): Mark Thomas, Alex Haeger, Autumn Priestly, Penny

Trip Report 4:

Date(s): November 23 - December 2, 2024 (Sat-Mon)

Partner(s): Nate Beckwith, Steve Su

Trip Report 5:

Date(s): March 25-28, 2025 (Tue-Fri)

Partner(s): Nate Beckwith, Steve Su

Indian Creek arguably has the largest concentration of splitter crack climbing in the world. Cracks of all sizes split the towering red sandstone walls everywhere you look. A crack-climber's paradise. The first time I climbed in Indian Creek was in September 2018, on an impulsive detour on a drive from Montana back to Washington (where I lived at the time), when I got a text from a friend looking for a partner for a weekend in the Creek. 17 extra hours of driving for 2 days of climbing? Plus climb at a time when there is no crowds? It was a no brainer. It was late summer, so the Creek was pretty quiet. But a tad hot too.

The second time I climbed at Indian Creek was over Thanksgiving Break 2019. It was my first fall after moving to Boulder from Washington, and I snatched the first opportunity to make it to the Creek (now much closer than 17 hours drive) for a few days. Unfortunately, an unforecasted snowstorm cut our trip in half, but we still got in two great days of climb

Route Overlay for Lightning Bolt Cracks (Nov 2024)

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Trip Reports

CLICK THE DROP DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS FROM EACH TRIP

Intro

I was headed back to Washington from a 2-week climbing trip in Montana. Google maps said 12 hours drive from Bozeman to Bellingham. I was just about to start the drive when I got a text from my friend Alex from Boulder: "Headed to the Creek for the weekend, looking for a partner, any chance you are in the area?" I checked Google maps: 29 hours drive from Bozeman to Bellingham via Indian Creek. Hmm....17 additional hours of driving for 2 days of climbing in Indian Creek? It was a no brainer.

Alex and I climbed 12 routes over the course of 2.3 days (we climbed full days Friday and Saturday, and squeezed in a few hours on Sunday morning before Alex left to drive back to Boulder). All but one of the routes we climbed are listed in the "The Best Of" list at the end of the guidebook. Daily high temperatures reached the high 80's, but we woke up early and targeted shady routes, and it was actually quite pleasant. The following gives photos from the routes we climbed.

Climbs / Photos

Area photos

Supercrack Buttress

Sept 14

Random photos from the day....

The Incredible Hand Crack (5.10, 100')

Supercrack Buttress

Sept 14

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

The Wave (5.10+, 100')

Supercrack Buttress

Sept 14

Led by: Alex

Coyne Crack (5.11+, 70')

Supercrack Buttress

Sept 14

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Photo 1: Looking up Coyne Crack. Funny story: We thought this was Supercrack (5.10) (it looked like a pretty super crack after all). So I racked up with the recommended rack (for Supercrack)—heavy on wide hands pieces. A couple of moves into the route, it seemed kind of hard off-fingers, so I stepped back down to get an #0.5 cam ("must be a typo in the rack description"). I started back up. A couple of moves higher than I had gotten the first time, I clued in that there was a 20-foot section of super thin hands above me; I lowered back down to collect a handful of #0.75 cams ("hmmm, these Creek climbers must be hard core to climb that entire stretch with only one #0.75"). Once through the #0.75 terrain I was now looking at a long stretch of #1-sized terrain and no wide-hands in sight ("okay, now this is getting silly"); I stopped and lowered a bite of rope to get a handful of #1 cams. "Are we sure this is Supercrack?" I yelled down to Alex. "Seems kinda hard too." At that very moment, Alex spotted a rock lying at the based of the crack, etched into it the words "oyne Crack" (the "C" had broken off). Coyne Crack is a 5.11+. Ha! (I bet we were not the first to make this mistake.) At this point I was committed and the climbing was excellent anyway, so I barreled on up, with more than a few shameless C1 moves along the way. Oh well, in the end It made for a funny story and we also seized the opportunity to do a couple of toprope laps on this 5.11+ classic, which we probably wouldn't hav attempted if we had known what route it was.

Supercrack (5.10, 100')

Supercrack Buttress

Sept 14

Led by: Alex

Bad-Rad Duality (5.10+, 110')

Supercrack Buttress

Sept 14

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Area photos

Reservoir Wall

Sept 15

Random photos from the day....

Photo 5: Some cool rocks along the way. (My go-to geologist consult Doug McKeever says: "This is a fine-grained sandstone with the little ridges being mudcracks from desiccation of surface standing water in the original environment of deposition. As the next layer of sediment was deposited it fills the cracks. But wait, these "filled cracks"are little ridges (positive features). Mudcracks are negative features! The " inversion" is because we are looking at the bottom of the layer. The view in the picture is "upside down." Oh yeah...the white stuff is most likely a thin layer of salt, probably halite, deposited by evaporation of surface water. Also, there are raindrop impressions! They are the small round spots particularly noticeable on the left-side area of the surface. They are frequently found with mudcracks. Those two along with salt imply an original hot arid environment with drought interrupted by periods of rain. You could have an hour's class on this one rock sample!")
Photo 6: Some cool rocks along the way. (Doug says: "This sure appears to be volcanic breccia, which seems odd in Indian Creek, but there are extinct volcanoes in the region. It undoubtedly originated in the igneous Abajo Mountains just to the south( and upstream).")

Warm-Up Handcrack (5.10, 105')

Reservoir Wall

Sept 15

Led by: Alex
+ toprope lap

Overlook (5.10/5.11, 110'/80', 2p)

Reservoir Wall

Sept 15

Led by: Steph (P1), Alex (P2)

Pente (5.11-, 160')

Reservoir Wall

Sept 15

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Area photos

Donnelly Canyon

Sept 16

Random photos from the day....

Generic Crack (5.10-, 120')

Donnelly Canyon

Sept 16

Led by: Alex
+ toprope lap

Binou's Crack (5.9, 50')

Donnelly Canyon

Sept 16

Led by: Steph

Chocolate Corner (5.9, 60')

Donnelly Canyon

Sept 16

Led by: Steph

Elephant Man Pitch 1 (5.10, 70')

Donnelly Canyon

Sept 16

Led by: Steph

Camping photos

We stayed at Bridger Jack Campground, off Utah State Route 211 in middle of Indian Creek climbing area. Free climber camping.

Newspaper Rock

Newspaper Rock, on Utah State Route 211 on way to Indian Creek climbing area.

Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument is a Utah state monument featuring a rock panel carved with one of the largest known collections of petroglyphs. From the sign at the monument: "Newspaper Rock is a petroglyph panel etched in sandstone that records approximately 2,000 years of early human activity. Prehistoric peoples, probably from the Archaic, Basketmaker, Fremont, and Pueblo cultures, etched on the rock from B.C. time to A.D. 1300. In historic times, Ute and Navajo people, as well as European Americans, made their contributions. In interpreting the figures on the rock, scholars are undecided as to their meaning or have yet to decipher them. In Navajo, the rock is called "Tse' Hane'" (Rock that tells a story). Unfortunately, we do not know if the figures represent storytelling, doodling, hunting magic, clan symbols, ancient graffiti, or something else. Without a true understanding of the petroglyphs, much is left for individual interpretation. Newspaper Rock is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Please continue to preserve it."

Intro

My goal was to spend my first Thanksgiving in Colorado at Indian Creek. And I did. Well, sort of. An unforecasted snowstorm sort of cut our trip in half, but we still got in two great days of climbing and had the unique experience of seeing the Creek blanketed in snow.

I climbed in the Creek with Mike Cichon. I had met Mike at a belay traffic jam on Mickey Mouse Wall at Eldo, where we exchanged contact info after discovering we had several of the same objectives, and few weeks later received an email from him: "I'm looking for a partner—are you interested in climbing in the Creek Thanksgiving week?". Of course I was interested!

Mike and I spent our first day of climbing at The Wall, one of the more popular "new" crags and one of the few areas Mike had not been to yet. The Wall faces south, so it can be a pleasant place to climb in cooler weather, when the sun is out. Also, the Wall has a somewhat longer approach and rougher drive than other areas in the Creek, which Mike and I hoped would mean less crowded. But as luck would have it, a large group of about 20 climbers had also decided to climb up at The Wall that day, so we didn't escape the experience of Thanksgiving crowds at the Creek after all. But despite the rowdy crew monopolizing most of the area's best routes, Mike and I still climbed 7 great pitches.

That night it snowed 5 inches, a pretty abrupt change to the original weather forecasts for the week. So we drove to Moab, where we could hang out for the day. After cragging for a day in Moab and seeing how quickly the snow was sublimating in the dry air, we decided to risk the iffy forecast and return to the Creek to see if we could squeeze in one more day of climbing. And what a day of climbing it was! We climbed at Battle of the Bulge Buttress, which has one of the best concentrations of stellar 5.11 routes in the Creek, along with a very short approach and sunny aspect. Given the wall's popularity along with the climbable weather and the usual crowding during Thanksgiving week, we were (very pleasantly) surprised to be the only ones on the entire wall for the entire day. I guess everyone had vacated during the snowstorm and decided to do the turkey thing after all. It was a unique and magical experience to have some of the Creek's best splitters to ourselves, enjoying the area as it was in the 1970's. It was an ironic juxtaposition with our experience at the much more obscure The Wall just a few days previous, jockeying for position and sanity amongst lycra-clad climbers and barking dogs. Mike and I climbed seven routes, with five of them in the 5.11 range, which made for an awesome day of climbing at the Creek.

The following gives photos from our Creek adventure. Another Creek teaser trip....I'll have to come back for more.

Climbs / Photos

Area photos

The Wall

Nov 25

Random photos from the day....

The Trial (5.10, 110')

The Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Steph

Which One's Pink (5.11-, 100')

The Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Mike

Circling Sky (5.10-, 60')

The Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Dancing Queen (5.11+, 70')

The Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Mike

Dirty Girl (5.9, 35') and Dirty Woman (5.9, 35')

The Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Steph

Run Like Hell (5.10, 85')

The Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Mike

Forced rest day

Nov 26

We awoke to 5 iniches of snow. No climbing today....

Cragging in Moab

Nov 27

We climbed at Wall Street near Moab.

Area photos

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Random photos from the day....

The Warm-Up (5.9, 40')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Steph

Our Piece of the Real Estate (5.11-, 110')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Mike

Crack Attack (5.11-, 90')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Ruins Crack (5.11, 70')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Mike

The Jane Fonda Total Body Workout (5.11-, 130')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Mike

Railroad Tracks (5.10-, 50')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Steph

Quarter of a Man (5.11+, 120')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 28

Led by: Mike

Intro

The third time I climbed at Indian Creek was over Spring Break 2020. For the first five days I climbed with my friend and offwidth aficionado Mark Thomas. For the last day, I met up with my friend Alex and his friend Autumn for what was to be two more days of cragging but turned into one pitch due to a freak snowstorm and a notice that San Juan County had been closed to leisure travel.

The trip had a surreal undercurrent to it, due to the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak that was sweeping over the globe. When I left Boulder, there were a few thousand confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US, school had just transitioned into online mode, and "social distancing" was quickly becoming the catch phrase. But over the course of the week while I was blissfully climbing splitters in the Creek, the number of confirmed cases in the US bloomed to over 120,000, places all over the country (including back home in Boulder) were issued a "stay-at-home" mandate to try to flatten the epidemic curve, and by the final day of my trip San Juan county (where Indian Creek is located) itself had closed its doors to "leisure activity". Everyday life had changed a lot over the course of the week, but it had been nice to escape for a bit.

Below is a list of routes and photos from my 6 days in the Creek.

Climbs / Photos

Area photos

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Random photos from the day....

Railroad Tracks (5.10-, 50')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Steph

Mystery Machine (5.10, 150')

(starts above Railroad Tracks)

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Mark

The Moon Also Rises (5.11-, 110') + again w/ Finger Lickin' Good finish (5.11, 50')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Mark

Three Strikes You're Out (5.11, 90')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Swedin-Ringle (5.12-, 50')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Friendly Norwegian guy

The Jagged Wedge (5.10, 70')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Mark

The Cave Route (5.10+, 80')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 22

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Area photos

South Six Shooter

Mar 23

Random photos from the day....

South Face, Trade Route (5.5-5.7, 2-3p)

South Six Shooter

Mar 23

Led by: Steph

South Face, Angling Crack (5.10, 90')

South Six Shooter

Mar 23

Toprope: Steph

South Face, Offwidth (5.10, 90')

South Six Shooter

Mar 23

Toprope: Steph

Area photos

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Random photos from the day....

Rochambeau (5.9, 75')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Fuzz (5.10, 115')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Chest Full of Kind (5.10, 45')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Way Rambo (5.12-, 100')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Blue Sun aka Fun in the Sun (5.10-, 65')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Steph

Way Nutter (5.9, 50')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Mark

Renegades of Funk aka Bernoulli Effect (5.10, 65')

Way Rambo Wall

Mar 24

Led by: Steph

Area photos

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Random photos from the day....

Twin Cracks (5.9, 60')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Steph

No Name Crack (5.10, 110')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Mark

Wild Works of Fire (5.10, 75')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Steph

3am Crack (5.10, 105')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Mark

Keyhole Flakes (5.10, 80')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Steph

Amaretto Pitch 1 (5.9+, 60')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Mark

Unnamed handcrack to left of Supercrack (5.9+, 30')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Steph

Unnamed offwidth to left of Supercrack (5.6, 30')

Supercrack Buttress

Mar 25

Led by: Mark

Area photos

North Six Shooter

Mar 26

Random photos from the day....

Talk Dusty to Me aka South Face, Far Left (5.9+, 1p)

North Six Shooter

Mar 26

Led by: Steph

Area photos

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 26

Random photos from the day....

Elbow Vices (5.10, 90')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 26

Led by: Mark

Pigs in Space (5.10+, 115')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 26

Led by: Steph

Sporty Spice aka New World Order (5.11a/b/c, 90')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Mar 26

Toprope: Steph

Area photos

Critic's Choice

Mar 27

Random photos from the day....

Bunny Slope (5.9+, 130')

Critic's Choice

Mar 27

Led by: Alex

Canyonlands

Critic's Choice

March 27-28

Weather moved in and we decided climbing was over for the day. I drove up to Canyonlands to check it out. The best part of the afternoon was the stormy skies driving back to Indian Creek. That night a freak snowstorm hit, and a friendly sheriff stopped by with a notice that San Juan county was closed to leisure activity and out-of-state travellers due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Time to head home to Boulder and see what this lock-down is all about....

Intro

This was my fourth climbing trip to the Creek. Best trip yet!

Climbs / Photos

Area photos

Cat Wall

Nov 23&25

Random photos from the day....

Johnny Cat (5.11+, 60')

Cat Wall

Nov 23

Led by: Steph & Nate
+ toprope lap

Fat Cat (5.11-, 85')

Cat Wall

Nov 23

Led by: Steph & Nate

Cat Man Do (5.10, 90')

Cat Wall

Nov 23

Led by: Steph

Scarface (5.11-, 70')

Scarface Wall

Nov 24

Led by: Steph & Nate
+ toprope lap

Toprope Right of Scarface (~5.11, 70')

Scarface Wall

Nov 24

Toprope: Steph

The Sicilian (5.11+, 45')

Scarface Wall

Nov 24

Led by: Nate
+ toprope lap

Desert Vuarnet (5.11+, 130')

Scarface Wall

Nov 24

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Tom Cat (5.10, 90')

Cat Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Steph & Nate
+ toprope lap

Puma (5.11+, 70')

Cat Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Steph & Nate
+ toprope lap

Kool Cat (5.11, 80')

Cat Wall

Nov 25

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Canyonlands: Chestler Park Loop(~11 miles)

Nov 27

We woke up to snow. I decided to check out the nearby Needles district of Canyonlands. I ended up doing the Chesler Park Loop, an 11 mile hike through some pretty cool terrain. According to the park brochure: "During the hike you will descend and ascend in and out of canyons, scramble up and down rock, weave through narrow passages, and walk among rock spires." It was the most entertaining hike I've ever done. The hike description said 5-7 hours, but it took me just under 4 hours.

Some highlights: Snow melting throughout the day, weaving in and out of slickrock canyons, the slot canyon on the Joint Trail section, jogging the short section of 4wd road, filling up my water a Visitor Center, adding one more to my flock.

Area photos

Second Meat Wall

Nov 28

We decided it would be fun to ride Nate's motorbike to the crag.

Cube Steaks (5.10, 110')

Second Meat Wall

Nov 28

Led by: Nate

Meat Machine (5.11-, 50')

Second Meat Wall

Nov 28

Led by: Steph & Nate
+ toprope lap

At Your Cervix (5.11-, 110')

Second Meat Wall

Nov 28

Led by: Steph & Nate
+ toprope lap

Top Sirloin (5.11, 100')

Second Meat Wall

Nov 28

Led by: Steph

Area photos

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 29

Our Piece of the Real Estate (5.11-, 110')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 29

Led by: Steph

Quarter of a Man (5.11+, 120')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 29

Led by: Steve
+ toprope lap

The Black Corner (5.11, 80')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 29

Led by: Steph

Battle of the Bulge (5.11, 70')

Battle of the Bulge Buttress

Nov 29

Led by: Steph

Area photos

Cat Wall

Nov 30

Alley Cat (5.11+, 120')

Cat Wall

Nov 30

Led by: Steph

Dead Crow (5.11+, 150')

Cat Wall

Nov 30

Led by: Steve

Super Cat of the Desert (5.12, 140')

Cat Wall

Nov 30

Led by: Steve

Canyonlands: Lost Canyon Loop (~9 miles)

Dec 1

Rest day. I decided to do another hike in the nearby Needles district of Canyonlands. I did the Lost Canyon loop, a 9 mile hike through some pretty cool terrain. According to the park brochure: "A great introduction to the landscape of The Needles, connecting two canyons for a loop across varied terrain. The route between the canyons climbs steep grades that are dangerous when wet and may make people with a fear of heights uncomfortable. One ladder must be climbed." It was quite a wonderful hike. The hike description said 4-6 hours, but it took me 3.5 hours.

After the hike I came back to camp and got a lesson on riding Nate's motorbike. I only wiped out once.

Fun rest day.

Camping photos

We stayed at Creek Pasture Campground, off Utah State Route 211 in middle of Indian Creek climbing area. $7.50 a night with Interagency Pass ($15 without pass).

Lightning Bolt Cracks (5.11-, 2-4p)

North Six Shooter

Dec 2

Route Overlay

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Approach

We chose to come in from the south. To the right are some overlays of this approach from my March 2019 Indian Creek trip report.

We made it more fun by taking Nate's motorcycle up the wash to the start of the trail below North Six Shooter. There was a 4th class step early on in the approach but otherwise it was 2nd/3rd and well-cairned.

Pitch 1

5.11-

We linked Pitches 1 & 2.

Pitch 2

5.11

We linked Pitches 1 & 2.

Pitch 3

5.10

We linked Pitches 3 & 4.

Pitch 4

5.9

We linked Pitches 3 & 4.

Top!

Enjoy the view!

Descent

3 rappels with single 70

Intro

I had the week free and a couple of friends in the Creek, so I decided to join them for a few days. The 8-9 hour drive from Estes Park to the Creek seemed well worth three days of climbing splitters.

Climbs / Photos

Camping photos

Mar 24

We camped at Superbowl Campground. On the first night I stayed with a large group (I knew 2 of the 8 people) and on the second and third nights I was there I stayed at another site just down the way. Camping was just $7.50 per night with a National Parks pass ($15 otherwise).

Area photos

Scarface

Mar 25

Unknown just left of Trading Places (5.10+, 60')

Scarface

Mar 25

Led by: Nate
+ 3 toprope laps each

Black Uhuru (5.10+, 110')

Scarface

Mar 25

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Lieutenant Uhuru (5.11-, 110')

Scarface

Mar 25

Led by: Steph
+ toprope lap

Death of a Cowboy (5.13-, first 20 feet)

Scarface

Mar 25

Nate aided up the crux first 20 feet and we each tried it. Hard!

Area photos

4x4 Wall

Mar 26

Hydraulic Pump (5.12+, 80')

4x4 Wall

Mar 26

Led by: Steph (aided)
+ 2 toprope laps

Handbreak (5.10-, 80')

4x4 Wall

Mar 26

Led by: Meg from Reno who kindly let me do a toprope lap

Unknown (5.11/11+, 135')

4x4 Wall

Mar 26

Led by: Steve

Canyonlands: Confluence Overlook (~11 miles)

Mar 27

Rest day. I decided to do a hike in the nearby Needles district of Canyonlands. The previous fall I had hiked the Chestler Park Loop and the Lost Canyon Loop, so I decided to do the Confluence Overlook hike. This 11-mile out-and-back trail traverses sections of dry open country along the northern edge of the geologic faults that shaped the Needles. Sections climb steep, rocky grades. The trail culminates at a cliff overlooking the junction of the Green and Colorado rivers. The hike took me about 3.5 hours at a relaxed but steady pace. It was nice to get some steps in.

Fun rest day.