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 climbing and had the rare opportunity to see the Creek blanketed in snow. It was another Creek teaser trip...
The third time I climbed at Indian Creek was over Spring Break 2020. 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.
The fourth time I climbed at Indian Creek was over Thanksgiving 2024. This was the most "standard" of my trips to the Creek thus far. We arrived a few days ahead of the Thanksgiving crowds, camped in our cars at Creek Pasture, and climbed for the entire week. On rest days I went on a couple of Canyonlands hikes. We capped off our time in the Creek by climbing Lightning Bolt Cracks (5.11-, 3-4p) on North Six Shooter.
The fifth time I climbed at Indian Creek was for a few midweek days in March 2025.
On this page, I give photos from my trips to Indian Creek. At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done in Indian Creek.