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Indian Creek

The Word:
Sun/shade:
Season(s):
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Style of Climbs:
Grades:

The Details: The "crack climbing centre of the universe"? Yep, probably.

The rock:

Access:

May as well start with a photo of the most climbed bit of rock in the canyon. This is Supercrack Buttress. Supercrack itself is not really visible (too far right). Coyne Crack (5.12) splits the lovely big glistening sunlit wall. Incredible Handcrack (5.10c) is just right of centre, with obvious scuff marks on brown rock up the roofed corner. 3AM Crack (5.10) is just L of centre, with obvious scuff marks on whiteish rock beside a dead vertical corner.

Arty Farty

Incredible Hand Crack 30m 5.10c (20) OS
An astonishing corner crack, after the start it is hand-sized for 28m! My rack was 9 #2 camalots (racked on the LEFT!). Some people argue it's only 5.9+, others argue .10a or .10b, though .10c seems most common. They all seem to equate to grade 20 so the seppos should end the argument by switching to Ewbank (Australian) grades!!
Here's me at the start of the crux during my onsight.
Bomber jams

Still going on the onsight and getting pretty pumped from hanging on the handjams! About here there's a metre or so where it widens a tad - makes things insecure when you're upside down!
Hangin' on jams

Those jams are still going! It's not a short route by any means. This is me about 8m below the anchor.
An incredible hand crack. Gee those seppos come up with clever names.

This is some other dude who flailed his way up it later when the sun came round for some nicer lighting. (Hint: laybacking will get you nowhere). The guy behind is on 3AM Crack (5.10).
The pussy couldn't jam!

Ok, got my glory photos out of the way, so here's some others. Climber on 3AM Crack.

Classic corner crack.

This is Gorilla Crack which had this rope on it all day so I wussed out of the lead, but quite enjoyed the energetic sustained fist/offwidth crack on toprope.

An enjoyable fistcrack? Yes indeed!!

Coyne Crack (5.12)
A zoomed view of a strong woman doing it in style.
Cracks don't come any more splitter than this

Yep, same shot zoomed out, this time showing Keyhole Flakes (5.10) closer to camera, a tough sustained onsight but still a good choice because the gear is quite varied so you don't need more than 2 or 3 of each size cam.
Keyhole Flakes & Coyne Crack

Supercrack (5.10+)
A guy with big hands strolls up it and reports the jams are all bomber.
Message to self: I don't have big hands, so tape up or else!

A crappier shot but it shows the beautiful clean crack. Looks suspiciously wide for bomber hands to me.
OK so I can't exactly claim the onsight, but hey I'd done 150m of jamming already, and only got on it after sunset!! :)

Donnelly Canyon

The roadside view of the next buttress down the valley from Supercrack Buttress. Generic Crack (5.9+) splits the big white face at far right.
Another buttress, another bagful of cracks

Same view looking further up the canyon, this time with Generic Crack at far left. And yes, these walls ARE absolutely chockers with awesome splitter cracks - there is literally thousands of cracks in the valley. Astonishing!

Another wall, ANOTHER bagful of cracks

More Internet Sites on Indian Creek

ClimbingMoab.com An excellent site for most Utah crags including Indian Creek.
TheCrag.com As always. Record your Indian Creek ticks here, and see what everyone else is climbing.

© 2003 Will