UKC

Right well i like crack climbs. I hear with that in mind Indian creek is the place to go. So following a fairly dissapointing search here i'm asking what is there to know about the place. E.g. Best time of year to visit? Is it easy to get to? How well do you have to be able to climb to even consider it?

So anyone able to help me out here folks?
Cheers

F4S

In reply to Frank4short:


Indian Creek is 4-5 hours from Salt Lake City (that's where I'm writing from)
The climbing really begins at 5.10 with very little easier. Typically hand cracks are 5.10, finger cracks 5.11. Most climbs are in the 80 to 140 feet range.

Good camping with food shops within 30 minutes. Best time of year is April/May and october/november.

Unless you cruise grit routes such as Peapod, Unconquerables, with only 2-3 runners, you might need an Indian Creek rack with up to 6-8 similar sizings.ie. 6#1 6#2 6#3 Camalots

Bring lots of tape for your hands.

You might want to spend a few days around Moab (one hour from Indian Creek) honing skills on some easier routes before heading south.

hope this helps

Al

In reply to alburgessguide:

Based on my experience I would say that you shouldn't imagine you can climb Indian Creek 5.10s just because you can solo stuff like Masochism and grit HVS cracks generally. They're longer and more repetitive, and the stamina needed makes different demands. It's hard to relate to grit routes or UK routes at all IMHO; obviously there's a correlation, but it's unpredictable.

It's bloody brilliant but be prepared to spend time hanging on the gear, in fact.

jcm

In reply to Frank4short:


Spring or autumn. People do go between November and Feb since many of the best climbs are south facing, but the nights are bitterly cold and weather can be hit and miss - you don't want to fly all the way from UK and lose 3 days to a snowstorm.


You'll need a car. The closest international airports are Denver (about 6 hours) and Salt Lake City (3.5 - 4 hours?). Denver might be cheaper flight though since it's a hub for several airlines, I don't know about SLC. Another attraction of flying to Denver is that you can stock up on decent beer in Colorado before hitting Utah's liquor laws. It's also possible to fly from SLC to the nearest town, Moab, but I don't know how much that would cost. Indian Creek is about a 40 min drive from Moab, so you'll still want to camp at the Creek itself.


There's very little below 5.10. The climbing style is physical and sustained more than technical - Colorado climbers tend to find the grades hard, Californians find them easy, probably because there are more cracks in Cal. Don't get too hung up on grades though, it's really hand size dependent. It's pretty common for those with small hands, women especially, to find the 5.10s desperate and the 5.11s much easier. Whatever you do, don't expect to climb more than 3 days in a row if you're very fit.

You will need a big rack of cams, though. wires are for the most part useless, and it's not uncommon to use 6-7 cams of the same size on a route. Lots of people go there in large groups and pool gear for this very reason. When I was there we scrounged between four of us about a dozen sets of camalots, which isn't unusual. The placements are excellent, and with sufficient gear it's really like sport climbing with cams, so lots of people feel comofortable pushing themselves there.

If you plan to invest in some cams, BD C4s are ideal for the Creek - buy them in the US rather than the UK since as I'm sure you're aware they're a fraction of the price. For the 5.10 climbs lots of #2 and #3 camalots. For the 11s 0.5 - 0.75s (this is just a general rule of thumb though).

For days off, the Arches National Park is pretty much a must-see. Also, you might like to consider doing one of the Castleton Tower routes whilst you'r in the area (see www.mountainproject.com foir nore info)

In reply to WillinLA:


Good advice. Though frankly it's all pretty hard. I was amazed how pumped I could get even on a perfect width hand crack there, as the steepness and low friction encourages working the jams too hard, actively expanding them as much as possible. Granite cracks of similar width are so much easier.

In reply to Frank4short:

As others have said, don't plan to just visit Indian Creek; do some of the routes and towers around Moab. Start there, as you'll be able to find stuff which is less sustained than at Indian Creek.