Crack climbing can be polarizing. Some climbers refuse to even try. Others have made it their specialty. Crack climbing is an essential skill set to have as a trad climber, since most of the protection is placed where the rock is fractured. I had some alpine climbs under my belt when I went to Indian Creek, but most of my crack climbing mileage so far had been at the gym. I had come to enjoy jamming quite a bit, but I had no idea what I was in for.
Jamming can be quite magical. The gist of jamming is to place your fingers, hands, fists, or feet inside a crack, then twist or flex to expand your appendages. This generates friction against the sides of the crack, allowing you to temporarily secure yourself and climb upwards. It’s distinctly different from face climbing where you generally grab hand holds with your fingers. Jamming can be a bit uncomfortable, which I why I think a lot of climbers are dissuaded from trying. However, once you master the hand jam, it feels like a bomb proof hold you could hang on all day. I enjoy the fact that jamming doesn’t require much finger strength. I can only crimp for seconds or minutes, but I can jam forever…
I knew from watching videos that Indian Creek was renowned for its “splitter hand cracks”, long parallel cracks of the perfect width for hand jamming. I suppose I was aware that every style of crack could be found as well, but I didn’t have the experience to really understand what that meant for the climbing routes. Thankfully, I was with a few rope guns who gave me a varied sampling of Indian Creek cracks.
Full disclosure- I top roped the entire time. As a budding trad climber, the prospect of leading 5.10 was still quite intimidating! Although, after TR-onsighting everything I climbed, I have gained a ton of confidence to come back and lead some crack.
24 November 2025
I had been to Indian Creek many times already, but given that this was my first time climbing there, I was following the lead of my friends. After some discussions and consultation of the guide book, we decided to go for Selfish Wall, a crag with a slightly longer approach, but a good selection of moderate routes to try.
We were a party of eight, plus two kids. After breakfast at the campground, packing up, and hiking in, we were at the wall around 11 AM. The first route we got on was a 30 foot 5.9, “Hand Solo”, a perfect warm up. Molly took the first lead. As she was climbing, a pair pf golden eagles soared overhead. What an auspicious start to the day!
With a rope up, Jess and I did two laps on Hand Solo. The short pitch of near perfect hand jams was quite easy for me! My second lap, I brought some cams to place on top rope. That was the only gear I placed for the whole trip.
We wandered around the corner and found Vanessa had put up another top rope for us. The route started with about 10 feet of fist crack to a ledge. Fist jams always feel insecure to me, but thankfully it was over soon. From there, a pair of irregular finger cracks continued up the face. This was the crux, a couple of committing finger jams were required while smearing feet on the face. Simpler hand jams took me to the top. This was the first route to really blow my mind! The variety of jams, techniques, and physicality made the climbing so much more engaging than repetitive hand crack.
I found Paul afterwards and belayed him on a stout 5.11+ finger crack. Watching him climb something harder was quite impressive. It’s hard for me to imagine attempting a route like this, but perhaps in time…
I watched Vanessa lead another 5.10, Duo, then tied in on TR. This route started wide – wider than fists – so I opted to lie back. This felt challenging and tenuous, a technique I probably wouldn’t use on lead, but that is the joy of top roping. Above a ledge, the route continued up a hand crack in a beautiful dihedral of black varnish.
Evening was creeping in. The light and shadow on the cliffs was simply beautiful. We packed up and hiked out as the sun set. This was such a wonderful first day of climbing in the creek!
25 November 2025
Most of the group was heading home on this day, so we rallied for an earlier start. We were greeted by yet another epic sunrise through a smattering of clouds.
After a quick breakfast, we made it Donnelly Canyon, one of the more popular zones, by 9 AM. Some climbers were milling around in the parking lot, but no one seemed to be in a hurry besides us. We were the first ones to the base of Generic Crack. This route is also known as “Ketamine Crack” after a climber got a leg stuck for several hours and had drugs administered to facilitate their rescue. Vanessa racked up with every #2 and #3 we had in our collective gear. She climbed so fluidly, never even grunting on this long and sustained 5.10.
I started up this classic hand crack, at last seeing why people flock here to climb. It was a bit repetitive, but there is something nice about getting into a rhythm- hand hand foot foot. There are a couple of flaring pods, spots where the crack widens, requiring some problem solving. By the time I was half way up, I was feeling pretty tired. I powered through for the TRonsight, but I was even more impressed with Vanessa’s climbing ability after climbing the route myself. It was a hint that I probably need to work on climbing efficiently rather than using brute force. Regardless, it was tons of fun to get on a classic creek hand crack.
Our last climb of the trip was just a few routes over, with tight hands and fingers leading to a widening chimney. I enjoyed the first half of this route… I wallowed and groveled my way up the chimney.
I found it quite difficult to get into good positions with my long bones constantly bumping into the walls in front and back. The sand shedding into my eyes didn’t help either. Somehow I pulled it off, but this was not the high note I was hoping to end on.
The group gathered in the parking lot for farewells. The last four days had been nothing short of awesome! Thanks in large part to the crew of awesome people that invited me along for the ride.
It wasn’t quite over though. I had one more night before meeting Maggie in Colorado the next day. I was pretty sure I was going to camp closer towards Moab, but I found a hand written note on my van. One last Santa Fe friend was staying back at the campground that night, and this was my invite to join. In a land without cell service, something about this hand written invite felt special. A hark back to a time before cell phones, a time when friends found each other with directions scribbled on a napkin rather than GPS coordinates. I figured some company would be nicer than some lonely roadside camp, so I returned to the campground for my final night in the creek with friends.
Climbing in Indian Creek was incredible! I originally came to this place to hike with my family about 20 years prior. I always stared at the cliffs, but scarcely knew they were even climbable. Returning to the creek and leveling up the adventure filled me with joy. I learned a lot on this trip, chiefly that I am addicted to crack. I am psyched to go back, lead some routes, and get my fill of jams!