Indian Creek Crack Clinic

Splitter crack climbing is a totally unique type of climbing, and Indian Creek is the top destination in the world for parallel sided cracks. Whether you're a new climber or have years of experience, this is the place to start a foundation or refine your crack technique.

My Indian Creek crack climbing clinics are offered in spring and fall. The clinic takes place Sunday-Tuesday so we can have our pick of classic routes. If you are looking for a way to get into crack climbing or improve your skills, and meet a fun group of people, this event is for you!

What To Expect

We meet up in Moab on Sunday afternoon and drive together to our campsite at my land at Indian Creek, where everyone can pitch tents or park vans and get settled in. Dinner, beer and a campfire are provided for you that night so we can relax, get to know each other and have a peaceful night sleep before heading to the Creek the next morning.

On Monday morning, breakfast and coffee are ready for you in the outdoor kitchen, and you'll also get a packed lunch to take to the crag.

Meals are all vegan (with the exception of local eggs as an option at breakfasts). I’m excited to share some of my favorite food with you here in the desert!

We’ll spend the day learning and implementing crack specific climbing techniques with personal instruction from me and fellow desert locals. You’ll also get professional top-down photos of yourself climbing, so make sure you bring some bright shirts for climbing.

After climbing, we’ll head back to camp where dinner is waiting and some quality desert time around the fire with musical entertainment from the Enormocast and Lisa Justice (and anyone else who wants to grab a guitar).

On Tuesday, we will push the climbing on harder and longer routes, to put those new skills to use. Along the way, we’ll offer instruction and practice time for racking, gear tips and tricks, and multi-pitch anchor-building and efficiency methods. We will send you home well fed and worn out!

What You'll Learn

You’ll learn the pure fundamentals of crack climbing, starting with foot jamming technique and hand jamming technique, and carry that into the more technical crack sizes (from smaller to larger). You'll learn how to use your feet, hands, fingers, arms and body to finesse your way up a crack. You’ll learn and practice methods for hand taping, and when to use hand tape versus crack gloves. You’ll learn which shoes work best for which types of crack climbing and how to prevent foot pain. You'll also learn how to recognize good cam placements, how to rack efficiently, and how to use strategy to make your gear management as smooth as possible in either a leading or following scenario. You’ll learn and practice several different anchor building techniques for multi-pitch climbing, and get an understanding of which work best in various scenarios. We are here for you, so you’ll be able to ask and practice anything that crops up along the way.

Frequently Asked Questions

I climb 5.9, will I be able to take the clinic?
Yes! If you can toprope 5.9 to 5.11, you will be able to climb, learn and improve over the weekend. Most participants are comfortable toproping 5.10 or 5.11, and have led 5.9 or 5.10 either in the gym, sport climbing or on cracks. We use moderate routes for teaching things like jamming, foot techniques and practice leading, and we also put ropes on harder routes for people to push it and get pumped out by the end of the clinic.

Is this clinic for newer or more experienced climbers?
Yes! We always get a range of experience levels in the group, and we have a high instructor/participant ratio so we can make sure everyone gets instruction at the appropriate level. We’ve had climbers who are very new to climbing, and we’ve had veterans–we also often have repeat participants who come back multiple times to the clinic.

Do I need a rack?
No! You only need a harness and a chalkbag: you receive a pair of Tenaya climbing shoes, sized larger for cracks, to keep. We provide all ropes, gear, tape and rope gunning.

Do we get to keep the professional photos of ourselves?
Yes! Our photographer shoots photos throughout the 2 days, of everyone at the crags, and also on ropes from above. A few days after the clinic, he will have edited and uploaded all the images to a shareable link, so you can download all the images.

What happens if it rains during the scheduled dates?
The weather is the one thing we can’t control, but we will always do our best to work around the weather. The ethic in the desert is not to climb on wet sandstone because it can damage the rock, and the accepted practice is to wait a full day to climb once the rock becomes saturated. Please understand that any time we schedule an event outdoors we are operating by nature’s rules and it is possible to get washed out by rain. We can and will work around sprinkles and non-saturating rain, and if we need to wait for the rock to dry we will use the time for more instruction, so be sure to bring a rain jacket just in case! No matter what month the clinic takes place, you will need clothing and sleeping layers for temperatures from extremely hot to extremely cold: check the weather in the days before you travel and pack for every possibility.

Is The Enormocast really one of the clinic instructors?
Yes! You will get to meet, climb with and be entertained by the one-and-only Chris Kalous. Fun fact: Kalous has instructed the Indian Creek Crack Clinic with me since 2012, and has never missed a clinic for any reason including the birth of the Enormobaby.