Indian Creek Ratings, Soft or Stiff?

vs Potash RD (Wall St, Moab), Arches, or Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons (SLC, UT). Headed there in two weeks, have the guide and climbed there about 6 years ago but just once, and so much has changed in my life=) Seems that memory is the first to go w/ age=) Anyways, any info would be helpful, thanks in advance, Charles T

It's real hard to compare sandstone to granite...but I think the ratings are fairly accurate (at least as accurate as any other place...) Most everyone I talk to agrees...Good luck, have fun and watch the weather. We've just recently had a turn for the worst (for sandstone)...been raining for the last three days....Buttttt the 'snow' level has dropped to around 5000 feet....Yeaaaaaa...early winter, time to break out the tools and sharpen the crampons....Sandstone???? Who can climb sandstone at a time like this???

The Rockrat...

I found the ratings at IC to be a bit stiff. Not really that any moves we're hard for the rating , just that the VERY sustained nature of the climbs made them fee l pretty dang hard....

I've only done trad crack routes at IC and sport at Potash, so this is apples and oranges. I only know of 1 sport route at IC - maybe there are a few more. Anyway, IC, to me, varied from right on to somewhat sandbag due to the sustained nature of the routes. But the rock jams well, compared to say, some Valley cracks on a humid days, so if you like pure crack climbing, you should enjoy yourself. Potash seemed fairly accurate, but the fixed pro on some routes left something to be desired. I don't have enough experience at Arches and the Cottonwoods to give a reliable read but friends I trust say they are normal (could be soft, could be bag).

Mad 'chug a caguma for Jaime and me' Dog

IC grading can be is soft or hard with respect your hand size. I have walked routes that better climbers have struggled on, and been shut down on some thin cracks due to my large hands... If you want to have some fun, find the right hand size and you wont be disappointed...

Before you buy.

Canyons

Indian Creek rating are very subjective. Depends on the subjects hand size. I had no problems on a great hand crack that a partner's hands rattled on. Basically figure if the rating is 5.10 and your hand size matches the crack then you might find it easy. Othrewise it might be hard.

As compared to other deserts crack areas the ratings are comparable. Hard to compare it will BCC or LCC since it different rock and definitely more vertical. As for Potash it is another example of sport climbing gone bad ... skip it there are better places for sprot climbing.

Allen Sanderson

Before you buy.

Sure, sure, but some of us want to get a broader sampling of an area and in this case are forced to climb cracks for which our hands/fingers/fists/knees/guts/etc. might not be a perfect fit.

Mad 'my gut is very offwidth' Dog

Before you buy.

IC ratings I found to be more irrelevant than any other place I have climbed. For example, I found 'The Incredible Hand Crack' 5.10c to be easier than 'Generic Crack' 5.9. The size of your hands and fingers and your ability to work with varied sizes of cracks will have more to do with how hard the climbs are for you than the given rating of a climb.

It is an amazing place to climb. I hope you have a blast.

doug taylor

I agree on the irrelevance of Indian Creek grades. The climbing is not very technical (compared against granite climbs of similiar grades), is highly dependent on hand size and a high-pain threshold (i.e. take Vitamin I before you climb), and if you can do the same jam for 100+ feet most people will find the climbing fairly easy compared to say California granite. So I guess I would say in general that Indian Creek grades are fairly soft for trad (I generally climb about a half-grade harder at the creek than on granite). But on the other hand if you are used to climbs where you get occasional stances, the relentless nature of the cracks will probably spank you. Enjoy, -Joe