29 Years in the Creek - Heidi Wirtz

Indian Creek…my home away from home. I started climbing in The Creek over twenty-nine years ago… and this definitely puts an age to my story.  

The Creek has changed a lot over the years that I have known her. When I first started going, it  would typically just be the people I went with, hanging out in this magical crack- filled land. We  would occasionally see another party from Telluride. But often it was just our small Crested Butte crew taping up and jamming various body parts into the beautiful red splitter cracks that  lace the walls of this amazing valley. What a blessing, simply miraculous.  

Every spring we journeyed out there, to test ourselves on the desert cracks. My first ever trad  lead was at Donnely Canyon. I remember going up Chocolate Corner 5.9, looking down to my  experienced partners as I climbed upwards and asking “What cam should I put into the  rock?”…. They laughed and said, “the only ones you have on your rack”. Back then it was friends, and actually that climb is mostly 2-2.5 friends, so that was what I was told. And that was all I had on my rack. Thus is the creek…splitter! 

Once I learned a bit more about climbing, I began heading to the creek every spring by myself and would post up on a slick rock campsite out on Bridger Jack road. I stayed alone, except on weekends when my CB crew would come back. During days by myself, I drove to super crack buttress looking for climbing patterns. Often there were no other cars in the lot; back then it was just an empty red dirt pull-off, not the massive lot that is there today. Life changes so dramatically in long term. 

If there happened to be a car, I hefted my monstrous pack onto my back, which was full of all the cams I owned, plus two ropes, and headed up to the base of the cliff to wander and hopefully meet whoever was up there. I was shy, really, so typically I would walk slowly by, and quietly said "hi“ hoping that they would ask what I was doing, and maybe invite me to join their group.  

Often though…there was no one or I didn’t speak up to the party that was there…so I  wandered on, headed back to the car and went hiking up random canyons, looking for signs of natives past, interesting creatures and longingly looked at all of the amazing splitters.  

Years went by and soon the creek started gaining popularity. New campsites started springing up and groups of people began showing up there in the key months- spring and fall. This new shift truly disturbed me at first to be honest. I sometimes cried when I saw a new camp spot that had been trampled, the crypto that was once there, squashed and turned back to fine red dirt. Millions of years lost. No one seemed to care….and that hurt. 

I knew I needed to reframe my thinking, to be happy for new climbers showing up in The Creek. Knowing that they, just like me, also wanted to savor this amazing place. To some degree I became ok with the new version of Indian Creek and even started to enjoy seeing the same smiling faces every year, popping in to live in the creek with me for the season. Things change, it’s how I accepted that change that made all the difference in my thinking and life. 

Now heading to the creek is more of social outing, with swarms of excited crack climbers. Finding a partner doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore…but rather finding an open crack to  climb is now the issue. I was up at Cliffs of Insanity, which used to be a rarely visited crag not ten years ago, and there were at least eighteen cars parked. At the base of the wall it was quite a scene with shirtless boys waltzing around at the base, people yelling, excited climbing talk, dogs covered in red dirt and lots of grunting and cavorting. There had to have been at least thirty people up there that day. Oh how things have changed. Change is inevitable, I understand now at this point in my life, growth and transformation are assured, if I allowed for it. 

All said, I expected the change, as much as I dreaded it earlier. How could people not want to come climb in this magnificent place? It is amazing after all. I do still cry when people squash the crypto, however. I don’t mind seeing crowds anymore. Usually most of the climbers I have come across are quite friendly, nice and fun energy to be around. It’s just different. 

It took me realizing that IC was not ever going to be the same place that it was nearly thirty  years ago. Everything changes, whether we like it or not. It’s our attitude that needs adjusting  now and then. Nowhere I enjoyed in near isolation before, is the same now. There are more  people…but also more crags have been developed. And though I say it is not the same, in reality, it is, still actually, and despite so many more people, it’s the same wondrous place.  

These days when I pull on my mythos to get on a thin crack and chalk up my fingers it feels  just like my old home…plus a few extra visitors. And sometimes, we still get a crag to  ourselves which feels pretty nice. 

Now, as a certified AMGA climbing guide, I have the opportunity to share my knowledge of this place. My experiences help me share crack technique with amazing people that will one day likely be going there on their own. It’s up to me to make sure they are not only technically  prepared, but also in the right place to honor and take care of this sacred land. 

Above all else, I am teaching stewardship of this land and good practices to help maintain its natural beauty. Things have changed, but we need to keep adapting with them and continue taking care of this amazing land.

Some of the basics are:

• -don’t squash the crypto
• -pick up your trash
• -go to the bathroom in a wag bag or one of the bathrooms that now exist throughout the valley
• -honor the natives that were here far before any of the climbers.

Take care of her, she is special and will appreciate it, allowing us to keep climbing her beautiful cracks.  

My offerings now include an all Women’s Crack Climbing Retreat/Workshop every spring in  Indian Creek. This retreat is an amazing opportunity to hone in your crack climbing skills, learn  from experts, work on your personal blocks in climbing and life with our on staff life coach and  have an amazing weekend in one of the most beautiful places on the planet with a wonderful  group of women. 

Before I say good-bye for now, I want to mention one of the most important factors in setting  the stage for success ~ your footwear. 

My favorite La Sportiva shoes for the dez you ask… I still love Mythos, tried and true, for thin  cracks. My absolute favorite Sportiva shoe of all time is the Muira, which is amazing for just  about any crack bigger than fingers. And for you wide crack fans….I know there are a lot of  you these days…the TC Pro is amazing at protecting your ankle bones, stiff enough to heal toe  easily and is amazing to jam into a fist crack.  

I look forward to meeting you all out on the rocks or in a beautiful campsite somewhere sharing  stories and gazing at the stars.

Happy climbing, Heidi Wirtz