Howdy!
Things are quiet now at Indian Creek and Moab climbing areas, but this year has been busy with climbers and stewardship activities. Here are some highlights of what we have been involved with this past year.
Introducing our new Board Members
Karson Leonard
Karson first visited Moab in 2017 and quickly returned to work at Canyonlands National Park in 2019. Since then he returned year after year as a seasonal worker until finally calling Moab home in 2023. Through his work with the Access Fund he spent time in Indian Creek building the Spark’s Wall approach and hosted stewardship events at over 20 climbing areas across the country. He is passionate about stewarding our climbing areas through trail maintenance, and using climbing as a tool to help connect people with this beautiful desert we call home.
Kaya Lindsay
Kaya came to Moab in 2017 to pursue rock climbing full time, and finally settled down here in 2020. With a background in community management and event coordination, Kaya has over a decade of experience in the freelance and digital marketing space. Since moving to Moab she has worked extensively in the climbing tourism industry and is now one of the owners at the local climbing gym, Climb Moab. In her role at Friends of Indian Creek she seeks to foster a sustainable climbing community while continuing to pursue her passion for rock climbing.
Gaar Lausman
Originally from Kentucky, Gaar began climbing in the late ’90s and hasn’t stopped since. A Zion desert rat turned 15-year Moab local with more than 1,500 days on the walls of Indian Creek, he brings a deep knowledge of the desert and its rich climbing history. With a Bachelor’s in Business Management and Conflict Resolution, he has planned, led, and executed some of the largest technical rope-access projects in the country.
Chris Wilson
Chris has been climbing in the Utah desert for the past twenty years and has called Moab home since 2021. From the La Sals to the Creek, he’s passionate about climbing throughout the region and working to ensure generations to come get the opportunity to experience these special places. Chris runs Curve Coffee Roasters in Moab and serves on the Grand County Economic Opportunity Advisory Board, where he works to support other local small business owners. Chris has an MA in international affairs and helped lead a program on Latin America at a think tank in Washington DC for 10 years before moving back West.
Indian Creek Climbing Stewards 2025 season
Gerry & Colleen are finishing up their Fall season as the Access Fund Climbing Stewards. Friends of Indian Creek and our partners have funded the climbing stewards at The Creek since the inception of the program in Fall 2021. Since then, the stewards have logged over 15,000 interactions with visitors at the climber coffees and crag chats. Programs like this are “boots on the ground” and help to further our mission by educating climbers about best camping and climbing practices. Steward-Climber interactions also foster good relationships with local land managers. The climber coffees have featured guests such as the Bears Ears Partnership, BLM archaeologists and wildlife biologists, The Nature Conservancy, and Friends of Indian Creek to name a few. These groups are there to showcase the work being done in the Creek or to educate climbers about what (besides climbing) makes the Creek so special. In turn, when climbers respect raptor closures and archeological sites, it keeps climbing regulations minimal and access open. Learn more about the Access Fund Climbing Stewards.
Anchor Replacement at Battle of the Bulge and Super Crack
This November, the Salt Lake Climbers Alliance Anchor Maintenance Crew completed anchor replacement work at Battle of the Bulge and Super Crack, two of Indian Creek’s most iconic and heavily visited climbing areas. This effort builds on the 2024 pilot project at 2nd Meat Wall and continues the mission to replace aging or hazardous anchors, modernize lower-offs, and remove hardware from culturally sensitive locations.
Throughout the week, the team focused on improving long-term safety, sustainability, and respect for the area’s cultural and recreational values. During anchor assessments, they found numerous unsafe setups, including sun-damaged webbing, drilled pitons, compression bolts, loose bolts that could be removed by hand, and incorrectly installed glue-in bolts. These findings highlighted the ongoing need for systematic upgrades using modern, durable hardware.
By week’s end, the crew had replaced 37 sets of top anchors and 5 lead bolts. All top anchors were upgraded to stainless steel Team-Tough glue-in bolts set with DeWalt AC100 adhesive, and outfitted with stainless steel quick links and chains plus mussy hooks or rappel rings for lowering and rappelling. All hardware was camouflaged to match the surrounding rock and maintain the natural look of the cliffs.
The new anchors are designed to be largely maintenance-free and modular, allowing worn components like mussy hooks or rings to be easily replaced over time. These upgrades greatly enhance safety and sustainability at these high-use crags. This work is part of an ongoing pilot program—let us know if you’d like to see it expanded.
Moab Climbing Ambassadors 2025 season
Last year, the Climbing Ambassadors made over 3,000 educational contacts with climbers. GCATT Climbing Stewards have been educating locals and visitors about preventative search and rescue, cryptobiotic soil, pooping in the desert, and wet rock- all onsite at climbing crags around Moab. Friends of Indian Creek has also been involved in tabling and hosting local climbing events with the Moab Trail Ambassador Climbing stewards through our partnership with Grand County Active Transportation and Trails GCATT. The first GCATT Climbing Steward Launch happened in Fall 2022 following success with the Trail Ambassador program. The Grand County Trail Ambassador program became the first Gold Standard Leave No Trace designated program in November 2023. The Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation awarded the program the 2025 Trail Program Award.
Following restructuring in the distribution of Transient Room Tax funds in Grand County this year,, the Climbing Ambassador program will now be operated as a non-profit organization. Friends of Indian Creek remains committed to help fund this vital program.
Your contributions help protect The Creek and Moab Climbing areas and access through stewardship, education, research, and outreach.
Be safe out there!
Rachel Nelson
Executive Director
Friends of Indian Creek