All Locations > Utah > Southeast Utah > Indian Creek

Lavender Butte/The Happy Submarine Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Lavender Butte/The Happy Submarine

L › R R › L A › Z

	Bert and Ernie Tower T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b C1
	Haggis Tower T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Lavender Towers, The T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a C1 PG13
	Par Six Tower T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Seamen's Semen T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Undiscovered Country, The T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c

Order Wrong? Sort Routes

Elevation:	6,126 ft
GPS:	38.098, -109.627 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	6,201 total · 34/month
Shared By:	Chris Kalous on Dec 22, 2006 · Updates
Admins:	slim, Andrew Gram, Nathan Fisher, Perin Blanchard, GRK, DCrane Page Updates (admin only)

Access Issue: No Toilet Facilities! Details

No toilet/port a potty facilities: Have poop plan! Visit: facebook.com/friendsofindia…
saltlakeclimbers.org/news/2…

2021 Raptor Avoidance Areas - LIFTED as of September 1st 2021

Each spring raptors return to the Indian Creek area for nesting. Eagles, falcons, and other migratory birds use shallow depressions on ledges, cliffs and rock walls, and often return to the same site year after year to raise their young. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requests that climbers and hikers avoid nest areas during critical nesting periods, typically in early March through late August. Avoiding climbing and hiking in the vicinity of the nests and keeping a safe viewing distance will help ensure survival of young birds.

Beginning March 1, the BLM asks the public to avoid climbing or hiking in areas with high potential or historically known to have bird nesting activity. The impacted areas are referred to in many climbing guidebooks as: The Wall, Far Side, The Meat Walls, Cliffs of Insanity, Public Service Wall, Disappointment Cliffs, Fin Wall, Broken Tooth, Cat Wall, Slug Wall, and Reservoir Wall. This list serves only as a guide and does not indicate every avoidance area or their many names. For access to a map of raptor avoidance area or any questions about raptors and migratory bird habitat in the Monticello area, please contact Thomas Plank or Jason Byrd with the BLM Monticello Field Office at 435-587-1500.

Full press release: blm.gov/press-release/blm-a…

Access Issue: RAIN, WET ROCK and RAPTOR CLOSURES: The sandstone around Moab is fragile and is very easily damaged when it is wet. Also please ask and be aware of Raptor Closures in areas such as CAT WALL and RESERVOIR WALL in Indian Creek Details

WET ROCK: Holds rip off and climbs have been and will continue to be permanently damaged due to climbers not respecting this phenomenon. After a heavy storm the rock will remain wet, sometimes for several days. PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB IN MOAB during or after rain.

Indian Creek 2019 info:

News release from the BLM, Jason Byrd, 10/11/19.

or the link blm.gov/press-release/annou….

RAPTOR CLOSURES: please be aware of seasonal raptor closures at the Cat Wall and Reservoir Wall. They occur annually from March 31st until August 31st. *Due to the federal hiring freeze in agencies such as the BLM of Monticello, no official closure for 2017 has been issued and the laws which have been put in place in previous years are not being enforced. Please, for the sake of fragile desert ecology, DO NOT CLIMB at stated walls. These raptors return to the same nesting sites every year to raise their nestlings.

Description

This is the large butte N by NW of the Bridger Jacks, across Lavender Canyon. It forms a similar buttress between Lavender and Davis Canyons. It is a wingate mesa with a cap, similar in scale to Bridger Jack Butte. Dan Gambino and I named it the Happy Submarine because from the south it looks like a sub, complete with tower and rudder (some say it also looks like a Cadillac, a cruise ship, and, from the north, a buffalo). The rudder, actually, is a small separate tower that is rumored to have been climbed. In 2001 (I think that is when I was there?), I did not see any anchors. I don't know if The HS had a name before that, but I believe we made the first ascent of the thing so...? Lavender Butte is supposedly the Navajo butte on the mesa to the west.

In 2001, I saw some anchors on the smaller end near the rudder that did not appear to link to the top. The Quinlans have added a couple one pitch routes on the south side, I believe. The very top had no sign of an ascent, so we sprayed our egos on it by building a cairn and leaving a business card. I then held Dan up over the bow while he screamed "I'm the king of the world". It was a nice moment for us both.

This thing has the potential to have more routes than Bridger Jack Butte as it is much larger. There are definitely new lines to be done!

Getting There

Take the Davis Canyon (like going to the Sixshooters) road into the wash that is the beginning of the actual Davis Canyon. You will be driving on the south side of the South Sixshooter. The Happy Submarine will be directly to the south. We approached it from the road at a random place that seemed to be the closest. The hike is about an hour (a little longer than going to the sixshooters). High clearance is necessary. Also, you are able to drive around the bow of it, skirting Dugout land, to access Lavender Canyon, perhaps this would take you closer?