This route is ok but not that great. The most difficult part is near the bottom as you angle to the right. There are small ledges here to rest on but tough moves in between them. From a big ledge about halfway up, you move right into a gully which provides fairly easy climbing and brings you to the top of the wall. If you don't move right near the bottom, you will run into two bolts. These are likely on the route A Little Piece of South Dakota which is listed on the main page for this crag in the list of routes. One of these bolts has a quicklink on it and one is quarter inch with an "SMC" hanger.

Little Piece

Reds

Ethical Jesture

This Route Sucks

Midwestern Crack

Better Than Most Around These Parts

North Dakota

Bar None

Creek Crack

Doesn't Suck as Much

This is a fun, easy route. The most difficult parts are right at the start and near the very end. The first left-slanting crack is fun and very good for protection. The top crack has some small bushes in it, but they  don't really get in the way. There are several ledges along the length of the climb.

This climb is not the worst, but I gave it a bomb rating, because the rock has a lot of lichen on it and the rock quality is not very good in many spots. You climb up a broken crack system. I think there are two crux areas. The first is about 30' up where the rock steepens above the initial slab. Pro can be found in the crack to the left, and higher you lieback up to a ledge. You could belay in this ledge if you wish to do two pitches. The second crux is above a bush in a slot which forms an overhanging roof. There is protection here. You finish up a left-leaning crack which has a tree near its top.

This is the centermost route on the wall. It was bolted on the lead in the style of the South Dakota Needles, mostly for practice with that style. I did it so long ago that I can't recall the exact number of bolts or pins. Rumor has it that at least one pin fell out, so it may be even more serious now. I thought the climbing was good and intricate.

This route is the furthest right climb at the crag and is separate from the main crag. It follows an arête next to a super licheny face. It seems hard for a 5.6 near the first bolt. The easiest start seems to the right of the first bolt. Higher, you stay to the right of the bolts and arête before moving left onto the face at the fourth bolt. Kevin Capps thinks it is not bad, as seen in his guide, but I think it kind of "sucks". The anchors at the time of this writing are just bolts with no lowering hardware. Someone should bring quicklinks or leaver biners in the future. My second downled the route because of this.

While this climb is not very difficult, the hardest part is going up the parallel cracks just below the tree. The protection is good here and the climbing is enjoyable. You can belay here, at the tree, if you wish to do the climb in two pitches. You start the climb in either of the two cracks which start near the bottom. I took the lower crack, but the upper crack looks enjoyable too. From the tree, the climb continues up rock that is easier to climb than the rock below.  You belay from one of many trees at the top.

This is one of the best, if not the best, routes at the rock. The entire route is fun and has different sorts of climbing all the way up. It has slab sections, cracks, underclings, and more. The crux is at a steep section about halfway up that can be solved more than one way. It seems very safely bolted.

Bar None climbs a pumpy overhang through the first 5 bolts then moves onto a slab to the anchors. It has good but strenuous underclings.  Rock is good and pretty clean below the roof but licheny on the slab above.

There is a nice ledge/staging area at the base right by the creek. I'm not sure if this is dry during high water, but it was nice today.

The route follows a right-angling seam/crack.

The crux comes right off the ground. It's pretty stiff and hard to protect for a 5.5. You could start a few feet up and right and skip the crux, if you really wanted. Things ease up quickly, and when there is good gear, you don't really need it anymore.

This will be more fun if it cleans up a little.

There is an easy walkoff back to the base.

This is a top rope done off the

This Route Sucks

anchors. It has some good edges hidden in a coat of lichen. The moves seem easier than those on

This Route Sucks

. It is worth doing if you already did its neighbor.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in A Little Piece of South Dakota