Black Hills Crack Routes Recommendations

I'm headed to the Black Hills in a couple of weeks and I'm looking for recommendations for crack climbs. One big disclaimer: I really, really suck at climbing cracks. I want to get better at it, so I figured I would just throw myself at some splitters until I figure it out or until my hands look like bloody, raw hamburger meat... or both (but probably the latter). Fingers, hands, whatever. Even offwidth -- I must have a screw loose because offwidth climbing looks fucking rad to me.

I'm sure many of you are going to say: "Hey dummy, just drive another 120 miles to Devil's Tower and you'll have more cracks than you can climb in a lifetime!" I would if I could, but it's not in the cards this time, so let's try to keep the recommendations to Rushmore or Custer. Also, in light of my aforementioned sucking, I should probably keep it around 5.9 or under until I get the hang of it. Thanks!

Much as I love the Needles, I don't think it is a great place to work on crack technique. There are almost no cracks that require pure crack technique, especially for the feet---you can often stand on nubbins rather than having to jam. The cracks tend to be featured inside too, which means that pure jamming can be very painful for the the body parts involved.

The routes that occur to me immediately might be a bit hard: the Nick of Time on the Outer Outlet and the Kamps Crack on the Bell Tower. Of these, the Nick of Time is probably just 10a.

At 5.8+ (probably nowadays 5.9) there is the superb Conn route on the East Face of the East Gruesome, but you'll also have to contend with a runout 5.7 pitch above that. If you do the East Gruesome, you should rappel into the notch behind it and climb another Conn classic, the South Tower of Spire 4 (formerly 5.7 but now, if MP is to be believed, 5.9). This link-up is one of the best outing in the Needles!

Rob Knob's spire in the Outlets and the West Buttress of the Outer Outlet both have 5.9 crack sections, as does the fabulous Sore Thumb in the Needles Eye parking area. In the Cathedral Spires, there is the Wavy Crack on the Empire State Building and a Kamps route on the NE side of Edison Memorial. All of these are 5.9.

Classic Crack on Inner Outlet is classic for a reason, great intro at 5.7.
Conn Diagonal (although not crack climbing) is very enjoyable and has a fun short hand crack alternate finish.
Balcony Point on Spire 2 in the cathedral spires is a wonderful summit and the fist crack that gets you there is great.
There's a ton of crack climbing (long days worth +) at Raspberry Rocks. I would suggest buying the new rushmore guidebook for the beta on that area but routes like "weather or not" and "Middle of the road" are not to be missed.

Screw Black Hills granite for crack climbing! Go to Devils Tower (technically in the Black Hills though) and get on Walt Baily 9+ now THAT is a splitter crack. If that doesn't fit your fancy get on Solar 9- or Assembly line 9++ if you really want to work good hand and feet techniques. Bring a double rack and be prepared for long pitches. Two sixty meter ropes or two seventy meter ropes are recommended. NEVER climb the tower with just one rope.

Get Busse's guidebook and go to raspberry rocks.

Raspberry Rocks

or more specifically:

weather watches wall

Busse's guide book has a different name for it (woodpecker ridge I think??).

This is a hidden gem with a plethora of cracks in various widths from fingers to offwidth in the 5.8 to 5.11 ranges.

Might help to have a human guide the first time out there tho. If the weather is hot, you need to go early before the sun gets on the rock.

Bring tape also.

Thanks for the suggestions. The Conn Diagonal is already on my to-do list, mainly because of its classic radness.

Rgold, good observation about the crystal nubbins allowing you to kind of cheat on the crack technique. I just now remembered that I climbed Classic Crack/Kamps Crack last year by using those crystalline cheat nubs for my feet. For my purposes, however, I'm not necessarily opposed to routes with good feet on the face, at least for right now. It would allow me to focus my hands, and then I can add in the feet later.

Wilson and Mike, Raspberry Rocks looks perfect. I think I have the Busse guidebook (I have a guidebook, but I'll have to check which one when I get home).

B. Climbin', remember this?

Greeley wrote:I'm sure many of you are going to say: "Hey dummy, just drive another 120 miles to Devil's Tower and you'll have more cracks than you can climb in a lifetime!" I would if I could, but it's not in the cards this time, so let's try to keep the recommendations to Rushmore or Custer.

I'll second that Classic Crack is a superb 5.7 and Conn Diagonal you will remember forever. I believe there is a variation to the last pitch which adds a bit of hand crack followed by easy run out terain that i would suggest

but i also have to agree that nothing feels like pure splitter crack climbing.

You should check into the sun direction for raspberries rocks. i remember getting an early start and it was quite windy and cold until the sun crested in the afternoon. "kirtis" put a good contribution on this site on how to determine when a wall/crag gets sun. raspberry rocks fits the bill though for what you're looking for. the highest concentration of cracks outside of devils tower! you'll have a blast. routes are easy to locate and most have bolted anchors, making TR's on other routes possible once you've led an initial route to the anchors.

To clarify some stuff at raspberry, the routes you want are:

Raspberry Jam 5.9-. There are a new set of anchors about two thirds of the way up. Might want to stop there as the last third is dirty choss. This is the right crack of the obvious V

Uff-da-Hedral, 5.10-. 2nd pitch is money pitch.

Carls Bad Caverns, Just do the major right facing dihedral on the first pitch and dont do the upper part unless you want to top rope Uff-da-Hedral or Raspberry Jam. Can go thru cave to get to top of Uff-da.

Left Face of Eve 5.11