Type: Trad, 180 ft (55 m), 2 pitches
FA: Herb and Jann Conn
Page Views: 2,843 total · 11/month
Shared By: Andrew Gram on Jul 3, 2002
Admins: Peter Gram, Greg Parker, Mikel Madsen, Mark Rafferty

You & This Route


33 Opinions
Your To-Do List: Add To-Do ·
Your Star Rating:
Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty Rating:
-none- Change
Your Ticks:Add New Tick
-none-
Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.
Warning Access Issue: Check NPS for Closures DetailsDrop down

Description Suggest change

A Needles style route right in the heart of Rushmore.

From the back of the spire(facing away from the road), climb a large chimney system until it blanks out against the upper part of the spire. Turn right, tunnel in, and then turn left into another chimney which takes you to a fantastic belay ledge at the base of the upper spire. This pitch protects well, but use very long runners as it is in the pitch travels in the shape of a big Z.

For pitch 2, take a deep breath and launch up the friction and crystal face. I only remember one bolt on this pitch, but there may be two. Regardless, it is very runout and frightening - falling before clipping the first bolt or just before reaching the summit will put you in the hurt locker for a long time.

This is the best summit at Rushmore, and one of the best perches in the Needles. A double rope rap leads to the start of the route.

Protection Suggest change

Cams: 0.5-#4
Nuts
Alpine Quickdraws
1 - Bolt
2-bolt anchor on top

Photos

loading