The Needles (Custer State Park)

- 1st trip to the Needles: 1.5 days, 9 summits
- 2nd trip to the Needles: 2 days, 13 routes

Region: South Dakota

Elev: ~6,300 ft

Rock type: Granite & Pegmatite

Type:

Trip Report 1:

Date(s): July 31 & August 1, 2021 (Sat&Sun)

Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

Trip Report 2:

Date(s): September 11&12, 2021 (Sat&Sun)

Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

The following excellent description is taken from an article in Alpinist 74 featuring the Needles of Custer State Park:

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of spires, minarets, pinnacles, pins, spears, castles, chisels, fins, steeples, blades, bartizans, gargoyles, battlements, turrets, towers, merlins, spikes, cathedrals, and freestanding blobs compose the Needles. The vast majority of climbs don't exceed a single rope length. None is taller than three pitches. But don't be fooled by the modest size. Or by the abundance of quartz and feldspar crystals that festoon the granite fairyland. The best routes were established with a ground-up traditional ethic, and the notoriously sparse protection and old-school ratings cause most climbers to expel a few more breaths than normal before they can commit to a Needles lead.

The following equally excellent description is written by Joey Wolfe on mountainproject:

Located in [Custer State Park] in the Black Hills of South Dakota is a climbing area like no other, The Needles. From Sylvan Lake a road called the Needles Highway winds through spectacular and spell binding towers and spires. From this road climbers can access a playground of unparalleled face climbing on ever narrowing spires by way of quartz crystals ranging from tiny to hand sized.

The area is steeped in a rich history dating back to Fitz Wiessner's accent of the Totem Pole in 1936. The area was then home to the prolific Herb and Jan Conn, two climbers way ahead of their time, who put up over 200 first ascents from their first visit in 1947 and eventually move to the area in 1949. In the 1960's climbers such as Royal Robbins, John Gill and Henry Barber put up routes that still wow climbers today with their high "pucker factor".

The Needles has long been known for its purist ethics, which has made for some wild climbs and a Needles' staple, the infamous simul-rap. As Jan Conn said, "You can climb anything in the Needles, if you have the guts."

Custer State Park is a world class destination not only for the climbing but also the absolute beauty of the place.

So, after reading excerpts such as these, obviously I had to check out the Black Hills Needles. The first time I climbed at the Black Hills Needles was in August 2021, at the start of a 10-day climbing trip that started in the Needles and from there meandered through a few climbing areas in Wyoming. Nate and I delighted in this granite fairyland and climbing playground. Nate and I returned a month later when his parents were camping at the Black Hills and invited us to come up for the weekend. We all enjoyed this trip so much that we repeated it the following year.

This page presents my trip reports for my two 2021 trips to the Black Hills Needles. At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of the climbs I've done in the Black Hills Needles.

Intro

To start off our 2-week climbing road trip to Wyoming, Nate and I decided to check out the Needles. We arrived mid-day, and after getting situated at the campground, we spent the afternoon doing the Cathedral Enchainment, which is a great linkup with nearly 400 feet of 5.7 climbing and three wild summits. The routes we took to get to the three summits were all FAs in the 1940s by climbing pioneers Herb and Jan Conn. The enchainment traverses up the Spire 4 ridge line, starting with West Gruesome, then up and over South Tower, and to the top of Spire 4, the highest summit of the Cathedral Spires.

The second day, we climbed in the Switchbacks/Tenpins area. We climbed 7 different routes to the top of 6 different wild summits. The routes ranged from 5.7 to 5.11a, mostly face climbing, and all a touch exciting yet reasonably well-protected with the runnout occurring on moderate terrain. Overall, Nate and I thought the rock was quite good and the climbing was quite unique. We had a blast in this granite fairyland and climbing playground.

Below are some photos from our 1.5 days of climbing at the Black Hills Needles, as well as a brief stop at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial on our drive to Devil's Tower. Enjoy!

Intro

It was Nate's birthday weekend. His parents were camping in the Black Hills area and invited us to join for the weekend. Of course!

We climbed for the weekend at the Black Hills Needles. One of the highlights was climbing Needles Eye, an iconic classic that had first made me aware of the Needles (and we liked it so much we climbed it twice!). On Sunday, we enjoyed pizza and campfire and good company for Nate's birthday dinner. Before driving home Monday, we checked out Mt. Rushmore National Memorial with Nate's parents.

The following gives some photos from our 2 days of climbing and camping at the Black Hills Needles. Enjoy!

Comments Pertaining to this Page / Trip Report

Useful beta. Updated route information. Corrections. Historical notes. Interesting facts. No fluff please.