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Spearfish Canyon?

Original Post
Levi Clemen · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2016 · Points: 0

Where is the best splitter crack in the Spearfish Canyon and what is it called?

BBQ · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 554

Presho Girls Like It Rough. Goes at about 5.10+. You will find it at Wall of Wow located at The Shadowlands.

Levi Clemen · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2016 · Points: 0

BBQ - Are most of the cracks climbed?

BBQ · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 554

Many of the "crack climbs" in Spearfish Canyon can be categorized as bolted sport routes that might have some crack moves somewhere on the route. "Cranium Crack", and "Himalayback", at Indecent Exposure, "Strung Out on Crack" at Blue Sky, "Grand Jam" at Botany Bay, and "Morning Dew" at The Bradyism Wall in Big Picture Gully, all come to mind as routes that have just a bit of face climbing followed by some pretty good crack moves. No gear is needed, but I have heard of people plugging in cams and nuts into these routes just for the fun of it.

However, with all that said, if one looks around hard enough, it is possible to find cracks in the limestone that would probably take gear exclusively. And with that said, more than likely it would be a really good idea to clean the choss and debris out of those cracks, before you climb them, just like any other Spearfish Canyon route when development takes place. Matt Carpenter is a visiting climber from Vegas who just developed "Presho Girls Like It Rough". After spending a day hammering choss from the crack he was able to put up a decent route that one might categorize as being "splitter" that goes with all gear and no bolts.

I would not suggest throwing a rack over your shoulder and just heading out to take on any crack in Spearfish Canyon in a traditional ground up fashion. While the limestone here is pretty bomber, I would not trust the undeveloped cracks to be clean enough to take a fall. I suspect future generations will be seeking out and developing more cracks in a top down style, but more than likely, if you want splitter cracks, it is best to go to either Devil's Tower or Raspberry Rocks. The vast majority of climbing in Spearfish Canyon is devoted to face climbing on panels or rock, between cracks, that can be bolted. I myself don't think of the word "splitter" when describing anything in the canyon.

Levi Clemen · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2016 · Points: 0

Thanks. You said everything I wanted to hear

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Wyoming, Montana, Dakotas
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