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South Seas Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in South Seas

Bird's Nest 2 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Borneo 0 / 6 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Bull Rock 3 / 5 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 8

Cavity 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Child's Molar 2 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Cornflake 0 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Critical View 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Duckbill 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Hornets Nest 5 / 12 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 16

Java 2 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3

Kara 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Pronghorn 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Reef 1 1 / 4 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Reef 2 3 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7

Reef 3 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Shark's Tail 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1

Sharks Fin 2 / 4 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Sharkstooth 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2

Shipyard Rock 5 / 9 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 14

South Seas Boulders 0 / 0 / 0 / 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 6

Squirrels Nest 1 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Tit Rock 1 / 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4

Toy Boat 0 / 5 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 5

Toy Tug Boat 0 / 7 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7

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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.

Elevation:	5,196 ft	1,584 m
GPS:	43.8864, -103.467 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	233,355 total · 845/month
Shared By:	Andrew Gram on Jun 24, 2002
Admins:	Peter Gram, Greg Parker, Mikel Madsen, Mark Rafferty Page Updates (admin only)

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Access Issue: Check NPS for Closures Details

Description

South Seas is an excellent place to begin sampling Rushmore. There is an abundance of excellent sport routes from 5.6 to 5.13 here, and a smattering of trad routes as well. Most routes end on top of spires requiring raps to get down, which means there aren't very many routes to toprope. No approaches take longer than 30 minutes.

Must do routes include Waves, Solitaire, Lead Fillings, Mr Critical, and Ladies in Love.

Getting There

South Seas is just a few miles from the faces on Mt Rushmore. From Rapid City, take Rushmore Road(US 16) up into the hills. Exit at SD244, drive through Keystone, and drive up past the faces. The parking lot is the large pullout at the Mt Rushmore National Monument sign as you are leaving the monument heading west on 244. Descend the trail on the north side of the road, and the spires come into view in about 20 seconds.

120 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at South Seas

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b 288 ● Second Hand Rose Arete Sport Hornets Nest
5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b 162 ● Solitaire Sport Borneo
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c 322 ● Waves Sport 2 pitches Shipyard Rock
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a 89 ● Lead Fillings Sport Child's Molar
5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a 61 ● W.A.S.P. (center variation start) Trad, Sport Hornets Nest
5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b 22 ● Climb-Us Interuptus Trad Java
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 116 ● Pelican's Dike-ination Sport Borneo
5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b 89 ● The Pollinator Sport Hornets Nest
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b 34 ● Cereal Killer Sport Cornflake
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 43 ● Anaphylactic Shock Sport Hornets Nest
5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c 93 ● Mr. Critical Sport Hornets Nest
5.11b/c 6c+ 23 VIII- 24 E4 6a 44 ● Boylesque Sport Bird's Nest
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b 42 ● Beetle Juice Sport Hornets Nest
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b 34 ● Ladies in Love Sport Bird's Nest
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c 8 ● Mothra Sport Hornets Nest