Elevation: 6,267 ft
GPS: 43.84004, -103.53593
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Shared By: Andrew Gram on Jul 1, 2002
Admins: Peter Gram, Greg Parker, Mikel Madsen, Mark Rafferty

Description

The Tricouni Nail is the distinctive three-headed spire in the middle of the Ten Pins cluster. Tricouni Nail is the original name for this spire, though Royal Robbins renamed it Cerberus when he made the first ascent.

This is one of the most classic climbs in the Black Hills, and the descent is a notorious though completely secure simulrappel from the top. No anchors exist on the summit, so the rope must be layed in between two of the horns with one climber rappeling off each side simultaneously. Be sure to maintain good communication with your partner while doing this because you end on opposite sides of the spire. Local climbers harvest booty almost daily from people unfamiliar with this technique.

Getting There

The spire is hard to miss with its three heads. Scramble up into the middle of the spires, and climb the side facing Queen Pin(the larger mass of spires away from the Cathedral Spires).

3 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Tricouni Nail/Cerberus

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
 179
Cerberus
Trad
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b R
 4
East Face Rotert/Fowler Route
Trad
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Cerberus
 179
5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c Trad
East Face Rotert/Fowler Route
 4
5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b R Trad
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