Crew 270
Palasides State Park, South Dakota
Follow brown signs from I-90 11 miles east of Sioux
Falls. There are serveral cliffs of red quartizite from 10 feet up
to 60 feet. Anchors are the rocks themsevles and trees. An
excellent area for biginners and teaching. The ring of King,
Queen and Rattlesnake Rocks is the most popular, with Rattlesnake boing
approximately 60 feet high, with at least 5 different routes up and down.
On the south side of Tomahawk Creek is an excellent area for beginning
climbers. Camping is available with flush toilets and showers.
The areas are at times crowded.
Blue Mounds State Park, Minnesota
Five miles north of LuVern, Minn. and south along
the edge of the park about 1.5 miles is a parking lot from which a trail
heads north and west into the Quarry. Quartzite was mined here by
blasting, and thus this area is ok for rapelling and top roping, but not
for climbing. The wall of quartzite extends north and slightly east
for over a miles, with several sections that are good for both climibng
and rappelling. Camping is available. There is a swimming
beach for an added bonus. These are accessed from the main park entrance,
about 2 miles north of the road to the Quarry trail. The highest
poi t in the Quarry is from a notch on center of the west wall, about 85
feet. The south wall offers interesting top roping. (A book,
The Pairie Wall has beern publisehd about this area.
Fort Falls, Valentine
East from Valentine, Nebraska, to the Fort Niobrara
Wildlife Refugee. Then enter the show pasture, and exit on the north
to the falls. The falls are just east of the road loop. You
walk down besdie the falls on wooden steps. We rappel beyond. north
and east of the falls, on the cliffs above the Niobrara river. This
is a clay cliff, which is muddy when it rains. A pleasant
40 - 50 foot drop.
Yellowbanks WMA
Four miles north from Battle Creek, Nebraska (10
miles west of NOrfolk) go west 1 miles, follow the road south, west,
north, and west again. The cliffs are both south from the first and
second parking lots on the Elkhorn Rivers. These are yellow clay
cliffs. The bottom is frequently muddy, and in times of high water,
very muddy. The climb back to the top is difficult, but it
is only 30 minutes from Norfolk, and fairly easily accessable. Good
fror training.
Cliff Area, Chadron National Forest
In the Nebraska National Forest (yes, we do have
a national forest) south of Chadron, Nebraska. South from the old
Fur Trade Museum on the next road south from Highway 20, then in 2 miles
on four wheel drive NFS road, poorly marked. This is a clay and concretion
, nearly sandsstone, 300 foot cliff with a good ledge at 100 feet.
There is a hugh overhang to the wouth of the cliff proper, which has some
natural anchors. The area is beautiful. No establsihed camping
nearby, although Chadron State Park is about 10 miles west on NFS 4WD roads
and a group can camp by National Forest Rules in the forests. This
is sometimes a party area for the Chadron State College.
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