Vertigo

One of if not the HARDEST summit to attain in the Needles and maybe the Black Hills. Start on one of 3 options, 2 bolted lines 5.11 or go downhill and do the chimney and traverse easy terrain to belay. This what you came for. Start off the belay and work right and place some big gear under the roof, pull the roof and clip some bolts and thread an old rurp with small wires. After the rurp, head out left along a seam which brings you to pins. From the pins, head up to a set of bolts and fiddle in lots of gear. After a pin is clipped move up a bit higher and place a high piece. This high piece is good. Move left (crux). After this final traverse is done; it's easy sailin to the top. As for the top out, work around and left at the top.

(History of one the hardest summits in the Black Hills) Renn Fenton was the first person to scope out the line. He believed that it would go and even listed out the cruxes and belays. His beta proved to be mostly spot on for the FA group. This spire was put up in 1979 before there was right and wrong ways to climbing such as Redpointing and Pinkpointing. The FA was done as a group and in Yo-Yo style because of the uncertainty, style and grade of the climb. The FA party all took 30 plus foot rides trying to figure out the upper cruxes. Finally, Paul Muehl put two RURPS in the rock above the first crux on the second pitch. The first one was met to slow down the falling climber enough to have the second one hold for a better fall than before. Kevin Bein pulled the first one out on a fall and the second one held. Kevin continued climbing the traverse and pounding in two pitons. It is said that Kevin Bein did a series of One arm pullups across the traverse and made it past the two upper cruxes. He finished the crux and was on top. The rest of the group followed suite and the rest as they say is history.

Bare bones Nuts=full set small to large. Cams=gray met, purple met, full set of Aliens, #1-4 Camalot. Lots of long slings and double ropes are useful.