PUMPFEST 2023
OUR ANNUAL CUSTER STATE PARK CLIMBING FESTIVAL IS HERE!
JOIN US AT PUMPFEST, A BLACK HILLS CLIMBING FESTIVAL HOSTED BY THE BLACK HILLS CLIMBERS COALITION!
SET AGAINST THE STUNNING BACKDROP OF THE BLACK HILLS, THIS THRILLING EVENT BRINGS TOGETHER CLIMBERS OF ALL LEVELS FOR A WEEKEND OF VERTICAL ADVENTURES. WHETHER YOU’RE A SEASONED PRO OR A BEGINNER EAGER TO TEST YOUR SKILLS, PUMPFEST OFFERS A VARIETY OF CLIMBING ROUTES AND CHALLENGES TAILORED TO YOUR ABILITIES.
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN A VIBRANT COMMUNITY OF CLIMBERS, ENJOY EXPERT-LED WORKSHOPS AND CLINICS, AND DISCOVER THE BREATHTAKING BEAUTY OF THE BLACK HILLS WHILE PUSHING YOUR LIMITS ON THE ROCKS IN CUSTER STATE PARK.
GET READY TO CLIMB, CONNECT, AND CELEBRATE THE SPIRIT OF EXPLORATION/CONSERVATION AT PUMPFEST!
This years festival will be held behind Sylvan Lake in the Inner Outlet Climbing Area. We setting up ropes along the formations of Inner Outlet, Vertigo View, Inner Course, Practice Rock, & Podunk Pinnacle, giving you dozens of options to climb some of CSP’s most classic routes. (Refer to map layout below for exact location)
Festival Schedule
Friday, July 28th
1-4PM: Set up Top Ropes in Outlets Area (Volunteers Needed - Sign up below)
5PM: Arrive at Old Pine Social ( 757 Mt. Rushmore Rd., Custer)
6PM: Larry Shaffer Climbing Presentation (Read more about Larry Shaffer Below)
6:30-9PM: Social Time, Axe Throwing, & More Beer
Saturday, July 29th
8:30AM: Meet at the Outlet Parking lot for climbers coffee, and Sylvan Rocks Clinic.
9AM - 12PM: Sylvan Rocks Climbing Clinic. (Sign up and Information Below)
9:30AM - 3:00PM: CLIMB!
3-3:30PM: Begin Removing top ropes.
4-4:30PM: Arrive at South Dakota Outdoor Shop. (Volunteers needed to help run booths and set up)
5-7PM: Games, Booths, Gear Giveaways, & Food
7-9PM: Live Music by Jonathan Jackey | Freelance Musician & Classically Trained Trumpeter (Read more about Jonathan Jackey below)
Sylvan Rocks Climbing Clinic
Sylvan Rocks Climbing School is pleased to offer an introduction to top rope climbing clinic on July 29th at the annual Pumpfest Climbing Festival!
If you’ve never climbed outside, now is you chance, and to do it with one of the best guide schools around!
Sylvan Rocks will be climbing in the Outlets climbing area behind Sylvan Lake from 9:00 AM to 11AM, and offering the opportunity to try climbing 1 or 2 beginner outdoor routes (number of routes is dependent on the number of participants).
Participants must be 18 years or older OR have a parent/guardian present. The sign up cost is $20 (plus tax); harness, helmet, and shoes will be provided and pre-registration is REQUIRED!
Please call 605-484-7585 to sign up today!
Larry Shaffer
Event Presenter on Friday Night, July 28th
Larry Shaffer on the FFA of Silk & Sangria, 5.12+ on Khayyam Spire.
Larry Shaffer is a hard man with the heart of a pioneer. He is perhaps one of the greatest visionaries the Needles has seen, being the first to envision bold and difficult routes of grades rarely climbed ground up in the Needles at the time. Larry also has a standard of excellence that has led to his routes in the Needles being absolutely top notch. Perhaps most interesting of all, today, Larry carries these achievements as explorations, rather than a claim from the ego. He has many routes out there of stellar quality that are unnamed, sometimes unfinished, unsung gems. Its’ wonderful to have someone here in the Black Hills climbing for exploration and reminding us why we do what we do.
So come Friday night to listen to some of Larry’s stories and experiences to learn further how we dubbed the name…”Scary Larry”.
Notable First Ascents
Iron Lingerie (5.12 R) | Outer Outlet
Living @ 1% (5.12 R) | Outer Outlet
Bourbon and Butterflies (5.12 R) | Khayyam Spire
Thrain & Thror (5.10+ PG13) | Near Downs
Wife Sentence (5.10+ PG13) | White House Wall
Spooky (5.12 PG13) | Station 13
Jonathan Jackey
Jonathan Jacky is a freelance musician, independent recording artist, producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist currently active in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming. He has a background as a classically trained trumpeter, receiving his Bachelor’s of Music (BM) in performance from Wright State University (Dayton, OH) in 2017, and a Master’s of Music (MM) in performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in 2019. Throughout his collegiate and professional career, Jonathan has played a variety of musical ensembles including wind symphony, orchestra, jazz band, trumpet choir, traditional-style brass band, New Orleans-style brass band, various small chamber wind ensembles, indie rock bands, and multiple collaborations with piano accompanists when performing solo trumpet works.
To learn more about Jonathan head over to his website and come watch him perform the night of Pumpfest!
Area Overview
For a limited time only, the parking lot we will be using is the Sylvan Lake Lodge dirt lot located below the lodge and behind the Sylvan Lake damn. This is opened to us for the event by Custer State Park so we limit our parking impact on the other visitors of the Park. (Green box in the map below.)
The climbing routes that will have top ropes are mainly concentrated in the red highlighted box in the map below.
Graphic Made by Chris Hirsch
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