A fun ass moderate with HUGE holds. Getting to the first bucket at the beginning requires some creativity and footwork right off the deck. Don't fight the fun! Find the good toe pockets. Stand up big and gain a bucket of a ledge. Now it's time to go get some! There is a left-hand, thumb down fingerlock crux section at the second bolt which then leads climbers into some semi-pumpy terrain. WATCH FOR SLOPERS! Feel around for sidepulls and other not-so-obvious holds that will gain you to the second ice bucket and a slabby battlefield of JUGS in between sections of THINKER MOVES on small holds that require some powerful movement to savior jugs and sweet rests.  

  Breath in and feel that ice flowing in your veins! Claw your way past more pockets, both big and small, gain a ledge and a series of underclings that forces the climber left into good, hidden holds around the arete. Find a sick, three-finger pocket, lift your hind leg onto the ledge and gain another ice bucket! From there trend right into another armada of pockets. Be sure to feel around for the right ones and think sidepull to clip! Gain the ledge with more bucket sized pockets and mantle your way to the anchors. This route is chock full of sick, slabby goodness with a few hard moves. A GREAT ROUTE FOR THE GRADE! Some climbers might find it to be a test of route finding skills and endurance.

Ice Buckets

Nippin' Out

Glacial Facial

Goose Bump

In The Fro Zone

Frosty The Throwman

Wide Rider

Suicide Jack

The Shivering Sphincter

Step Into The Freezer

Polar Baird

Ice Chester

Shoulda Nona Better

Jumping Jack Frost

Raising the Klondike Bar

Cool Whip

Ice Blocks

A Crack In The Ice

Two Kings And A  Queen

Ya Bud!

Cold Or Caliente

It's A Cool Breeze

Fung

Ice-Sickler

The Stolen Gem

Buttress

Surge

Whore Frost

Ice Cold, No Mistakes

Reaching The Melting Point

Black Ice

Pular Express

Pete' Poach

Frosted Flake

My Brother

A short, power endurance route that starts with a sick, sequential series of finger cracks.  

  SUSTAINED AND PHYSICALLY DEMANDING!  

  After the cracks are all said and done this route stays on you! This miniature wunderkind of a climb works its way up big blocks on overhung, thuggy terrain that keeps throwing a fun combination of technical moves and pumpy bursts of power in your face all the way to the anchors.

Start on a yellow fin of rock sticking out of the ground. Belayers can cling to the hillside or stand on a black pillar of rock. Enjoy hard moves right off the ground and struggle through some sustained climbing on big holds through roof.

This climb has everything that you could possibly want in a pumpy/techical, power-fest of a route. It starts out with hard, overhung moves that keep you on your toes. From there it never really seems to let up. Definitely an endurofest!Way hard! Way fun. This is a cool, New Skool route with forearm killing moves up pockets and crimps.

Short, powerful and to the point! Six bolts of super-sexy, Taster's Choice movement that is super pumpy, technical and totally impossible for whiners and puds.

Shovel and grovel your way up using small, tricky feet, wicked sidepulls and hard to calculate gymnastic movements. Get yourself set up on small, overhung holds to make a throw that might have you waving your arms like a freaked out snow angel.

A slabby face climb that needs some kind soul to yank the mank. Will be a much better climb after some cleaning and new hardware is installed.

Begins just left of Two Kings and a Queen and shares the last bolt and anchors.  Thin start on black rock and continues on mainly small holds.  May seem harder if you miss the holds.

Sick, good fun, and usually shady. This route delivers a stiff boulder problem right from the get go. Start with a right hand pocket that can be used like a multi-tool. Crimp with your left hand and stick a left foot up high. Rock on that left foot to a dynamic move that ends with a super-duper, left-hand pocket that is an absolute bucket. 

  From this bucket hold, move right to a hidden pocket that is located around a corner in the blonde area. Get set up on small, yet secure feet and you are off the races. Cling and layback your way up a flake. Stuff your fingers and hands into all sorts of pockets and work your way from small, insecure holds to jugs with lots of big, five-fun-plus moves that will keep your sphincter clenched all the way to the anchors.

Won't you step into the freezer? If you do you are in for hard 5.12 climbing on bullet-proof yet blonde rock. If you look hard enough, you might find Uncle Ebinezeer. It's gonna be cold, cold, cold, cold, coooold!

This blonde wall on the upper, right-hand side of The Ice Box is considered its flagship area. This climb has the distinction of being the best route on the wall. 

  Starts out slabby and flows to a headwall where all hell is frozen over and unleashed for your enjoyment. Sidepull crimps and other bombastically, tiny holds will get your attention and make you whip yourself silly. 

  And its not over until its over. If you have just enough time to sample what 5.12c in Spearfish Canyon tastes like then this is actually a very good representation of the quality found within this grade. It might not be the best 5.12c in Spearfish Canyon...but it is the best 5.12c at The Ice Box...and its a two minute hike from the car.

Mind numbing, yet refreshing. A stout route with killer moves and small, difficult holds that demand that there be a six pack ON your stomach as well as IN your stomach.

This route basically defines perfect pocket pulling!  

  Starts on pockets, climbs to pockets, climbs through pockets, climbs past pockets of all sizes. You will find the occasional crimp and side pull but if you love pockets get on this one and go nuts. 

  Stick your fingers and toes into small pockets, medium-sized pockets and big pockets galore! All the best holds are pockets, pockets and even more pockets! 

  Oddly enough, the irony of it all comes from a stopper crux with a sloper hold that disguises itself as a pocket. Grab that bitch just right and huck for several sick side pulls that just keep getting more and more sick right up until the anchors. 

  Enjoy this wild ride to its fullest! Just sure to clip the open cold shuts at the end before you pass out from the orgasm this stone is gonna give ya!

Nearly 70 feet of pockets, ledges, lay backs and wicked fun 5.10 minus movement that will get you pumped... and it's right next to the road.Starts on slabby jugs and heads off into overhung face climbing. Stick a sick, layback flake just right and gain some more big pockets and jug ledges that trend right. Crux is definitively at midroute and involves big moves on super-positive but technical holds. The pucker factor picks up a bit when you move onto the arete and navigate the oodles of possible pumpy pockets and bomber holds right up until the end.If you climb five ten, or want an easier warm-up, this route is a GOOD climb. Probably not a classic, but definitely not a bomb. It is clean, safe and well-bolted.

A sweet climb that starts smack dab in the middle of the flake. Has an easier start than Frosted Flake to its left. Pull through nearly perfect pockets and gain a slab with small holds. Stand up at the bottom of a vanilla-flavored streak and make huge reaches for far out pockets. When the climbing suddenly becomes steep, get ready to set yourself up for the wicked-whip move at the confidence crushing crux. Heel-hook and huck for jugs on the left and gain a bunch of altitude that ends with a nice rest on the top of the flake. The remainder of the climbing to the anchors involves navigating a slightly-challenging section of sweet, tasty slab.

Shares the first two bolts of Reaching the Melting Point and then heads right into a five tenish crack that will will leave you jonesing for more Ice Box climbing. STEEP! Massively overhung route with jugs and many spots that require a good crack climbing vocabulary of moves. Super-Dooper! Probably a must do for the grade if you like power endurance climbing.

An Old School classic with perfect pockets, a hellacious pump factor and a m'enage a' trois of super fun moves between decent rests. 

  A difficult start leads to fairly straightforward, not so rocket science climbing where fighting the pump is paramount. Probably the only Old School climb at this grade that won't make you pee yourself with fear.

Sick moves on sweet slabby to overhung stone that is nearly perfect!  

  A FOUR STAR CLASSIC RIGHT ON THE ROAD TO GLORY!  

  Crimps, monos, and great holds galore await your hands and feet that are shaking with the anticipation of an excellent send!  

  The moves flow oh so nice and the boulder problem at the top is the icing on this not-so-piece-of-cake eleven plus fun fest! 

  So if your climbing buddy comes over and asks if ya wanna go out for a rip say, "OH HUCK YEAH!" and get on this crazy thing!

Another great route for climbers who want to break into the harder side of five ten climbing. This route has a fairly mellow start and gets progressively harder as you climb higher. Really good holds lead to even better holds and a stopper crux is encountered higher up on the route giving a great ride that would be well in the comfort zone of beginning five ten climbers who wish to push the envelope. Be prepared to be heart broken when encountering a mono and swath of blank, black rock somewhere before the last two bolts. Climbing eases before the anchors on big holds. Overall, this route has great climbing on good rock. And despite the bit of lichen up top, that might thwart an onsight attempt, it's a very classy route. Get on it!

Battle a short, overhung buttress located just spitting distance from the road. Worth doing!

Climb right of the white streak on great pockets and edges.

A slabby face climb that needs some kind, industrious soul to yank the mank and replace some old rusty hardware with fresh steel.

This climb involves tricky, thinker sequences which accumulate into a left foot on a nubbin that leads to great holds that may or may not exist.Good luck. You'll need it.

An original route that climbs to the right of the arete on the black slab. Features climbing that is a bit overhung to vertical to slabby with good holds. This route might be a good warm up for advanced climbers and is a really great challenge for climbers who are breaking into the harder side of five ten or the softer side of five eleven.

Way fun climbing on bullet-proof, black rock. A toe-tapping, spider-like, technical start makes you huck for a huge, bucket of a ledge. What comes next involves a tricky, follow-through sequence to a nice rest. Take advantage and get it all back. You're gonna need it. 

  The rest of the climb makes its way up small pockets to killer crimps. A pumpy sequence with small holds at the crux leads to more blue-collar climbing that makes you heave and huck for fun holds between big moves. 

  Watch your speed and don't slip! Black Ice gets you pumped and keeps you pumped right up to the anchors and beyond.

Cruxy, pumpy climbing on good pockets. Tricky!

Start on the left side of a huge, detached flake with a sickening, steep start. Pull sweet pockets down low and feel around for the sicker ones higher on this funtastic feature. Grab the outside of the flake with left-handed sidepulls and gain your best rest. 

  Stand on a tiny ledge on the edge of the flake and start STEMMING! Transition to the face with some committing two finger pockets. 

  Pull through a series of kick-ass pockets with a few technical moves and gain altitude well above and to the left of the flake. The juggy holds start appearing about halfway up the face and keep getting bigger all the way to the anchors. 

  Definitely a unique Spearfish Canyon experience worth having!

Requires delicate moves into overhung territory. A great route for those who want to git r' dun and then hop on someone's sister, or brother, depending on what you are into.

This is a little canyon also know as Hellsgate Gulch. It was one of the first areas developed in Spearfish Canyon. The climbing is good and at one time, some of the climbs you will need a little bit of pro.  Now virtually all routes are safely bolted and you can leave the gear at home. Most of the climbs are short and to the point and are worth climbing at least once.

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Routes in Ice Box