April 2025 Meeting

Meeting attended by Peyton, Matt, Brian , Kirsten, John (From Roamin Around), Remington, John L. Mark,

BHCC Public Community Meeting: Rapid City

Date: April 20, 2026

Location: Rapid City, SD

Board & Members in Attendance: 

I. Opening & Welcome: Looking Back to February

  • The February Recap: * We last met at Bokujo Ramen, where we introduced Courtney G. as our new Fundraising Committee Chair.

  • Successes: We secured the 2026 rebolting permits for Rushmore and Custer and announced the upcoming Mike Cronin Limestone Guidebook (dropping in June).

  • The Pivot: since we last met, we have had two board meetings and a public meeting in spearfish. Meeting with the forest service, I was approached about aqueducts in spearfish canyon. Pumpfest committee meeting.

  • Limestone guidebook will drop early july

  • Bolting permits IN


Today’s Focus: Moving from strategy to action as we kick off the spring season.

II. Access & The Forest Service: Today’s Meeting

  • USFS Debrief (Peyton & Matt): * Volunteer Opportunities: Peyton and Matt met with Dan Austin and Bradley Block and Todd Buttler today. 

    • At hell canyon rangers office, meet and greet. 

    • They are very underfunded and understaffed.  The fee they are trying to implement at wrinkled rock did not go through.  The pit toilet can no longer be maintained at wrinkled rock: they asked us to consider helping out with it. 

      • Roughly $1800 a year

        • Highest traffic area

        • Dan mentioned land management coordination with the park

          • Matt mentioned the climbing management plan

        • Bradley mentioned a boy scout group in Iowa to obtain climbing badges - Matt had discussed passing the info onto the local guides.

        • Shadowbox board/kiosk at wrinkled rock

          • All the space on the back is for us to use.  We can utilize that

        • They requested our help about monitoring during fourth of july and preventing fires if we want to do an event that night or something.

        • Dan was adamant that we should give them dates for future events for the coalition.

        • They are not allowed to post anything about the forest service media and asked us to promote stuff for them.  


  • Matt S. will elaborate on how these roles will help solidify our standing with the USFS.


  • Custer state park:

    • The spires are in desperate need of work.  The initial stance was to not work on trails in the park without assistance/ official approval of the park.

      • Reach out to access fund with them

      • Matt and Brandon spoke with Jamie about the importance of clearing the spires prior to the season. 

  • Working on brochure information for Custer state park

    • Ethics, standards for bolts, putting in routes (standards), maps of climbing areas, 


  • The Spearfish Aqueducts: An update on the coalition's current dialogue regarding development ethics and access in this key area.

    • Someone ran into an engineer at the delicacy wall and there are talking about maintenance, but it is between the delicacy wall to shadowlands

      • Pipeline was the old homestack pipeline, so forest service does not have input 

      • Lead sanitation guy Terri was informed that is where we climb in the summertime and he informed us that they will be working in specific areas for sure.

        • He will be sending us an aerial map of the area.

        • Some sort of closure will probably take place. 


  • The Access Fund Survey: A final push for all members to complete the survey—this data is our best leverage with land managers to prove we are a responsible, organized community.

III. Stewardship & Fire Safety

  • Updates: Mark spoke with investigators and they wanted us to relay to the public the actual fire restrictions.

    • CRITICAL: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions: on 87 * As of April 17th, restrictions are in effect for the Bearlodge and Hell Canyon districts.

    • Prohibited Acts: 1. Fires: No building/maintaining fires (including charcoal) except in Forest Service-installed metal/concrete rings at developed sites.

    • Smoking: Prohibited except within enclosed vehicles, buildings, or areas at least 3 feet in diameter cleared of all flammable material.

    • Liquid/Gas: Only stoves fueled by liquid/gas that can be turned on/off are permitted in cleared areas.

    • Rumor has it, custer county had released a strict fire ban would say that jet boils are NOT allowed including on the centennial 

    • Rest of the Forest here Open Fire Prohibition. This means campfires are always restricted to established metal or concrete fire rings in designated campgrounds or picnic areas.

  • Trail Days: * Bunny Slopes (Spearfish): Brian Stampe is leading the charge; we are seeking volunteers to join the planning committee tonight.

    • Nxt trail day will be there with people building a landing and others being pack mules to fill the hole

  • The Spires: Immediate trail stabilization needed to address wind damage and social trail erosion.

    • Better signage will hopefully take place, many trails are potentially being re-routed but we are working with Jamie to maintain access to all routes.

  • Adopt-a-Crag/Route: Pilot launch for individuals to "sponsor" and maintain specific local routes.

    • For hardware, tools, etc

  • Camping prices are rising everywhere.  New concessionaire for horsethief campground.


IV. Hardware & Safety

  • The Ethics Standard: To protect aesthetics and access, all hardware must be Stainless Steel and Camouflaged.

  • Field Day Updates: Chris H. on the Thunderhead repairs and anchor replacement strategies.

V. Major Events

  • Lynn Hill Visit (May 10th): * Tickets Now Available: Join us at The Elks Theatre at 6:30 PM for an evening with a legend.

    • Tickets can be purchased at the Elks Box Office or online at elkstheatre.com.



  • Pumpfest 2026 (July 24-26): * Venue: Old Valley Campground ($10 sites).

    • Committee meeting took place

    • Tent sites $10, cabins for rent, got swag, RV sites available


  • Spearfish Scramble (Sept 26): Sub-committee planning will follow the Pumpfest launch.

    • Dependent on pipeline

VI. Special Projects & Membership

  • Modernizing BHCC (Zeffy Transition): * We are beginning a slow transition to Zeffy for membership management.

    • The Why: To offset rising operational costs (such as our storage unit increase from $45 to $60), Zeffy allows us to process memberships with zero fees, ensuring 100% of your dues go directly to the rock.

  • License Plate Initiative: 150 decals ordered; available for $50 to support the coalition.

    • We will be submitting this application to the state for approval of this.

VII. Closing

  • Next Newsletter: Arrives in June

  • Open Floor: Q&A


Black Hills Climbers Coalition