[Hide Comment] Your right about the pitons on P1. Bad memory I guess. Thanks. Jul 10, 2002

[Hide Comment] Durrance is not visible in the picture. It is about 30 cracks left of the left side. It is very distinctive from a distance - you can easily see the leaning column from the drive in.

The 4th class approach is desperate when icy in the winter - in those cases the 5.4 pitch is better, and it is probably better anyway to add more fun 5th class climbing to the route.

This route will feel very, very hard for 5.7 if you are not used to jamming. I hung all over the first pitch and bailed form the second when I had redpointed 5.10 sport climbs at Rushmore.

TAD is a good alternative for days when people are crawling all over Durrance - I think it is actually a little easier though much more sustained. Jul 10, 2002

[Hide Comment] couple of things:we did an approach pitch (we felt there was one 6 move) right where the last meadows rap ends. to get there: find trail off the paved path right next to the two fixed scopes that look at the old wooded ladder. follow obvious path up to base of slabs below leaning column. we picked a line which was nice hands at the bottom and a little wider at the top. this is the most obvious, continuous crack in this area. it terminates straight into an obvious torso-sized rock which is split nicely in two pieces, it should be obvious. 15 feet past this broked block, the pitch ends at the left-most bolt anchor (which can be used for the final meadows rap). this is a great warm-up pitch; someone with a different guidebook said it was 5.8, but theres no way. im not sure if this is the 5.4 pitch described by Andrew, or not, but regardless, its easy and fun. from bolt anchor you can easily scramble to the base of the leaning column. theres a few diffenent ways you could do this approach pitch, but this looked the most fun, and it was indeed enjoyable.

all of the pins i noticed looked terrible, especially on the first pitch, you'd have to be crazy to rely on them solely, luckily, gear was never really a problem.

i agree with Andrew, this climb will feel very hard if you are not used to jamming, you'll surely get worked on the first two pitches. the party behind us got halfway up the first pitch, and when the leader realized he couldnt jam, they had to bail.

gear: i was comfortable with my largest piece being a 4 friend, and i never wish i had anything larger. i disagree with crossadBH, the last 15-20 of the Durrance pitch are not runnout at all. lets see: medium stopper in chockstone, 3.5 friend in fist crack on the left, yellow alien to protect the last move before the top out. this crux is pretty damn awkward, switching from the solid jams in the left crack and being forced into the OW before the belay is gruntwork and not particularly secure. although larger cams (up to maybe 4.5 camalot?) would definately ease the timid, if youre solid at the grade, they arent neccessary.

pitch 3 and 4 should be mandatorily combined (whats with the 30 ft 3rd pitch, anyway?) and you can even combine 3, 4, and 5, but of course, you gotta use lots of long runners.

the jump traverse is way easier than it first looks. and the traverse accross the meadows is straightforward (climbers trail) and the 4th class gully/chimney is easy to find. for the first rap off the summit, look for two cairns and go right down in between them. you really gotta be careful on those raps--rope eating cracks are everywhere.

overall, this is a good way to get to the summit of this amazing formation if its at your level, but the climbing is pretty shitty. i had the most fun on the approach pitch and the first part of the leaning column (beautiful hands!), the rest was just gruntwork, and discontinuous through the last 4 pitches. it is a kick-ass historical route though, 1927 is pretty impressive!

jump and TAD if youre solid on 5.7 (or even solid 5.8) and you'll have a much better outing!

Scott Thompson

Sep 4, 2002

[Hide Comment] I would also recommend the 5.4 approach up the first pitch of Wiessner's Route for getting to Durrance. A better idea of where this begins is to walk along the path until you reach the viewing tubes for the old wooden ladder that was used to help climb the tower. The 5.4 first pitch of Wiessner's (that ends at two anchors 20' below and to the right of Durrance's first pitch) starts directly above the viewing tubes. Just take a b-line through the bushes and you will land directly on the start of the 5.4. Sep 10, 2002

[Hide Comment] Good route, but a few comments. The first two pitches can be run together with a 60 meter rope. I had 15 feet left at the end, so my beleyer would have had to climb up a ways with a 50 meter rope. Bring a varied rack. I heard about all the offwidth, so brought alot of large gear only to end up at the belays with alot of large gear. The crux pitch will take anything from small aliens to a #5 Camalot.

Also, don't commit to the right crack on the Durrance Crack pitch to soon. It was easier to move to the left crack near the end.

The two pitches after the Durrance pitch are pretty easy to run together, and the climbing is much easier after the Durrance pitch, in my opinion.

Elijah Flenner Jul 19, 2003

[Hide Comment] After reaching the rock at 8:40 it was nearly 1 before we could start the 1st pitch. 6 pitches later we were on top and in trouble. Getting dark and no headlamps. THANK GOD for a full moon. Sep 14, 2004

[Hide Comment] Did this climb in 3 pitches using double 60m ropes. This was only possible because there were no parties immediately ahead of us...got lucky with the timing. Linked pitches 1-2, 3-4-5, then the direct finish. Very little rope drag on the upper pitches using doubles.

On the 2nd pitch (Durrance crack), the left hand crack is somewhat polished in spots so it didn't feel all that secure when jamming hands and feet. Good off width technique in the right crack would go a long way in making this pitch easier, unfortunately I got worked because my lack thereof. Also, I was glad to have a #4 camalot along, but with all the options for pro in the left crack I'd say that bringing anything bigger is personal preference. As stated before, this pitch is not a trivial 5.7, I thought it was very sustained for the grade.

Cussin crack didn't seem that difficult after climbing the Durrance crack. I placed a #3 big bro midway (only because I'd hauled it up there), but a green or yellow alien placed in the flake will protect the awkward moves if you're feeling confident.

Some people had mentioned climbing with packs. After doing the route it doesn't seem like a great idea to me. Wearing or hauling a pack will only add to the time and difficulty on an already crowded route. That being said, my second did wear a camelback without too much trouble. I decided to just rack up in the parking lot and leave my pack in the car since you start and end in different spots when using the standard approach.

Oct 3, 2005

[Hide Comment] This route is pretty cool. This is the first climb that I summited the tower. John Gunnels and Josh took me up (thanks guys, it was too fun). I enjoyed all the pitches but my favorite was the 3rd pitch. Great climb. Mar 26, 2006

[Hide Comment] Not only climbing Devils Tower for the first time but also to the summit on Durrance. John Gunnels lead the route while Josh cleaned. With five people going counting them it only took us 4 hours to climb. Just because there bad A**es. (Thanks) Mar 31, 2006

[Hide Comment] I skipped the jump traverse and did Bailey's Direct finish, possibly the best pitch on the route, highly recommended Jun 20, 2006

[Hide Comment] Durrance is a bit of a GRUNT, however it is a true North American Classic and should be climbed by both veteran and neophyte climbers. Jun 26, 2006

[Hide Comment] I loved this route, It would be a good idea to practice OW before you get on this climb because that's what 80% of durrace is. I would bring A full rack plus #4 #5 an #6 camalots. Or a couple of big bros. I would say this route goes at 5.8 not 5.7 all and all a great route. Aug 8, 2006

[Hide Comment] Fun route but I didn't find it as a classic. Used a set of nuts & cams to handsized. OW technique/pro really not needed for P2 (linked P1-2 no problem), the rest is blocky chimney stuff. Good route to do if you want to do the the summit thing. Don't do the Durrance Approach, the direct approach (I believe is Weissner's) offers a good blocky handcrack start for 30M & is much easier to hike into. Bolt anchors are everywhere, good luck figuring out which ones to use for the descent, getting down sucks. Sep 12, 2006

[Hide Comment] I agree with Todd. Bailey direct is a FANTASTIC finish to the route. Long, varied and with good exposure, its a great way to summit. Jan 9, 2007

[Hide Comment] I didn't find this climb to be a classic at all. Not worth the hype me thinks. Walt Bailey on the other hand, now there's a classic. Feb 5, 2007

[Hide Comment] I've got a trip report and a bunch of photos from Durrance teamarp.com/Wyoming/devils-… on my website. Feb 16, 2007

[Hide Comment] I led the leaning column and Durrance crack as one combined pitch. Lindsay Stephens led the next three pitches as one pitch. Lindsay, Denise and Peter took the jump traverse to the top and Mark led the Bailey Direct.

Excellent day at the tower, only saw one other group out. I would suggest combining pitches to allow for greater speed. Oct 18, 2007

[Hide Comment] Climbed with Dave G. and Dan F. on May 23rd. Great climb from start to finish. Surprisingly little traffic on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Took and used a #5 BD Camalot repeatedly on this route -- was nice to have the big cam. Finished with the Bailey Direct route and some enjoyable face climbing after a day filled with OW and chimneys. Fun trip! May 25, 2009

[Hide Comment] With a 70m rope you can rap with a single rope (Meadows rappel and the 3 bowling alley rappels), but all are very close to 120 feet, and you may have to downclimb a few feet on the last bowling alley rappel. A single rack from green alien to #5 camalot seemed to protect the route perfectly. Sep 5, 2009

[Hide Comment] "Very few, if any, people actually jump on this pitch and it is not recommended."


Balls.

We came, we saw, we jumped. And it was more awesome. I for one HIGHLY recommend following the first team's style. Not for nostalgia, mind you, but simply because that magic moment, floating across the void hundreds of feet off the deck--maybe sticking that landing, maybe pealing off and cracking your back--just fucking rocks, and is the reason I do this thing.

But, if you prefer, you could just stay at home, sleep in late, order in some Chinese, and watch Seinfeld reruns all day. Knowing all the while that glory goes only to those who embrace calculated risk, not cower from it. Not recommended indeed.

Whatever. We jumped, and it was a beautiful thing.

Also, as for the supposed circus-like crowds everyone keeps yapping about? We climbed mid May. On a weekday. In the afternoon. Under heavy clouds. And there wasn't a single other team in sight; we spent the entire afternoon into the early evening alone atop the tower.

Glory to us, then. TV for the rest of them... May 21, 2010

[Hide Comment] Just returned from Climbing the Durance Route for the 5th time. Originally done as a student in 1976 following Tory Stemph, and my classmate EFR Eric Richard, climbing with hiking boots and using body belays. I found the Durance crack is still burly. There is a new "no climbing beyond this point" sign at the top, which has been missing for years.

Frank Sanders was behind us on the climb with a client. That made things more fun. He is a character. We did the Bailey direct finish, which I love. This was my 34th anniversary ascent.

PS I have jumped the "jump traverse" May 28, 2010

[Hide Comment] I climbed this in 1986 and my recollection is that the first pitch can also be completed by a few face moves on the leaning column and a mantle onto the top. That's how I led the first pitch. I also led pitch 2 with just a rack of a few stoppers and quickdraws; no cams. Anne led pitch 3, the Cussing Crack, and I led the Flake-Crack. We then alternated up the Bailey Direct finish with no problems. A true classic climb if done in an "old school" trad manner. Jul 20, 2010

[Hide Comment] The jump traverse might lead to easy 4th class climbing to the top, but it's totally worth it. I recommend it to everyone. It's thrilling! Sep 23, 2010

[Hide Comment] Climbed it on january 14th 2011. we got a stern talking from the ranger in the parking lot who tried everything in the book to get us not to climb but there was pretty much no stopping us. (He even said something to the effect of: if you boys get in trouble i aint got no one to come get you till monday at the earliest,(it was friday AM) and by then it'll be a body recovery)

Never having done the route before, the approach ramp was quite difficult and slippery in the snow. Not sure if we followed the best line up the SW shoulder, but there was one move that felt like 5.8.

The route went pretty well, tried to climb in ice boots to keep our toes warm but switched to rock shoes with thick socks after the first pitch. Things went pretty well. Lots of snow and ice in the cracks (bring warm mittens for the belays if doing it in winter) and on the ledges. It was nice for the leader to have the nut tool to scrape snow out of small spots for gear placements.

Didn't have a #4 either, but shoved a #3 deep into the left crack on p2 before committing to the right crack where i quickly got a .5 or something in the right crack next to a chockstone. Didn't think it was a big deal not to have a #4.
Lots of pigeons and pigeon poo in the top cracks. Jan 27, 2011

[Hide Comment] On average, how long does the season run on the tower? Specifically, how late in the year? Apr 20, 2012

[Hide Comment] Followed on this last weekend. Fun unless you're wearing a backpack! I had a daypack-sized thing on and couldn't put my body in the cracks, would have really enjoyed it if I could.

Note - my leader took up a #5 and #6 and was glad he had them. I was less glad to be collecting them. :) Apr 24, 2012

[Hide Comment] one 70 m. will get you down el cracko or bon homme raps, easily accessed from the meadows. recommend bon homme Aug 14, 2012

[Hide Comment] A 70 also works great to rap the route from the top of the direct finish, if there's not too much congestion below you. Sep 18, 2012

[Hide Comment] Not a bad route, but the rock is not very grippy after 50 years of climbers. That definitely made it more challenging. Nov 4, 2012

[Hide Comment] If you don't get there super early and are either first or second to climb it don't even bother trying, just come back tomorrow. We were 5th in line at 7:30am and it took us 5 hours to get it. Feb 5, 2013

[Hide Comment] A bunch of locals kept telling us not to bother with durance, "there are better routes up the tower". Lies. I loved every second of this. Beautiful jamming on the crux pitch, classic ledges for every belay and even the wide cracks were fun. The 5.7 rating is a sandbag, the crux pitch felt a little harder than valley 5.8 in my opinion, I think 5.8+ is accurate. Or maybe it was just the hot summer sun. Good footwork makes the crux crack stemming section more casual. Bring a couple 4s to make your life easier, even a 5 if you feel like it. I recommend the direct finish. Come on a weekday to avoid the crowds! A must do. Jun 17, 2013

[Hide Comment] Wasn't wild about this one. Lots of awkward movement and the Cussin' Crack Pitch is much harder than its rating and has very poor pro. TAD or Pseudo-Wiessner are more enjoyable ways to the top at least in IMHO (though lots of good crack climbers loathe TAD, I thought it was fine). Feb 21, 2014

[Hide Comment] Loved it with my 13-year old son. We're both novices and were challenged on the pitches. For new climbers like us, make sure you're familiar with the basics of crack climbing. We'd at least had a little background and that made the climb doable. I think without that, it would have been a struggle, at least for beginners like us.

Also, per the other comments you're well served to arrive at first light to avoid the lines.

And enjoy the kamikaze birds at the top! I wasn't prepared to be buzzed by swallows but it was a nice surprise.

Enjoy! Jun 2, 2014

[Hide Comment] JUMPING the jump traverse! Woot! What a rush! Watch the helmet cam footage:


youtube.com/watch?v=gjg7uCP… Aug 7, 2014

[Hide Comment] My partner and I drove through the night and arrived at 2:00am in the Devil's Tower parking lot on Saturday, August 2nd, 2014 (Sturgis Weekend). We assumed that most other climbers would avoid Sturgis Weekend and that we would at least be the first to arrive since we got there so early.

Nope.

There was a group of 4 snoozing in the grass waiting for sunlight and another car with 2 climbers pulled up at the same time as us. We slept for an hour and a half then woke up at 4:00am. Once we grabbed our gear and started hiking ANOTHER group of two climbers drove up and raced us down the trail. My partner and I were the second group on the climb that day and we began the climb at 4:45am.

My partner and I are were very nervous when planning this climb because we heard that this route is deceivingly hard. We are NOT crack climbers and we both hadn't climbed much for the past year but a rating of 5.7 seemed well within both our abilities. I have 5 years of off-and-on climbing under my belt and two years of leading trad with high 5.11's being my limit (but only 5.9 trad leading). My partner has 3 solid years of climbing experience with high 5.11's on top rope also being his limit. Two weeks before the climb we visited the gym a few times and did laps on a hand crack. That practice saved our butts!

The 5.4 approach pitch had us both wondering if we should even attempt the climb because it wasn't easy for us. As we started climbing we became more accustomed to the rock. Durrance Crack was one of the hardest pitches I have ever led but with some methodical stemming it wasn't "pumpy" at all and any fall that may have occurred would have felt very safe. My partner was carrying the pack which made it very difficult for him to stem against his back. For Cussin Crack I hauled up the bag so he could stem more easily but that was still the hardest pitch for my partner. STEMMING IS KEY! Flake Crack was my least favorite pitch. Face left and your life will be much easier on this squeeze chimney. From there it is quite easy! We ended up assisting the group behind us with the traverse (they borrowed us a grigri because my partner forgot his belay device at the car so it was the least we could do!)

The scramble to the top is enjoyable but very long. You will not be able to hear your partner from the top. Make sure to set up some rope tug commands before hand.

My partner and I did not understand how beginners could do this route since we both heard that guides will bring complete beginners up the route. We later found out that some of the guides were building 6 to 1 pulleys and basically hauling up their clients, yikes!

Here is a video of the whole climb:

youtube.com/watch?v=i_I6z76… Aug 7, 2014

[Hide Comment] If you're not good at offwidth and lead all the pitches this will seem more like a 5.9 than a 5.7. I would recommend bringing two #4's for the durrance crack. I stayed right at the top of the durrance pitch and found the jam hard to reach on polished rock for feet.Be prepared for burly chockstone moves at the top of all the pitches except the approach and meadows finish. May 19, 2015

[Hide Comment] This is an awesome route!!!! so much fun to climb! a lot of off width and stemming style but a true blast!!!!! as far as pro the only things I would take next time would be a number 6 metolius through a number 2 BD c4 cam until I reached the top of the leaning pillar, after that I would take BD 1-6 and maybe even a couple big bros. I ran the top of the durance crack out quite a ways on top of a number 8 master cam... like 40 feet but super rad climbing. I just saw a lot of protection on the upper pitches were excepting of nothing but big cams and some nuts. Sep 28, 2015

[Hide Comment] Be prepared for this climb. Information is a bit confusing. For instance, no one hikes to the base of the leaning column (although you could). Therefore, it's 7 pitches, not 6. The "approach pitch" is a similar rating to the route but should be mentioned. Also, no way is this 5.7 unless it's 1987. This route has at least one 5.8 or 5.9 move, if not several. We got the summit but with packs on, extra gear, and physical moves that required OW and chimney moves... be prepared for this climb. Overall, great climb, start early, and do your homework. Lastly, our #5 BD came in handy in several spots so bring more than a #4. May 24, 2016

[Hide Comment] I thought this route was a great adventure! Each pitch was different and presented unique difficulties. We got to the parking lot at around 4:45am. While we were racking up at the car, another group showed up and hiked straight to the base with their packs on! We ended up being the third party on the route and started climbing around 6am. We didn't see anyone else on the route until we rapped down from the summit. The two parties ahead of us were pretty fast and it felt like we had the whole route to ourselves in the end.

As a crack neophyte, I thought the hardest pitch was the Durrance Crack. I felt that pitch was on par with El Cracko and harder than After Seven in Yosemite (just to draw from personal experience). I couldn't find a very good #5 cam placement on the first offwidth of Cussin' Crack. However, it turns out you can face climb past it using the chalked up flake (protects well with a #5 BD stopper), which the route description above alludes to. I also dodged the second offwidth of that pitch by climbing the hand crack to the right. With those key pieces of beta, I thought Cussin' Crack felt like pretty well-protected 5.6.

We ended up linking pitches 2-3 (Leaning Column/Durrance Crack) and 4-5 (Cussin' and Flake Cracks), which seemed logical. The jump traverse was so awesome! We rappelled the Bowling Alley with two ropes. Make sure you make some MacGyver style rappel moves for the tourists below as they cheer you on. Jul 20, 2016

[Hide Comment] This was my first time climbing this route. Just wanted to clear up a few things and I've my thoughts that would have helped me the fist go around. First off skipped the approach pitch and went directly to the leaning colum. Not recommended it took longer and was very steep and exposed but it does work.

Second the belay ledges were awesome and there was more than enough room for the 3 of us at a time.

Pitch 2 was in my opinion harder than 5.7 but at the same time I loved that pitch and was by far my favorite just be aware that it puts up a but more of a challenge than you would expect at 5.7.

Once we arrived at the end ofor the 5th pitch we decided to do bailey's direct but was confused on what route was the correct one. There are two cracks you can climb the left and the right and I found no where on here where it says what one is bailey's. The belay anchors are directly under the right crack so that's the one I went with and that was a mistake! This was way harder and I later found out that the left crack is actually bailey's. A guy actually fell and died on the right side crack I found out. I tried to find a grade on the right crack but couldn't find it. Does anyone know?

That being said all the other pitches were straight forward and helpful. Just bring more water than you think we ran out at pitch 4. Aug 12, 2016

[Hide Comment] Climbed this two days ago in 90 degree temps. Both my partner and I thought the Bailey's finish was significantly exposed and the route finding was far less obvious than the rest of the climb. I was twenty five feet off the belay before my first piece of pro. The cracks were near vertical and the last moves out on a face were so different than the rest of the climbing it had me second guessing myself. Nothing about the pitch was very hard technically, but the heat, the expectation that this pitch was going to be a walk up and the ease of prior route finding definitely led to a memorable finish.

Also, great route up a striking tower. Lots of off width, great belays. For confident 5.7 trad leaders, and probably for leaders of greater difficulty too, it's a classic climb. Aug 24, 2016

[Hide Comment] Got worked pretty hard on this one, and 5.7 falls pretty solidly within my wheelhouse usually. Don't get sucked left at the top of the Durrance crack.

If you want to move fast and skip the totally ridiculous suggestion that this will take 6+ hours, combine pitches! 1+2, 3+4

And whatever you do, for the love of God, leave the backpack at the base! Sep 19, 2016

[Hide Comment] In my opinion everyone who wants to climb the tower has to climb Durance once. Key word is once. A super fun super sandbagged super polished super traveled 6 pitch ass kicking offwidth total body wrecking climb. Type 2 fun the whole way but completely worth it once you're standing upon the summit. May 31, 2017

[Hide Comment] Super fun, classic climb. We took a BD #5 & #6 and both were placed more than once. We thought about only taking up to #4, and although you could climb it without the 5 and 6, we were definitely glad to have them.

The Bailey's direct finish was fun and easy climbing, but there's no real protection until you're significantly off the belay ledge (25-30').

We linked up pitches 1+2, and 3+4+5 which worked really well--just make sure to use extended draws and it'll save you a bunch of time.

The party in front of us told us that we could make the first rap with only one rope to save time, which was true if you had an 80m rope, but not with a 60m which we found out the hard way. Two ropes for all raps are the way to go. Jul 5, 2017

[Hide Comment] Start this route early or late, after 830am or so it is in full sun for most of the day. Two ropes for the rap, we didn't really use the #4, double #3s would've been better. Finished up the direct crack to the right of Bailey's, Great finish somewhere between 5.5 and 5.8? Hard to tell. Classic route for sure! Sep 10, 2017

[Hide Comment] I was talking to a couple of guys from the Adirondacks and they were telling me about a variation to the 6th pitch that goes straight up the offwidth after the jump traverse. They called it the Queef Dungeon. I've never heard of it before could this be an FA? Sep 12, 2017

[Hide Comment] Came down on a single 70; a cairn marks the rappel (meadows). You can see it if you’re at the summit marker and face prairie dog town. Walk down a bit past the cairn, a bit of scrambling, and you’ll run into it eventually. Jul 29, 2018

[Hide Comment] I have seen several people asking what all is necessary to bring for this route. After climbing it twice this summer, here would be my recommendation. (Please keep in mind that you may lead and place differently then myself and you may want to place more or less gear than I did. The first Time I went I took far more gear to be safe, the second time i trimmed a lot of the excess fat off so to speak.)

without further introduction, here was the rack me and my partner took for lap 2.

Cams: BD .2-4 doubles of .5&.75 (a number 5 cam is nice to place once or twice for added sense of security but not necessary to climb this route for a competent leader) I doubled up some of the smaller cams onto one carabiner to shed some weight
Nuts/stoppers: BD 4-10
Hexes: 4-5
Tri cams, 1 of each size .25 (black), .5 (pink), 1 (red)
4 quick draws
3 alpine draws
4 double lengths (I used these for anchors as well as extending rappels for both climbers and extending placements)
2 Gri Gri
2 ATC's
2 prussic loops,
6 additional locking carabiners

and of course 2 ropes. (We personally choose to take a lighter tag line in a backpack that the follower could carry instead of two full sized ropes. The weight loss will be appreciated if you can afford a nice tag line (we used a BD half rope for this purpose) Having two half or twin ropes and clipping them both through each point so that your follower doesn't have a large backpack would probably be my ideal choice for this route and I would do it if I personally owned two of them.

If you take Bailey's Direct there are anchors at the top of every single pitch and a cordellete isn't super necessary. (simply make and anchor from your double length sling. It is super fast and light.) If you do the meadows finish I am not entirely positive. Based off the difficulty of climbing I believe I was off route on the meadows finish but we did not see an anchor at the top. So if you do the jump traverse (lots of fun) to meadows finish you may want a cordellete as well.

You probably want to bring your most comfortable pair of shoes. The climb takes some time and never calls for super precise placements that only aggressive shoes will stick to. I personally used a very old (about to be retired) pair of La Sportiva Mythos because the leather has stretched to fit my feet like a moccasin over the last few seasons.

final warning. I would bring quite a bit of water. Personally We brought a 3 liter hydro-pack and a 20 oz gatorade and both times ran out while coming back down on rappel so it seemed to be about the right amount.

Hopefully this is helpful, have a great climb! Jul 31, 2018

[Hide Comment] youtube.com/watch?v=dCXFGBA…

Careful with the "5.6" rating on Bailey's Direct finish!!! This was by far the longest, most run out, difficult pitch of the entire climb. I would not recommend this to even a novice follower. You can barely hear the climber at the bolts and the rope drag can be awful if not properly managed. Aug 24, 2018

[Hide Comment] Rappelling with a single 70 is pretty straight-forward. Just go about 150 feet to the climber's right of Bailey's direct top-out. This drops you down to the meadows. The trail brings you to the top of the chains for El Cracko Diablo, and you can rap down to the side of the route, avoiding any climbers below, pretty easily. Sep 6, 2018

[Hide Comment] Definitely do the Meadows Rappel, and not the "Express Rappel" from the Bailey's Direct top out. Our ropes got stuck on the Express, and the guides and rangers we spoke to afterwards all said that they would suggest the Meadows Rap. Jun 5, 2019

[Hide Comment] Just competed this as my first route on the tower, its definitely a neat historical route worth doing at least once. I think 5.7 - 5.7+ is fair for the grade (when compared with other old trad areas - Lumpy Ridge - Kor's Flake & Osiris, Eldorado Canyon - Rewritten) and the "grade inflation" is probably a result of climbers with little crack climbing experience.

A perfect rack for the route (to completely sew it up and link pitches) is:

1 x set of Nuts
1 x Blue Alien
1 x Green Alien
2 x Yellow Alien
1 x Red Alien (BD #.5 Camalot)
1 x BD #.5 Camalot
2 x BD #.75 Camalot
2 x BD #1 Camalot
2 x BD #2 Camalot
2 x BD #3 Camalot
1 x BD #4 Camalot
1 x BD #6 Camalot
10 - 12 x alpine draws

I brought a BD #5 Camalot as well but honestly every time I placed it, I only did so to get it off the rack (and could have easily placed something else). The BD #6 Camalot was nice to have and provided "top rope" pro through the hardest moves of the "cussin crack" (which was above a ledge you could deck onto if you blew it and was the crux of the route for me) and made committing to the stem (leaving the security of the off-width) feel less serious. You can also put small pro in the flake to the left (down lower) but it is a fairly small nut or blue alien (rather than the bomber #6 Camalot).

For the "jump traverse" (if avoiding jumping) you are able to place a funky (but good) blue alien shortly after the pin to protect your follower.

Additionally, we were able to easily rap off of tower with a single 70 m rope as follows:

R1: Meadows rappel (marked by a carin - make sure you are at the correct one and not the "Express Rappel")
R2 - R4: Rap from an anchor marked by a carin just past the "jump traverse." Some of the raps get you near the ends of the rope so make sure to knot the ends. Also, the last rappel to the ground leaves you 5 - 10 ft up with a simple 3rd - 4th class down-climb to the ground. Much better than lugging up a second rope!

Overall a great day on the tower, looking forward to going back to climb more routes! Jul 9, 2019

[Hide Comment] Had this all to ourselves Thurs before Labor Day... The Leaning Column pitch can be easily lead by someone comfortable with the style and 5.7 by just clipping the 3 pitons. On the other hand, having a large cam or two with you will only make this route more enjoyable for newer leaders. Was given false beta to traverse early and wound up downclimbing 20' of a snaking off-width. Be cautious to remember the way down the last "scramble" from the summit. There is a short traverse climber's left one you start to downclimb to get back to 5.easy terrain. And since I mentioned snakes: we encountered a rattler on our hike out on an August night. Watch out! An adventure for sure... Aug 31, 2019

[Hide Comment] Getting up at 4 in the morning and climbing by 5 allowed us to have the entire route and summit to ourselves on a sunny Saturday during labor day weekend. I don't know why people say the climbing sucks/is awkward on this climb, I found the climbing to be extremely fun. I managed just fine without any OW knowledge, although maybe OW knowledge would make the route actually feel 5.7. Sep 2, 2019

[Hide Comment] Worth a star for the history, but the climbing is not very enjoyable - lots of very slippery wide cracks. I much preferred Tad as a way up the Tower, though even that is distinctly polished. Oct 6, 2019

[Hide Comment] Hi all,

Wife and I were fortunate to be the only party on Durrance the afternoon of 4th of July, 2020. Fun, varied, and engaging climbing. For those comfortable at the grade, familiar with jamming, and not reluctant to run out a bit of squeeze and chimney, I would recommend a single rack, ~0.4 to #3, plus a single #5 or #6 (which may be placed up to twice on the entire climb) for comfort. We got down from the summit via four ~34m raps with a single 70m (see area page description of rappelling). Definitely recommend linking pitches 3, 4, and 5 for efficiency. Small pack with water to be clipped between legs on harness in the squeeze/chimney. We did not find any aliens on top... Or did we? Young people, watch this movie for reference: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close… Jul 6, 2020

[Hide Comment] Some beta if you're a gumby like me:

My partner and I read all the comments here and came into this terrified. Was it sandbagged 5.7? Some people say 5.9? Some people say runout? Polished?

Maybe a little sandbagged, maybe a little polished, but this route protects so well, you can almost put gear anywhere.
Our rack:

1x green alien
1x blue alien
1x .3 camalot
1x .4 camalot
2x .5 camalot
2x .75 camalot
2x 1 camalot
3x 2 camalot
2x 3 camalot
2x 4 camalot
1x 5 camalot
1x 6 camalot

We placed either the 5 or 6 every pitch, those things were god sends. A lot of people recommend linking pitches to save time, but since we are trash at climbing we saw that and thought we would just pitch it out. In the end we linked the cussin crack with the flake crack, the reason I was able to do this was solely due to the #6. I placed 1 alien before the offwidth in the cussin crack, then bumped and backcleaned the #6, walk right on that ledge to the smaller crack, bumped and back cleaned the #6, clipped the bolts, easy climbing, then bumped and backcleaned the #6 at the top of the flake.

Note about the scramble at the end:
Theres borderline no beta on it so I figure I'll leave some. A lot of people call it a scramble, easy 4th class, just hike etc. Well maybe if your not a lil bitch boi like us but we roped up for it, its probably 150ft of 5.3ish climbing, super easy, but still felt the need to pitch it out. The pitch trends rightish, really just take the path of least resistance. We placed maybe 5-6 pieces the entire pitch (extend those draws). You will lose communication with your 2nd so be prepared for that. To find this scramble/pitch thing, walk along the meadows trail, trending down, until you come to the very obvious end of the trail at the base of a wide sorta chimney thing.

An extremely specific piece of beta on the rap:
The first rappel off the meadows, so your 2nd rappel total, if you look down you will see a big boulder right below you, with a chimney to the left and right of the boulder. With your back to the wall, take the right path around that boulder. Jul 21, 2020

[Hide Comment] As a Vedauwoo climber, I thoroughly enjoyed these wide cracks and this route. When compared to Vedauwoo 5.7s, this grade felt fair and possibly a bit soft (easier than Mother 1, Hand Jacker, Teds Trot, Upper slot, all 5.7). #5 was used frequently, but could be reasonably forgone if confident in off widths.

Bailey's Direct seems like a much better finnish than the jump traverse and walking across the meadows to the scramble. A bit tough at 5.6 Aug 19, 2020

[Hide Comment] Personally feel like this is a bit higher than the consensus rating of 5.7+. The first run up had me dealing with a lot of polish and awkwardness on almost all the obvious hand/foot points that a few spots on pitch 2 and I think 1 or 2 points on pitches 1 & 3 felt comparable to some of the 9s and low 10s I did earlier in the week at Spearfish Canyon. I had zero falls for both runs, though plenty of slight slips that drained strength.

My second run went much smoother and it felt more like the rated range, but I don't feel like grading by anything other than "first attempt" and "lead" makes much sense. Admittedly, this was done on my 6th and 7th days of climbing, plus it was a pretty hot and sunny afternoon, so we may have just been exhausted. Regardless, I wouldn't recommend this route if you're not comfortable with leading at least into 9s.

Overall, almost the entire route either takes pro well or doesn't really need it. The only part that felt a little sketchy was the start of pitch 3 (Cussin' Crack), where I relied on a locked 'biner at a belay bolt (normally do something like this, anyway) and then put a small nut (#3 or #4, iirc) up inside the downward facing flake, just to feel safe.

Having only run Bailey Direct to the top, I can say that the only off putting part about that final pitch is the length. You'll potentially have to deal with somewhat heavy rope drag and voice range issues, but other than that, I'd actually say it climbs like a 5.4-5 (especially if everything up to that is "only" 5.7). We both agreed it was the easiest pitch, with no real crux that stuck out. Of course, we might've just got lucky and made the right guesses, and/or also been flushed with relief at finishing. Aug 25, 2020

[Hide Comment] I believe the rating at 5.7+ is correct, with the second pitch probably being the most difficult, but easily protected the whole way up. Knowing how to handjam helps, but not completely necessary. We started from the first pitch of the Wiessner route to reach the base of Durrance, so we added a pitch. We finished with Bailey's direct. Rapp'd with one 70. Oct 22, 2020

[Hide Comment] Awesome route! Man that was a big day out. The grades are a bit stiffer than what I would say, but that's based on general experience, not this specific location. Would rate the pitches as follows: P0 (approach) 5.7, P1 5.7, P2 5.9, P3 5.8, P4-5 5.7, P6 (Baileys) 5.7. There are no easy pitches here, the polish in some key places is considerable! Which is not unexpected for the large amount of traffic. I'd also recommend taping your elbows as well ;) Jul 7, 2021

[Hide Comment] Climbed it on Sunday and as an inexperienced crack climber, it kicked my arse. I've led the approach before and I led the Leaning Column and the Flake Pitch this time. I thought that the two OW sections (top of Cussin and the Chockstone pitches) were very hard. The rest was very manageable for the grade, although more 5.8 than 5.6 or .7, although I do not have good crack technique. Gear beta is as most say: We only used a #4 once and a #6 twice. Never placed the 5 or both 4's on the same pitch. We were able to easily rap the whole thing with a single 70 meter rope. Type 2 Fun climb. Glad to have done it but have no interest in ever doing it again! Oct 12, 2021

[Hide Comment] Quick video if you guys want to see the jump! Overall my friends and I had a great time on the route!

instagram.com/p/CCWpyzSD-II… Nov 25, 2021

[Hide Comment] Fun Route, Simul the first pitch to leaning tower, then link 1 and 2 and then 3 to 5. Jump the traverse and solo to the top. Fun ride, P2 was magic. Enjoy the ride. Climbed on July 2nd. Jul 7, 2022

[Hide Comment] Such a fun classic you can definitely link pitches if done well. Did the jump. Great time! Jul 12, 2022

[Hide Comment] Excellent route to free solo. Well protected and generally very easy. You must know how to do offwidth climbing. Rock is not polished as people have said. Only real challenge is the second pitch of 70ft. The rest is pretty chill. Carried a 75m dry rope up in a small backpack hooked to the side of my harness so I could do the offwidths. Rappel off the nose on the second or third rappel or your rope will get stuck. Start early because it gets hot as hell by like 8am. Aug 12, 2022

[Hide Comment] To expand a bit on my earlier comments: we did rope up for the approach before reaching the start of the Leaning Column, and we split the Bailey Direct finish into 2 shorter pitches because of a party ahead of us getting stalled by the offwidth climbing; we did a short traverse left and finished up a different crack system. The climbing didn't seem overly difficult by the standards we were used to (Eldorado Canyon and Lumpy Ridge in Estes Park). I will stand by my 5.7+/5.8- grades. Sep 26, 2022

[Hide Comment] We climbed this route in mid February on warm day and it was lovely. Each pitch is unique and fun. We were surprised by the excessive amount of pigeons living in this route (approximately 8 billion?) and how much bird crap had managed to accumulate, especially on pitches 3 and 4. Apparently this is only a problem early season.

Through a series of communication failures, and one of our partners bailing last minute, we found ourselves at the base of pitch 1 with the following rack: 4X.4, 1X1, 3X2, 3X3, 4X4, 1X5, 1X6 and a few nuts. We scratched our heads for a bit, wondering why we owned so many 4s and .4s in the first place, and eventually decided to just go for it since there was absolutely no one else out there and the route is bolted. We had no problem sewing it up, and you could probably lead this on just about any rack as long as you have several hand sized pieces. We were glad to have the 5 and 6, although one or the other is probably plenty. Mar 21, 2023

[Hide Comment] If you are a 5.7 leader don’t neglect to pay attention to the + Jun 1, 2023

[Hide Comment] Pretty good route. Very stout and strenuous for the grade. 5.8 climbing with 5.10 effort unless you are an advanced wide crack master. (Our team of 4 was wiped out by the 4th pitch.) We felt pitch 2 in particular was at least 5.9 (great pitch, though). Unyielding sun exposure will augment fatigue and dehydration, so be ready for it (consider a pre-dawn alpine start or late afternoon start). The Wiessner's route pitch 1 approach is more like a 5.6 than 5.4; not terribly difficult but certainly tricky enough to warrant being a good warm-up for what's to come. 3rd class finish after crossing the meadows is excellent (more fun than some of the route). Summit blocks have a swarming horde of bugs. Two ropes for rappel. Aug 15, 2023

[Hide Comment] Finished it in two attempts because I had amazing team-mates! The first time, we started the approach at noon, I got stuck for 1:40 hours on Durrance Crack, and we ran out of daylight as I was following Chockstone Chimney. The second time, we started at 10AM, topped out on Bailey Direct, and were on the trail just as the sun set. Definitely harder than Devil's Lake 5.8 (comparing to leading Curving Crack at Old Sandstone 2 weeks before). Nothing like "formal" offwidth moves I practiced on Roadside Attraction at The Red or the top of Stuck Knee at Devil's Lake.

It turns out that you can bail from the top of Chockstone Chimney onto the Bowling Alley Rappels with a bit of creative rappelling. See my ticks for what we did.

Rack (Keep in mind that I panicked on Durrance Crack and sewed it up with 16 pieces of gear!):
- doubles of BD Camalot sizes 0.3-4 (2020 versions). Had the full set of Totems from black to orange as a second rack covering BD sizes. That said, we didn't place pieces smaller than BD #0.75 often.
- We brought a third #2 size (actually an orange Totem) and were very glad we had it!
- BD #5 AND #6 (2012 versions I think). _Maybe_ not strictly necessary if you're an awesome crack climber. We placed them on every pitch.
- Double set of DMM nuts from #1-11. Partners said DMM offset nuts and half nuts(?) were bomber too, but I didn't use them.
- 9x single length alpine quickdraws
- 2x double length alpine quickdraws
- Small (10-20L) packs for the followers. 2 liters of water was OK for me on a full day in the mid 70s. I used 3 liters the second day in the low 80s. BRING food. If you're like me, you'll be eating snacks on the wall for lunch and having a very late dinner.

SPOILER ALERT: beta below
Training: what worked and what didn't:
- Putting all of your weight on slightly flared foot jams was just about necessary. Feeling solid on hand jams was very very helpful on Durrance and the Leaning Column. BUT being strong on just hand cracks WILL NOT get you up any of the pitches!
- Chimney moves must be strong, especially if you're following with a pack on. When you can't find footwork, you can chimney up just about all of these pitches except the approach! You will be placing gear from a chimney stance many times. I'm a 32-inch waist, and I was able to avoid doing any "worm" moves up the supposed squeeze chimneys on the second half of the Leaning Column and Cussin Crack. You can go onto the face a lot of times to avoid these.
- Offwidth footwork: I used "frogged feet" and heel-toe cams a lot (according to Pete Whitaker's terminology in his 2020s crack climbing book). When I panicked on the Durrance Crack pitch, the answer was to trust one of these two. I trained the heck out of knee jams... and never used them.
- Offwidth hands: arm-bars the whole way. I trained the heck out of chicken wings... and never used them. Same for hand-fist stacks: never used them on Durrance.

Durrance Crack was definitely the crux for me both on lead and following. I lead a 5.8 and several 5.7s at Devil's Lake, Necedah, and The Red this year for reference. I've never lead anything harder on gear yet. I've lead up to 5.10a on sport (Plate Tectonics, Rat Stew, and others at Muir Valley at The Red) and followed up to 5.10b outside on top rope (Dancing Madly Backwards at Devil's Lake Old Sandstone two weekends before this trip). I routinely top rope 5.11- in my local gym (VE Glendale Heights) and lead very overhanging 5.10+. But I don't get much chimney or frogged foot practice.

The pitches:
- Approach: cruiser, see my comments
- Leaning Column: I started from a tree anchor. First half is good (slightly flaring though) hand jams with occasional face moves on a slab. Then you pull over through a triangle into a narrow chimney. I went right side in both times and found it tough both on the lead and following. There was a hand crack on my left that I used more for protection than jamming. I did chimney moves at the beginning and moved onto the face about halfway up this section.
- Durrance Crack: the crux. See my comments above and my ticks.
- Cussin Crack: Intimidating but very short compared to other pitches. I did some squeeze moves, but they were never claustrophobic. Beta to traverse right after the first offwidth ends is AWESOME! The "hand crack" you find was a layback boulder problem for me.
- Flake Crack: cruiser after other pitches
- Chockstone Chimney: the top is MUCH better than I expected. Jugs on top left and right to pull out of crack
- Bailey Direct: We took one look at the boulder over the platform for the Jump Traverse and decided to do Bailey Direct instead. Mike lead the Bailey Direct, not me. He was a relatively new trad leader, but strong on 5.10 trad. You have 3 cracks to choose from. We debated the merits of various cracks for a while and chose the left crack from the anchors at the top of Chockstone Chimney. There's a right crack that I was warned is very hard and dangerous, so that was out. There's also another crack very far to the left. We decided not to traverse into that one even though it had a lot of chalk. I advocated for going up the left side of the boulder on the crack we chose because it looked ledgy, but we didn't choose it because we couldn't see whether there were good face moves. I think Mike made a great decision! He went straight up the offwidth crack right in front of us and slightly to the left. Gear was a little sparse, but he eventually found a piton well above the end of his chosen crack. Eventually, there was a big overhanging offwidth above his head and a mysterious boulder/slab on his right. The boulder on the right turned out to have jugs for a face climb and was the belay ledge. As the follower, I thought the offwidths were easyish chimneys compared to the rest of the route. I couldn't see the belay bolts until I was on the belay ledge. Scramble maybe 8 feet to the top from the bolts on VERY easy terrain. Sep 14, 2023

[Hide Comment] A few notes from a pair of 5.10 Teton alpine climbers:

1. The Bowling Alley 5.4 approach is most certainly the way to go. We did the "fourth class" slabs and found them convoluted. It seemed a lot less work, and more fun, to go direct from the base. It's also easier to spot the Leaning Tower from directly below, dead visible from the concrete tourist trail.

2. If you're not used to polished crack climbing, off-widths and squeezes this will be a fight at the grade. I was psyched to have a reasonably beefy rack for linking pitches. I fought harder on the Durrance Crack than many mid-5.10's in the Tetons. Holy greasy smears and soapy jams!

3. Following the above, I brought a wide assortment of nuts and a single rack of cams from BD #0.3 to #5. If I owned a #6 I would probably add it to the rack next lap. I placed the #4 and #5 on nearly every pitch. If pushing grades I'd consider doubles of at least #1 and #2.

4. The Jump Pitch was underwhelming (though we didn't jump). Two moves of thin slab to Honnold karate kick, rope coiling and a time consuming hike around the south face of the tower. Bailey Direct next time for sure!

5. Holy sun exposure! Even in late October with a morning near freezing we were baking in the Devil's convection oven by noon. Would've loved some extra water, chapstick, sunscreen, calories and the absence of long underwear.

6. Somehow got off the rappel route after the first. However, the tower is littered with bolts! We rapped down some lesser traveled fare, on some older yet still plenty safe bolts, and still got to the ground in four raps.

7. Car-to-car in 9 hours at a casual pace, complete with summit naps and poor crack technique.

What an adventure! Too awesome! Oct 23, 2023

[Hide Comment] When you mix this good route with a killer formation like the Tower, a badass summit, and then cap it off with a bottle of wine at the KOA while watching Close Encounters on the side of the barn that evening, it's a 5***** day for sure.
Although El Matador is a much better route ;) May 17, 2024

[Hide Comment] My first route on the tower and my second crack climb ever! Wasn't sure what to expect from it since half the comments say it's sandbagged and the other half say it's easy and overrated and one guy says it makes a great free solo...but it was classic!! What a joy...and jumping the jump traverse on lead was one of my favorite moments in rock climbing ever.

We camped at Devils Tower Lodge (5 stars, incredible people and initiative) and set alarms for 5am. At 6am we were racked up and the first to the base.

Bowling Alley: great intro for the rest of the climb.
Leaning Pillar: perfect and joyous jams, and the offwidth section was a blast to figure out and climb through, especially over an inversion in the valley...
Durrance Crack: everything it was cracked up to be. 50/50 stems and jams! Bring a #4 and save it for the last 10 feet.
Cussing Crack: this was hard. The face sequence at the start is stiff and polished and the offwidth is grunty (I was glad we brought the #6 for this). After the first ledge you have a choice between a second offwidth and a finger crack around the corner. I chose the offwidth, fully entered the crack, got stuck, struggled like hell, cussed, and wriggled my way to the top over the course of like 10 minutes...the nice part is it's so secure you can't fall out lol. I could literally put my hands and feet in the air and hang by my chest. My partner saw my pain and decided to take the finger crack which was apparently much easier.
Flakes Pitch: easiest pitch, 5.fun and easy pro!
Chockstone Chimney: this thing is fun and easy, up until the second to last chockstone. The rock is polished in the chimney and it was a fairly physical battle to get over this thing.
Jump Traverse: oh man this was so classic. Bailey Direct sounds fun but how often do you get to jump a gap between two pillars 6 pitches up?? The jump itself is quite small but felt technical...you are jumping from the corner of a very slanted rock under an overhanging bulge. If you commit I don't think you could miss the ledge though. Incredible moment that I'll never forget!! One note, this pitch doesn't have bolted anchors after the jump so bring some small cams for a horizontal crack before the tunnel.
Finishing Pitch: Walk all the way to the end of the Meadows path where there's a 5.3ish gully/crack thing to climb up. We scrambled it and the moves are all easy, but it is massively exposed so no shame to rope up here.

We had the summit to ourselves for a bit then headed to rap with our single 70. Walk the faint-but-there climbers trail roughly south to a short downclimb (5 feet) to some rap rings. TIE YOUR KNOTS every rap is a rope stretcher, you will die if you are on rapping on a 70 and forget your knots. After the first rap, walk over to the jump traverse, and downclimb down the ledges south until you see the next rap anchors on a block to your left. Rest of raps are straightforward, but the last one drops you about 10 feet up the Bowling Alley, you'll have to downclimb a little bit. We hit the ground at noon.

Gear beta:
Nuts
Variety of 5 or 6 cams under 0.5
Doubles of 0.5-2
One 3
One 4
One 6

We felt like we had a great rack if a bit much. The 4 and 6 were both placed often.

Overall, incredible climb. Was such a blast climbing this thing and I'm now so stoked on crack climbing lol. It's absolutely classic and much less polished than described aside from the Chockstone Chimney and the face moves before the Cussing Crack. We climb 5.8ish in Eldo and 5.10-5.11 sport and thought it was a perfect level of challenging with safe gear throughout. I can't say enough about this climb, if you can try hard and are willing to grunt a little it is an absolute blast, get on it!! Can't wait to come back for Soler and El Matador! May 30, 2024