Devils Tower

On July 26-27, we spent some time climbing and learning multipitch routes on Devils Tower. It was a great experience as most of the climbing we do is top roped and single pitch. We met Frank Sanders who has made over 50 first ascents on the Tower since the 1970's. Seth Zaharias (our guide) and was very professional, safe and knowledgeable.

The Native Americans believe the Tower has a spiritual quality and we would commonly see prayer flags as we hiked to the start of our climbs.At the end of the day, as we walked out with our climbing gear, the tourists hiking along the base would ask, "What is climbing on the Tower like?" Or... "Did you make it to the top?"

The easiest route up is 5.7, so there are no easy ways to the top. The climbing is different in the sense we had to learn proper hand jam technique. The rock is very abrasive when compared to the quartzite at Devils Lake that we were used to. Next time we climb, we will wear pants instead of shorts. We worked on our multi pitch technique, hand jams, double rope rappels, anchors and rescue pulley systems.

Pictured on the left is Gabe on the Durrance route. Pictured on the right, Gabe and I on the Leaning Column (I had read about the Leaning Column moving. We can both state factually that it does move slightly when you climb up it.)