Climbing Devils Tower

Devils Tower

Durrance Route

October 28, 2017 

Laura and I had talked about heading for Devils Tower to climb in June, but with voluntary climbing closures all month long, we never made the trip. With a seemingly never ending list of things going on and no 3-day weekends available, we decided that the weather looked decent enough for a quick weekend trip north.

Friday after work we loaded up Big Momma, 3 dogs and gear and headed for Wyoming.

With overnight temps in the 20's, we took our time getting going Saturday morning. The route we would climb faces south, so we hoped that the sun would warm the rock and shine on us throughout the day.



Looking up from the base of the route

The Durrance route on Devils Tower is listed as one of the 50 classics and since neither Laura or I had climbed the tower before, we agreed that despite its relatively easy rating of 5.7, this is the route we would do.

Justin leading the "leaning column"

The route is broken up into many short pitches but we combined them into just 4. The first two are off width and are like going to war with a rock. The unfamiliar climbing technique makes the route awkward but is still very enjoyable. The third is a combination of small finger jams and good footwork that eventually lead to a chimney and finally a 15 foot traversing pitch across a gap in the rock. 

From a distance, we look tiny.  We're just above the leaning column.

Pitch 2; Mom said it looked like we were hugging one of the columns for most of this pitch.



Pitch 3

Getting close!  Justin is just below center.

We summitted at a leisurly 3.5 hours from the approach hike and spent a few minutes on the top of the tower relaxing and signing the summit register. The descent is comprised of 4 twin rope rappels, each about 40 meters, and takes about a hour assuming none of the cracks eat your rope.




On the way out, hiking along with all our gear, everyone wants to know "If we went to the top" and "How long it took". The tourists all seem amazed, but we spend the time chatting and informing them of how we climb and of different routes and techniques of attaching the rope to the wall and ourselves as we climb. 

Since we'd made the long trip north, we decided that we'd make the best of out time and headed for South Dakota. Passing Crazy Horse, I told Laura a story of when my brother and I were last there about 10 years ago and had talked about coming back when we were 80 to see the progress. No notable changes have occurred in the first 10, so I'll look forward to seeing it again in another 10.

We drove over to Mt Rushmore and while we arrived just past sunset, we were happy to learn that the rock face was lit each evening until 9 pm. As darkness fell, the details of the President's faces became more defined. It was a very cool experience seeing this special monument at night; all of us had seen it in the daylight in the past.

We retired for the night in Rapid City and awoke the next morning, driving south to a national park neither Laura or I had visited before. America's 7th named national park, Wind Cave is a 100 mile maze of caves in just 1 square mile. Unfortunately for us, the cave tours were closed for the day and we had to resort to watching a short video and exploring the visitors center. We walked about 4 miles on some trails in the national park and saw buffalo, deer, coyotes, prairie dogs, hawks and wild turkey.

There is only so much you can fit into one weekend so we headed back south and discussed our next weekend adventure while driving home.

Cameron Cone

Cameron Cone just left of center

We see it every day. It sits prominently in front of Pikes Peak when viewed from our home. Cameron Cone is a 10,707' peak Just west of Colorado Springs. After attempting the peak and turning around due to snow this spring, Laura and I decided to give the "Harder than it looks" peak a second try. Somewhere around 10 miles and 4,500' of elevation gain would be our numbers for the day.

Saturday morning, we made it to Manitou Springs at 8:45 and snagged a spot in the free parking area just west of the roundabout. We began walking with an intended car to car time of 6-7 hours. We had read a few trip reports about the length and difficulty of climbing the scree fields and other parties taking 8-10 hours. We know we move pretty quickly so we weren't too concerned about being out all day. Besides, long hours on our feet would be good for us as we will be putting on 20+ mile days in just a few weeks in Patagonia.

After walking up Ruxton Ave and past the Cog train station, the road dead ends at a gate. We bypassed the gate and took the left split, following a dirt road across a bridge and up a slope ending at the train tracks. Walking up just 2 posts, we found the faint trail near the post marked 044954.

The trail climbs steeply and through many switchbacks for a mile or so, eventually reaching Magog rock. With some easy scrambling, we moved around Magog and headed up the ridge toward Gog rock. We turned around here in the spring due to snow, so the remainder of the hike was all new to us.

Gog Rock

Magog Rock

When we reached the saddle, we took a look at the map and made the decision to move further south and up gentler slopes, adding some mileage but making the final 1,500' of elevation gain easier than going straight up a very loose scree field. We encountered the large rock band just before the summit, skirted around and climbed to the top at 11:30 am, just 2:45 after leaving the car.

Looking at Gog rock and the summit from Magaog rock

The views from the summit are amazing. Looking south you get all of the Cheyenne Mountain and Colorado Springs area and to the west you have unobstructed views of Pikes Peak. Laura and I had lunch and a beer while looking at Pikes and picking out where the Barr Trail follows the mountain. After 45 minutes of relaxing, we took off for the car. Laura says it's easier on the knees to jog down the steep scree. While I agree, I prefer to speed walk while she runs. We moved quickly down to the saddle, past Gog and Magog rocks and on to the lower portions of the trail. With a combination of walking and running, we reached the car just a few hours after leaving the summit.

If you're looking for a fun, adventurous and difficult day trip, I highly suggest this peak. It's one I am happy to have checked off the list and one I won't soon forget. 10.5 miles, 4.5 hours.

Autumn Color, Hiking and Biking

As the seasons change and the leaves begin to show their color, there is not a better time to be outside. Fall is my favorite time of year and this time it hit right on schedule - September 22nd. The hot days have disappeared and the cool mornings and crisp evenings have arrived.

Each year, I take a trip to the mountains to view the autumn colors here in Colorado. This year we chose to go toward Buena Vista and the surrounding area. The colors are always beautiful, but this year, we seemed to miss peak color by about a week as many of the trees had already lost their leaves. We decided to do a short hike up to Agnes Vaille Falls and have a BBQ at the campground. Anyways, a few pictures show the beauty.

 

 

Laura "letting them know"

Since this blog is all about getting outside and encouraging others to do the same, I thought it would be a good idea to write about some activities that Laura and I find enjoyment in when we are not doing the bigger trips that I normally write about here.  Sundays are "workout day", usually meaning a few mile walk in a park or a hike on a local trial with friends. Never anything extreme, but rather a easy way to stay on schedule and get outside with great people. Rick and Ben have been doing Sunday workouts for many years now, and it is every Sunday morning for just a few hours. Sometimes just a few people in the group, other times there are 6 or more. It's great to be outside and BS with friends and is something I look forward to every weekend we are in town whether it is rain, snow or sun! 

Rick, Laura and Heidi

After our short hike in the morning, we decided that we wanted to go check out more fall color so we headed up to Woodland Park and rode mountain bikes through the rampart range area. After riding, we looped through Cripple Creek and Victor to see the spectacular Colorado color show!

Hope you are inspired to get outside and see some color or go for a hike with friends this weekend!