The Durrance route is listed as one of the 50 classic climbs in North America. A 4-6 pitch route that tops out at the summit. The climb is mainly off-width and hand-crack with a few spots of chimney. You also get the choice of working a small traverse. Don't forget to register at the Visitor's Center before and after the climb. This is a crowded route and a few minutes can mean the difference between success and failure. Either plan to arrive around 5:30 AM or, if your fast and have headlamps, try to start in the late afternoon.
Note: All directional references in this description are accurate if you are facing the rock.
Approach: You have two choices here. To walk to the base of the 1st pitch... hike up the trail from the Visitor's Center and head to the right at the Tower trail. Almost immediately head left on a faint trail that angles up toward the base of the tower. Continue up an easy ramp to the base of the leaning column and the start of the Durrance. To climb up to the base of the 1st pitch... Continue hiking on the concrete Tower trail to the South side of the tower. You will come to a clear path just past the leaning column as you look up. Take this path past the registration reminder sign for 5 minutes to the base of the tower and the 1st pitch of Wiessner's route. Climb this 5.4 crack to a couple of bolts about 100 feet off of the deck. Traverse left (if facing the wall) on easy 4th class to the base of the leaning column.
Pitch 1, Leaning Column (70 feet): Ascend 20 feet up a low angle crack that quickly turns vertical. Continue up another 25 feet of off-width to a horizontal crack with a piton. Enter the chimney behind the pillar and ascend another 25feet and exit onto the top of the column to a nice belay ledge with bolts.
Pitch 2, Durrance Crack (70 feet): A two crack system heads straight up for about 70 feet. The left crack is hand-width and accepts good pro for about 50 feet. The right crack is off-width and contains a large chockstone. Good pro can be found in the left hand crack until you get to the chockstone at about 55 feet. From the chockstone, depending on how tall you are, you must commit to the right crack and face the crux of the pitch. Save your #4 Camalot or equivalent to protect the crux. If you do not have anything this size, you will probably be climbing the last 15 or so feet of this crack high above your last piece. Exit to your right onto the belay ledge with bolts. 1 Piton available about 15 feet up.
Pitch 3, Cussin' Crack (30 feet): Climb a face and off-width combo to a small ledge 20 feet up. Protect this with a number #4 or #5 stopper or equivalent on the flake to the left of the crack. From the small ledge traverse right on a 1-foot ramp to an easy and well-protected hand crack. You also have the option of continuing straight up from the small ledge in an off-width... but the right side crack is far easier. Exit onto a nice belay ledge with bolts. Be sure to run some slings from your pro to reduce rope drag if you go to the right side crack.
Pitch 4, Flake Crack (40 feet): Ascend obvious crack system on right side of huge belay ledge. A number of flakes protruding from the crack (hence the name) and some face holds for the feet will make this quite enjoyable after the off-widths lower on the route. Exit via off-width (go figure) with bomber hands onto yet another great belay ledge with bolts. Watch for some loose rock on this pitch. 1 piton is available about 15 feet up.
Pitch 5, Chockstone Crack (40 feet): Head up into a large off-width or chimney, depending on how big you are. The first 20 feet are fairly basic. The top half of this pitch is a little harder and finishes with an overhanging boulder that you must clear to exit. It will get the blood flowing, but has some decent hands to keep it relatively tame. Exit to a large belay ledge. For the first time on the route... you may be able to find some shade in a large crack on your left. Belay your second from the bolts and prepare for the jump traverse. Note: you can look down and right to spot the bolts for the second rap that you may use for your descent, they are a little harder to spot when rappelling, as they will be below you after your first rap from the summit.
Pitch 6, Jump Traverse (15 foot traverse): From the belay ledge on top of Chockstone crack, down-climb 5 feet to a small ledge. Traverse under a small roof to a horizontal finger crack. Traverse finger crack and reach back for the ledge that marks the _landing zone_ for the _jump_. Very few, if any, people actually jump on this pitch and it is not recommended. Most use the piton just around the roof to hold onto and keep the rating 5.6. If you eschew the piton, you earn a 5.8 rating for this move and the climb. Continue through a small tunnel (a nice shady spot to rest if you need it) right of the jump traverse and across the meadows to the far right crack system and climb 100 or so feet to the top. Some rope up for this section and some parties don't. Enjoy the summit.
Pitch 6 Variation, Bailey's Direct (150 feet): From top of Chockstone crack ascend up 5.4 crack that goes back and forth between hands and off-width. Exit onto summit. This finish avoids the jump traverse and has the aesthetic appeal of climbing directly to the summit.
Rappel: From the summit head back towards the top of Bailey's direct and down-climb a few feet to a rappel station. Your first rap will put you back in the meadows near the jump traverse. Down-climb to your right to some bolts below and right of the jump traverse. Make three more raps down the Bowling Alley a few hundred feet right of the Durrance route and just right of Wiessner to the base and go get some water. All raps require 2 ropes. Be careful to always rap over the nose of each pillar and NOT in the crack or else your rope will be eaten and get stuck.
Be prepared to answer all manner of questions from tourists as you race for the water fountain.
Your right about the pitons on P1. Bad memory I guess. Thanks.
By Andrew Gram Administrator From: Denver, CO Jul 10, 2002
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.
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!
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.
The Durrance proved to be a great climb, a true classic. We made the error of only packing two liters of water for two people. Big Mistake!
Also, all sources advised us to bring nothing larger than a #4 cam, which we did. If you want to feel totally protected on the Cussin' Crack and other places, you might bring a big bro or a #5 or 6 larger cam. You can place stoppers in a small flake as you ascend up the Cussin' Crack, but I doubt it would protect a fall.
We used our second rope to haul up the pack on sections where we couldn't wear it. This worked well. Also, I read somewhere that camelbacks weren't advisable because they'd be shreded in the off widths and chimneys. I have this to say in response. There was a five-person party in front of us, all sporting camelbacks. I inquired how their hydration systems were holding up. They all seemed to be fine. Their guide actually recommended that they wear them.
Approach Pitch: The Bowling Alley offers the best approach. If you take the Meadows Rappel, you'll end right next to your packs.
P1 (the Leaning column) This is a fun pitch. There is imposing off-width toward the end. It's awkward, but doable.
P2 (Durrance Crack) Chicken-wing with your right as you stem and jam with your left. Placing pieces is a little challenging because it's difficult to see into the left crack when you're stuck in the off-width. The last few feet require some more awkward off-width squirming. Throughout the pitch, the squirming was slow but not as rough as I had anticipated. I think it requires more endurance than technique.
P3 (Cussin' Crack) Although it's rated a 5.5, I think this is more of a crux than the Durrance Crack. Where the previous pitch demands sustained squirming and worming, this one requires a couple of moves that leaves the leader issuing forth a litany of expletives.
p4 (Flake Crack) We ran P3 & P4 together, which worked nicely. Flake crack was the most relaxing and aesthetic section of the entire climb--or at least more like the type of rock that I'm used to.
p5 (Chockstone Crack) A short, easy chimney.
P6 (Baily Direct) This is an interesting 150 ft pitch with some variety. At the end of the pitch, being sick of off-widths, I moved onto the face and placed small cams in the horizontal cracks. This was a fun, exposed little section.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
By Mark Nelson From: Coniferous, CO Sep 12, 2006 rating: 5.6
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.
By Sagar Gondalia From: Cheyenne, WY Jan 9, 2007 rating: 5.7
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.
By joelhagan From: Rapid City, SD Oct 18, 2007 rating: 5.7
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.
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