These are the routes you can see from the parking lot. They are all accessed by the west face approach and encompass all routes from the NE shoulder on the left to the large leaning pillar on top of the SW buttress (Durrance pillar) on the right. The routes on the West face are some of the cleanest and most accessible routes on the tower. Ultra-classics include Carol's crack, McCarthy's west face, El Matador, Tugley Wood, and many more. As with the other sides of the tower, the "good" climbing is on the lower 2/3 with easy bolted rappels before the less appealing rock. Most routes will require a two-rope descent.
Getting There
Leave the main trail shortly after the trail starts heading south parallel to the tower, at the same place the Durrance approach leaves the trail. Hike up the boulderfield to the base of the tower. Locate the obvious stem box with two five-foot wide dihedrals facing each other for 150' and a ledge at the end of the left pillar (El Matador). Most west face routes are left of here. Right of El Matador, see Durrance Approach. Sparse poison ivy is often encountered on the hike/scramble north to Carol's crack area.
One of the finest routes we did at Devil's Tower, and it even remains open when the rest of the West Face is closed for Falcons!Approach this route via the West Face trail and skirt the left-hand edge of the trial towards to great routes, One Way Sunset and Carol's Crack. Both of these 3* routes are near the north-most edge of the West Face.I could tell you to look for a primarily right facing corner system that starts low angle and gets progress...[more]
In August of 1999 with his blessing I did a couple first ascents of routes that Dingus McGee had bolted but had not been able to climb. One of them is the bolt line up the arete just right of One Way Sunset. Dave Larsen, Dean Brault and I rated it 5.12 and called it Astro Glide. Has anyone else done this route? How hard did you think it was? I will add them to the list soon. The second is the bolted dihedral above Buckspeck. This one Dean Brault and I rated 5.12- and called it Team Ropin'. This one is on the north face as I recall. Same questions about this route.
I have looked at both routes mentioned, but didn't try them due to the quality of the bolts. Team Ropin' looks rad, we rapped over it after doing the 'stepping out of flatland'(was going to t/r it, but ran outta time);('flatland' also crappy bolts). It would be a great community service to replace those bolts w/ good ones. (buckspeck, team ropin', steppin over, and astroglide all need new hardware, among others, second pitch of soler eclipse aswell) Permits are easy to get although w/ a hand drill the replacement might take forever. Was up there in august and october '06. 5.12 looks about right though. (toms brother pat)
West Face
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