Climbing the Tower
All climbers must register by name, address, and telephone number with a park ranger before going up.
And you must check out when you return. This is the only safety precaution on climbing required by the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. Depending on your mountain climbing experience here and elsewhere, however, you might want to ask the rangers for safety hints, different climbing routes, and conditions on the face of the Tower at the time of your climb.
More than 80 separate routes to the top have been taken and described in the literature. No one has been killed climbing the Tower, a remarkable record. The most difficult pitches come first while there is still plenty of time to turn back or take an easier route. Also, compared to other mountains, Devils Tower can be conquered in a short time, less than an hour for the most skilled if they use an easy route. This means less chance of exhaustion from exposure. In sudden bad weather, one can easily rappel off in 40 to 60 minutes.
George Willig, in red shirt, and Steve Matous prepare to climb Devils Tower in 1979.
Their climb was witnessed by a national audience on a televised all-day sport show and by a large crowd in the park using telescopes and binoculars.
Records of climbs have been kept at the park since 1937. In 1963 the one thousandth climber checked in and in 1970 the two thousandth. Since 1977 more than 1,000 make the climb every year. The Tower has been climbed with the direct aid of ropes and pitons and with a technique known as “free climbing” without the use of ropes except as backup to catch a fall. It has been climbed from all sides and in all seasons, even on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day. Some people, of course, prefer to climb the Tower in snow and ice. One might conclude that all the “firsts” have been taken at Devils Tower, but, as long as the personal challenge of the sport continues to attract newcomers, there are certain to be more new records.
