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Climb the Devils Tower in Wyoming

Published by Jason Hussong, Writer

Country: United States

The Experience

The Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, best known from Steven Spielberg’s 1977 hit UFO movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, is becoming an increasingly popular destination with mountain climbers as they descend on the area to ascend a challenging icon.

Each year hundreds of climbers scale its almost perpendicular rock walls in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of the column. A stunning 360-degree view of the western side of the Black Hills awaits those up to the test. It’s not for everyone though, especially as American Indian legend has it that a mighty bear couldn’t reach its prey at the top.

Several Native American tribes hold the Devils Tower National Monument as sacred, still performing various ceremonies on location each year. The legend of the Tower varies from tribe to tribe, but generally it is said that a bear chased a group of kids. The Great Spirit took mercy on the children, and raised the ground under them high into the sky in an attempt to save them from the bear’s wrath. Because of the angry bear’s many attempts to reach the children, great rows run up and down the column in large numbers as tracks from the bear’s claws. As such, each tribe refers to the Devils Tower by variations of the name Bear’s House or Bear's Lodge. It was a poor interpretation during an American Government expedition in 1875 that gave the Tower its present name.

Only an approximate one percent of the nearly 400,000 annual visitors attempt climbing Devils Tower. Even though geologist Henry Newton said in 1875 that it is “inaccessible to anything without wings,” a great many have tried and succeeded this feat. The first to do so was cowboy William Rogers, who made the ascent on July 4, 1893, by affixing a ladder to the monument as he and his neighbour, W.L. Ripley, climbed to the top.

It’s no longer permitted to place any other permanent anchors or holds on Devils Tower, as doing so would only expedite the already dangerous forces of erosion. Most climbers today make their way to the top in a free climb by only using the natural ledges and crevices. A pile of scree already lies at the bottom of the tower due to the rain and frost erosion, and it’s necessary to climb over this before getting to the actual vertical climb.

Six hundred feet higher up, and with a much better view at 5,112 feet (1,558 m) above sea level, the dome shaped oval summit is covered in grass, brush and cactus. The whole of the 1,347-acre (5.45 km2) park, which was established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt, can be seen along with a grand view of the rest of the region. And of course, with that view comes the accomplishment of safely climbing to the top like the children of legend, and away from the dangerous and angry bear.

Photos

Map

Puzzle

When to Go to Devils Tower

Climbing Devils Tower is only possible in the late spring months to early fall as the winter conditions in northern Wyoming make it next to impossible to ascend to the top. However, American Indian tribes do request a voluntary abstinence from climbing the Tower, which they hold sacred, in the month of June when they hold various ceremonies at the monument. The park is open throughout the year, so a visit is possible during any of the seasons.

Odds n' Ends

"I wouldn't recommend that any one except an experienced mountain climber attempt the trip we made," said Fritz Wiessner, the first technical climber to the top, after his group's climb in 1937. "It is an extremely difficult climb for 200 feet, and to one who does not know mountain climbing it would be practically impossible to reach the top.”

This is a fair warning from the past to those wishing to climb the Devils Tower today. Tour climbs are organized and done, but it's best to be an experienced climber before trying to make it to the top. Thankfully, for those uninterested or unable to make the climb, there are plenty of other trails and sites to enjoy in the area. For those interested in the challenge, it's important to plan ahead and bring the proper gear to make it up and down safely.


More Experiences Nearby

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Former U.S. Cold War missileer Craig Manson thinks the preservation of the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota is “a most fitting idea because the Cold War dominated the last half of the twentieth century… [and] most of American life, in one way or another, was defined by the Cold War.” The U.S. National Park Service now controls the area, preserving it as the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, standing as a reminder of the dangers faced by a standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States after the Second World War. Following the Strategic Arms Reduction ...134 miles away.

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Books and DVDs

Frommer's Montana and Wyoming
Devils Tower: The Story Behind the Scenery
Wyoming Off the Beaten Path, 7th: A Guide to Unique Places

Elsewhere on the Web

Devils Tower - NPS.gov
Devils Tower National Monument - WyomingTourism.org

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