Durrance Route | |
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The route begins below and to the right of the two trees. It then ascends the left side of the leaning pillar and continues up the most inset dihedral. There are two possible finishes a direct vertical finish or a "classic" traverse to the right involving leaping a gap. |
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Location | Wyoming, USA |
Climbing Area | Devils Tower, Durrance Approach |
Route Type | Trad climb |
Vertical Gain | 500' |
Pitches | 6 |
Rating | 5.7 |
Grade | III |
First ascent | Jack Durrance & Harrison Butterworth (1938, FFA). |
The Durrance Route is a climbing route on Devils Tower in the U.S. state of Wyoming. First pioneered by Jack Durrance and Harrison Butterworth in September 1938, it was the second free ascent of Devils Tower, following the first ascent led by Fritz Wiessner in 1937. The Weissner Route lies a few hundred feet to the right of the Durrance Route and has a comparable difficulty. Today the Durrance Route is the most popular route on Devils Tower. It is considered a more interesting and enjoyable route than the Wessiner Route due to variable terrain and better belay stances. The route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America[1] and other guide books.[2][3][4][5]
An 8 meter volcanic column which has been slightly tipped from vertical. Reports that it was too unstable prompted a U.S. Geological Survey inspection in 2006. The inspection found that it was unlikely that a climber's weight would dislodge the pillar.