Durrance Route

Durrance Route
The Durrance Route begins to the right of the two trees and continues along the inset dihedral.
LocationWyoming, United States
Climbing areaDevils Tower, Durrance Approach
Route typeTraditional climb
Vertical gain500 feet (150 m)
Pitches6
Rating5.7 (5a) (almost certainly sandbagged) [1][2]
GradeIII
First ascentJack Durrance and Harrison Butterworth (1938)

The Durrance Route is a climbing route on Devils Tower in Wyoming, United States. 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 Wiessner 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[citation needed] than the Wiessner Route, due to more variable terrain and better belay stances. The route is recognized in the historic 1979 climbing text, Fifty Classic Climbs of North America,[3] and other guide books.[4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ Leonard, Brendan (31 May 2013). "Under the Devil's Spell". Climbing.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Devils Tower Climbing Information". NPS. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Roper, Steve; Steck, Allen (1979). Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. pp. 141–146. ISBN 0-87156-292-8.
  4. ^ Kroese, Mark (2001). Fifty Favorite Climbs: The Ultimate North American Tick List. The Mountaineers Books. ISBN 978-0-89886-728-2.
  5. ^ McGee, Dingus; the Last Pioneer Woman (1996). Free Climbs of Devils Tower (14th ed.). Laramie, Woming: Poorperson's Guidebooks.
  6. ^ Harlin, John III (1996). Devils Tower Wyoming and the Black Hills, South Dakota. Helena, Montana: Chockstone/Falcon Press. ISBN 1-57540-028-6.
  7. ^ Orenczak, Zach; Lynn, Rachael (2006). Devils Tower Climbing. Laramie, Wyoming: Extreme Angles Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9746532-7-3.