Greg S. atop the Leaning Column. Devils Tower, Wyoming.

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Greg S. atop the Leaning Column, on the Durrance Route (5.6d). Early in November,2002, Greg drove from Canada to Devils Tower, Wyoming, try and find the Top of the Devils Tower. While he was greeted by freezing temperatures and a foot of snow on the ground, Wyoming welcomed him and the conditions warmed, gently. This photo shows him on his way to his first, and surely NOT his last, Successful Summit.
Photo Courtesy of Devils Tower Lodge.

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rpc

Excellent photo!

Voted 10/10

This is a great photo showing the first 2+ pitches (I think from reading about it???) of the Durrance route. What makes it especially nice is that it has a climber in it clearly showing the scale. Great job!

radek

Posted Jan 9, 2003 9:26 am


	Alan Ellis	Re: Excellent photo!
	Hasn't voted	I like the 5.6d rating. :) You know the old saying of the Durrance Crack, "Rated 5.7, feels like 5.8, but should be 5.9." Or the other one, "It's rated 5.7, but there are a lot of moves that are 5.9." Anyway....looks like a fun lead. Can't wait to do it on July 17/18.
		Posted Jan 9, 2003 10:07 am


	rpc	Re: Excellent photo!
	Voted 10/10	mtntrail2, NICE. Heard about the relative under-rating of the Durrance Crack at 5.6........but do you think it's really under-rated by .2 or even .3??? If that's the case, will need to wait a while with this one. radek
		Posted Jan 9, 2003 10:30 am


	Alan Ellis	Re: Excellent photo!
	Hasn't voted	The Devils Tower Climbing Handbook by Richard Guilmette rates the Durrance Route as 5.7, Grade II. I haven't done it, but one of my climbing buddies did it and said it was a HARD 5.7. He thought it was underrated (as many have). Check with Frank Sanders (aka bigwally). He's a hell of a nice guy and will talk climbing with you forever.
		Posted Jan 9, 2003 12:31 pm


	Deleted User	Re: Excellent photo!
	Hasn't voted	I've climbed the Durrance Route, and yes, it is quite a sandbag. In warm weather, the holds are very greasy which makes it a little scary. It's not 5.9, but it's definitely not 5.6 either. If I had to rate it, I'd call it 5.8. Many of the so-called 5.5 sections are probably 5.7+ and slippery as hell. I didn't think it was a very fun climb.
		Posted Jan 9, 2003 4:00 pm


	rpc	Re: Excellent photo!
	Voted 10/10	Many thanks for the info. gentlemen. I will take it off my list for '03. Having seen the Dark Shadows route at RR first hand, my hat goes off to you Josh for free-soloing it (to the top no less!!!!). Much respect. radek
		Posted Jan 9, 2003 5:39 pm


	greg_shergold	Re: Excellent photo!
	Voted 10/10	Well considering it's me in the picture :D I'll add a comment or so.. This was my first "real live rock climbing". I had a couple other days on the tower before I did this. Other than that it was just what little bit I had done in the gym for about 6 months before. It was a fun climb. Partly because it was my first climbing trip, and partly because I did it . It was a cold day (just above freezing, but was MUCH warmer than from where I came from (-40). That second pitch, is long and sustained more than anything. My limited opinion, I'd say it's definitly more than 5.6 climb. But thats just my humble opinion ;)
		Posted Feb 17, 2005 12:58 am


	rpc	Re: Excellent photo!
	Voted 10/10	Greg, having done Durrance last summer, I agree with you on that 2nd pitch. One of the guidebooks I have on the tower gives it a 5.7 rating. Great route though, right? cheers Radek
		Posted Feb 17, 2005 2:34 pm


	greg_shergold	Re: Excellent photo!
	Voted 10/10	Greetings Radek, Oh yeah! It's a great route. I mean, how can one not love their first summit route Durrance will always hold that special spot in my climbing career for me ;) Yeah, I've seen different guide books rate from 5.6 through to 5.9. The latter I would think to be a bit high, but again, just my humble opinion. I was reading somewhere, and unfortunally I can't cite the reference, but there was a debate on that route, 5.6 or 5.8. This particular author was saying 5.8, just because it is a very long and sustained 5.7, and because it was so long, should be rated 5.8. I'm no sure how that logic works, but just another opinion I guess. I dunno, I suppose its a debate that could go on forever. Regardless, it's a fantastic route, regardless of the rating. I especially enjoyed the "Bailey Direct" variation. I guess it's a little less traveled, I just found my shoes stuck to the rock like velcro. Could just be the rock, or could be my technicque evolved over the previous pitches. Cheers, Greg --- BTW I reciently posted a few pictures, you may want to check them out.
		Posted Feb 23, 2005 12:52 am