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Thanks for the view from the top. I have been to the tower but never ever in my life would I be able to see the top of it and the view from it with out this video. That is one place I can say I will never ever get to stand on that piece of ground.
super amazing! I know that I could not do this climb! I am almost sweating, just watching it! Thanks for sharing! (I was a bit disappointed to see that you could not land a large size alien spaceship up top, with a full compliment of scientists and army personnel, though ;) )
As a native Wyomingite, I have walked Devil's Tower as a child, adult and Geology student. My brave silly son climbed part way up free handed. I did not know of this until he was down! Thanks much for the top view!
Years ago I'd gone up from Boulder, CO to Devil's Tower to climb it with my buddies. Unfortunately I was coming down with the flu, and it was a hot summer day, so I sadly chose to stay at the bottom taking photos with a big sports lens and keeping a wet bandana on my dizzy head while the 3 of them climbed the Durrance route. But I will never forget the echos from off the tower rock, and the sound of one of my pals about 2/3 of the way up yelling, "5.8 my ass!" I nearly collapsed from laughing. It's hard to carry enough water for a hot day on Devil's Tower. Thank you for the video.
When I was climbing back in the early 70’s we pounded iron into the rock which caused problems. I have not used the new cams and too old to climb now. Thanks for the memories…….
Also, my brother climbed Devil's tower. I remember he needed a lot of special protection because of the large cracks. He and his climbing buds carried a small Dino (from a Sinclair gas station) up to the top. And everywhere else they climbed that year.
Longer ago than I would prefer (early 80s), our rock climbing class at UW climbed Devil's Tower after the spring semester was over. We went up Durrance, which I think is the easiest route (5.8, IIRC), including the jump traverse, which was ... memorable. It was a kick, but we were a large group and we didn't get started right at dawn, so our descent was after sunset. Rappelling in the dark with small platforms that you had to hit to start the next pitch of the rappel was definitely interesting. If you like crack climbs and haven't been there, you might want to try climbing at Vedauwoo, just off I-80, near Laramie. Beautiful place with a huge number of excellent routes.
It’s amazing to see this.I was there in 2009...it was an official spot on my “bucket list”! I watched the tiny specks of climbers going up, really only noticeable through binoculars...I was fascinated to see the binocs revealing dozens of climbers pretty much invisible to the naked eye! The Missouri Buttes nearby are fascinating to me because they can represent what the tower looked like in the middle of the eons of erosion. For some reason, maybe due to the presence of the Belle Fourche River, Devils Tower has eroded faster than the Buttes.
For me, worlds collide in the best possible way in this video. I'm not a climber but I'm an enthusiastic fan of all kinds of climbing... including (especially?) crack. Just came from a Wide Boyz video of 5.14 near Moab. The geology of Devil's Tower in these past two videos has fascinating. I also live in the America west and learning the geology is just making me love it more. Thanks Shawn!
Cool video. Thanks. I'd love to see a similar climb with an attending drone videoing. I was surprised how very different the rock looked close up when you were actually making the climb.
Next time you climb to the top, have someone on the ground take a video of you at the top from the bottom! I took some pictures of people who were near the top, they are tiny little dots. People don't have a good concept of how tall or big Devil's Tower is. Seeing a person from the ground on it give you a new sense of the scale of it.
I summited the Tower on June 6, 2006. We went up Hollywood and Vine. I had to Jumar through the 5.10C pitch, but the climb was great. We got to the top a bit after sunset, and rappelled down in the light of the full moon. Definitely the highlight of my life. I learned to climb at 53, specifically to climb the Tower. I'm 76 now and still climb.
My buddy and I climbed it twice by two different routes in June of 1972. Our ascents were among the first 1000. Now, apparently, 5000 parties sign in to climb it every year.
Excellent video! I have really been interested in seeing you combining climbing and geological discussions. Love to see more in depth like this: good vs bad rock, etc
Amazing, most of us have only gazed up from the botton in awe. Catching glimpse of the other similar peaks (intrusions as you called them) interesting in same proximity.
This was really cool to see you are much braver than me thanks for videotaping your climb. We went to Devils Tower a couple of years ago and saw the climbers going up the side of it. Such a different perspective when you are actually climbing it.
I grew up in Northern Wyoming. One football trip, we stopped at Devil's Tower. We convinced some freshmen that if they walked around to the other side of the tower, there was an elevator that would take you to the top. Silly freshmen.
Thank you for sharing this. I've been intrigued by this ever since I saw Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and it was great to see footage of you on the top of it, and the great viewpoint it offers.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful experience, and the views from up there with us down here (not a climber), but I am so very fascinated by it, especially Devil's Tower.. Awesome!! 😊
My brother and his friend fell while climbing “Bears Lodge/Devil’s Tower”. They had to be rescued while hanging from their ropes. No serious injuries just wounded pride. I was surprised to hear it happened because my brother is not a rock climber. He’s an idiot to be frank and thought they could do it without problems because they bought some equipment. It’s not the only story I can tell you about him.
Looks very dangerous. You were fortunate that the Devil's Tower is not at that much altitude and you did not have snow and ice to contend with! Thanks for uploading.
Incredible views and and amazing effort! How does enough soil build up and stay in place to be able to grow grass? Crazy to realize the whole thing was underground and eroded away. I visited there while going to Yellowstone.
Active cam anchors were brand new technology when I was a climber. I think I owned just one because money was so scarce. Our protection consisted of passive devices called "nuts," "chocks," and "hexentrics" of various sizes. Placement of such passive protection is an art form … that you bet your life on.
@@gigistrus490 It has a lot to do with being young and imagining you're gonna live forever. I don't think our host thinks he's gonna live forever, but climbing is a sport for… Well, not me anymore :-)
Disproving the tree Theory: If it was a tree, it would have reached into the troposphere. The troposphere is about 10 km (6.2 miles or about 33,000 feet) above sea level. According to a team of Georgian (state not country) biologists, the maximum height of a tree lies somewhere between 400 and 426 feet (122 and 130 m).
So impressive...ill look to see if you have a video regarding the history n geology of this incredible rock.. Rock climbers are the most fit and brave. Thats you Shawn and Darren !
Always wanted to see what the top of this looked like close up - ever since Close Encounters film. Yes i agree scary climb! Dedication Shawn but as you say it’s easy when you are passionate about something. Thanks for sharing.
I'm sorry man -- beyond the grueling toll that climb takes on your body, the look straight down just about maxed out the pucker factor. Gotta be an awesome feeling once you're finally at the summit but _jeeeeez_ -- I'm sorry, can't do it.
Wow.. climbers really have guts to do these climbs putting their life in the hands of those little crevice clamps things .. crazy scary.. glad you made it up and down ok!
Awesome ascent and video! Couple questions: how hard would you say was the grade? Also for rappelling are there fixed rings or do you somehow make anchors to repel from without using your gear? Thanks for sharing!
@@shawnwillsey I think this is pretty common with old classic routes yeah? Anyways well done, climbing Devil’s Tower has got to be way up there on most people’s life list, and that sign up top is perfection :)
Thank you for this experience. 60 years ago, I would have loved to learn all this, alas, not able now.. Please do a few rock climbing basics for the totally unknowing flat landers. The views are wonderful.
Professor, you are making me very homesick😅. Wonderful and fascinating videos on, yes, the nation’s first national monument. We also had the first national park and first to let women vote. Haven’t had many firsts recently, tho. Bummer. Oh, also Josh Allen, so there’s that.
When you were at the top (kudos to you for doing so, I couldn’t) you pointed out a few other intrusion cones in the area. Are there any volcanoes in the area? Did any of these intrusions lead to eruptions? The landscape doesn’t look like it. I’ve never been anywhere near there personally, so I’m just going to off what you show in the video.
I get nauseous when you lean over the edge. Rock climbing fascinates me and enjoy watching but I can get sick when the camera leans over the edge. It gets worse the older I get. Free Solo is one of my favorites watching Alex Honnold climb without the safety of ropes. However I would free climb the snake river basalt ledges in the dark when I was a teenager usually a full moon out to see by.
