Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Devils Tower rises from the rolling hills like an otherworldly spire.
Technical rock climbers made the first ascent in 1937 in just four hours and 46 minutes,
opening the tower to scores of climbers and dozens of firsts, including George Hopkins,
who parachuted onto the summit in 1941 without an exit plan. Hopkins was stranded on
the summit for six days before he was rescued. Since then, numerous routes have been es-
tablished up the rock, and the fastest free climb of Devils Tower was in the 1980s by Todd
Skinner, who made the climb without ropes or protection in an astonishing 18 minutes.
Today's average climb for two people requires 4-6 hours up and 2 hours for the rappel
down.
A tradition since the early 1880s, when settlers would descend on the area for a few days
at a time to camp, picnic, and enjoy one another's company, the
Old Settler's Picnic
was
formalized as an annual event in 1932 on Father's Day weekend. The tradition continues
today, after a 40-year lapse starting in the 1960s, with a large gathering of locals and visitors
