Mr. Clean, 5.11 at Devils Tower

The first 5.11 on Devils Tower is possibly the best climb on Devils Tower. To get there, take the standard west face approach, up the talus field. Bring a rack full of small to hand size pieces for this endurancefest. If you are feeling really tough, limit yourself to stoppers and hexes to emulate the first ascent party.

Pitch 1: 5.7 about 50 feet. Warm up on a wid-ish crack to a hanging belay just short of a small roof.

Pitch 2: 160’ of 5.11 Devils Tower pleasure. For the crux pitch crank up through the small roof. This is the first crux. Use small stoppers and cams for this well protected section. Once through this section, be glad you have sticky rubber, but don’t slow down. Finishing the pitch is the second crux. There is one small ledge which can be used for an excuse to rest, but speed can be your friend on this classic climb. The 2 bolt hanging belay is a welcome site.

Pitch 3. 150’ of 5.10ish climbing that feels harder after all the grunting you already did. Hand jam up the crack and be sure to have some larger pieces for an interesting off-width section near the top. The second anchor is even more welcome then the first.
Most parties rap from here, but there can be another pitch or 2. If you care to summit Devils Tower via Mr. Clean move right to the wide top pitches of McCarthy West Face.

Rack: Standard Devils Tower with at least 6 each of Friend sizes 1-2.5 and lots of stoppers and such to round things out. Take extra bigger stuff if you intend to top out. You can almost always put a piece of gear in, so take as much as you are willing to carry.

Rap: If you top out, take your choice of raps to get you back to terra firma. If you head down at the top of pitch 3, just come down the route.