Anyone ever climb the Tower? Was the climb difficult (I'm a 5.8/5.9 climber on a good day, so can't handle anything too intense)?

Did you use a guide service? If so, which one and how was the experience?

How far is Devils Tower from Mt. Rushmore?

Any info on Devils Tower would be appreciated.
Thanks -
Wibs

I'm not a climber but I've watched some people climbing the tower. Here is some information on the climbing to help you plan.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/deto/climbing.htm

Thanks, rm_mn. How did the climbing look from the ground?
It looks intimidating in the pictures.
Thanks for the link.
Wibs

It looks intimidating from the ground too... but I'm a total wimp. It;s just straight-up.

Make sure you take a trip to the Badlands of South Dakota while you're out that way. They are amazing.

I climbed part of the way up. I have never climbed before so I went with an instructional guide. If I had taken 2 days of lessons, the second day would include a Summit climb. I wasn't scared at all. I went with Devil's Tower Lodge right outside the Park (http://www.devilstowerlodge.com/climbing/index.html).

If you can climb 5.8s, you'll have no problem.

I climbed last May, and I worked with a guide from Devils Tower Lodge (where I stayed). Frank Sanders is a very amiable and gracious host.

I'd say around 2 hours from Mt. Rushmore and Badlands area.

Michael

I think we climbed the Durrane route, up the leaning tower, and its rated 5.6.

Check out this website

http://www.devilstowerclimbing.com/

Michael,
Was it a lot of crack climbing or more just "regular" face climbing? I'm not very experienced with crack climbing but see a lot of that shown on the various guide websites.
Thanks -
Wibs

Wibs, there are dozens of routes, some very difficult crack climbs. It was my first climb, and I basically jammed myself into crevices and used leverage from my legs and back to climb. There were a few times that I had to jam my fist into a crack and pull myself, but it wasn't that difficult.

The second link has all sorts of information. Its a very popular climb, but the guide will guage your abililty and select the appropriate route.