Last summer two friends and I climbed the Durance route on Devils Tower in Wyoming. It was a highlight of my summer, to say the least. This huge igneous intrusion, exposed through years of weathering and erosion, stands like giant petrified stump in the flat Wyoming landscape. The first time I visited the Tower I was 13 years old, in a 24 foot RV with six other people. It was cozy. I never thought that 13 years later I’d be standing at the top. That’s not what this story is about though. Getting to the top was relatively easy compared to our adventure getting back down.

After signing the summit log, and posing for at least a hundred photos to document the glory and badassery of what we’d just done, (5.7 crack climbing is really hard,) I noticed the wind picking up. We went to set up our first rappel and toss the ropes over the edge, but by then the wind was so strong it blewboth of our freshly flaked ropes back up and into the air.

That’s when I started to freak out.

Thunder boomed in the distance, we couldn’t hear each other over the gale, and one of our party had lost his ATC. (I won’t mention his name, but it starts with “Patrick.”)

Due to the lost ATC, he volunteered to rappel last with his figure 8. It’s been since high school since I’ve used one of those, so in the chaos of the moment it didn’t occur to me that a figure 8 would twist our ropes. At the bottom of the first rappel it started to rain. 

Bill pulled on the increasingly stretchy ropes while Patrick pulled up the extra (so they wouldn’t conduct a lightning strike up to us) and I made sure everyone was anchored in some way.

After 10 minutes of pulling and flicking, the ropes began to budge.

We couldn’t understand how they’d gotten so twisted and stuck. Repeat this terrifying process two more times, each time in an increasingly stronger downpour: That’s how we spent the next hour. By the last rappel we realized it was the figure 8 that was messing us up. Our solution was to tie an ATC to the rope and haul it up to Patrick before he came down. The last rap was smooth and dry.

Memories of lightning and panic began to fade when good beer and food were administered to our wounded pride. Our lessons learned included being more aware of local weather patterns, the benefits of efficient team work, not duplicating tasks, and knowing your gear well.

Just yesterday I learned a tip that would have eliminated the figure 8 twist problem: Enter the “Mick Fix.” Named after the guy who made me feel like a noob with his vast and varied climbing experience. Simply attach a draw or runner to your harness. 

Attach a biner to the end of the runner. Clip the biner to ONE of the ropes, above the figure 8. This will help keep the rope un-twisted as you descend.

Another option is to clip your rope into the biner as well, instead of wrapping it all the way around the figure 8. This is known as the “Jap Method.” You’ll have to ask Mick about that one.


You live and you learn. In climbing it’s more like “learn and you’ll live.” Know your team and know your gear. Like Mick said, a solid foundation of safe habits allows you to think creatively and survive in a tough situation. The next time I climb the Tower, I think I’ll see if Mick is free.