A bet, a parachute, and Devil’s Tower: a perfect plan until it wasn’t
The parachute worked perfectly, but the plan to get down from the national monument did not.
In 1941, daredevil parachutist George Hopkins settled a bet by jumping out of a plane and landing on top of Devil’s Tower. The parachute worked perfectly, but the plan to get down from the national monument did not.
Hopkins’ $50 wager was simple: parachute onto the flat summit of Devil’s Tower, just to prove it could be done. He succeeded, touching down safely atop the massive Wyoming monolith as spectators watched from below. Hopkins’ plan to climb down the monolith, however, was not well thought through and immediately fell apart.
The plane he jumped out of attempted to throw him a rope, a makeshift spike, and a hammer. The rope was not long enough, even if it hadn’t been blown off course and never reached Hopkins. A subsequent attempt to provide another rope turned into a tangled nightmare. After that, it was sky dropped whiksey and steaks for nearly a week as experienced climbers attempted to save him.
Fact Quickie’s video treats the incident with deserved affection and disbelief. It’s a reminder that mid-20th-century daredevil culture ran on bravado, parachutes, and the assumption that details could be worked out later. Sometimes they were. Sometimes they required a rescue team.