The Totem Pole

The Totem Pole inside Lower Monument Valley is an incredible and remarkable rock feature. It is the tallest spire in the world at a prominence of 381 feet and total height of 400 ft.

Bill Feuerer, Jerry Gallwas, Mark Powell, and Don Wilson were the first to climb the Totem Pole on June 11–13, 1957. In the Yosemite Decimal System, the first ascent route is graded 5.10 YDS A2. In 1979, a second route known as "Never Never Land" was climbed.

It is illegal to climb any of the monuments within Monument Valley, and during the filming of Eiger Sanctions with Clint Eastwood they were allowed to climb the Totem Pole only if they would take down all the cams and pitons from the unsanctioned climbers. There has since been commercials that have featured the totem pole, one notable commercial is 1970's Xerox commercial where they put a printer and desk on top of the spire.