Spelunk Spire Rock Climbing

Spelunk Spire is one of the overlooked backwoods crags behind Reynolds Hill. Spelunk Spire hosts a variety of shorter pitches, from the spiral ... scramble to stiff stout cracks which barely accept digits.

Per Skip Harper: this rather extensive formation was known in the climbing community at least as far back as Jim Halfpenny's "A Climber's Guide to Southeastern Wyoming" (1975). It is actually visible from almost any high point in Vedauwoo, appearing to be a part of Reynolds Complex when viewed from Central Vedauwoo. However it's east across a valley from Reynolds. The 'spire' was first summited by negotiating the 'backside" (southern exposure) full of small caves, jumbled rocks, and declivities', and a 'register' was placed on top. The remainder of the formation extends from here as a southwesterly, declining shoulder/wall which terminates in several hundred yards at or near the well-known climb 'Old Dog's New Trick'. Some climbs were first done on aid, remnants of which can be found if you look close enough; however, none had names that were recorded or persisted. Later, several lines were freed and named along the southwest wall lower in the valley including Wrist Ranger and Paper Training. Just who coined the name of the crag has been lost in time, as have many crags and climbs of similar circumstance. It was NOT named for the climb 'Spelunk Spiral', an easy line of least resistance to the top first recorded in "Heel and Toe: The Climbs of Greater Vedauwoo" (Harper and Kelman, 1994).