Is this a true statement?

[Boggy B]

The Spire is also not named or ranked, so even if it were over 14K it wouldn't be "a 14er" by any definition that doesn't extend to the realm of bonus peaks.
My view is that it probably should get named, since it has garnered so much climbing attention over the years by virtue of its proximity to glory.

I can’t find a definitive list of all points (Oblisks, Spires, etc) above 13.995K+ in Colorado. Does anyone have a reputable source on that?

That would be the BGN, though their technical classification of such features is a bit loose. And also, the Spire isn't listed there, because it isn't a named feature.
Closed contours (presumably 40 ft. being the arbitrary prominence threshold) above 14k seems like a bad idea that would add a bunch of useless bumps to the database. East Sneffels, anyone?

[Scott P]

The Spire is also not named or ranked, so even if it were over 14K it wouldn't be "a 14er" by any definition that doesn't extend to the realm of bonus peaks.
My view is that it probably should get named, since it has garnered so much climbing attention over the years by virtue of its proximity to glory.

I can’t find a definitive list of all points (Oblisks, Spires, etc) above 13.995K+ in Colorado. Does anyone have a reputable source on that?

That would be the BGN, though their technical classification of such features is a bit loose. And also, the Spire isn't listed there, because it isn't a named feature.
Closed contours (presumably 40 ft. being the arbitrary prominence threshold) above 14k seems like a bad idea that would add a bunch of useless bumps to the database. East Sneffels, anyone?

Definitely not the BGN. The BGN is only a list to standardize georgraphic names pertaining to Federal Government documentation. It doesn't include all named features (not even all officially named ones), let alone all locations. Most spires would not be in the BGN.

Also, whether a peak is in the BGN or not has nothing to do with its status or rank.

As far as Sunlight Spire being added to the BGN, that won't happen since it's in a wilderness area. For the most part, nothing not already in the BGN can be added to the BGN after wilderness designation.

[Boggy B]

Correct, we all know it's impossible to name peaks in Wilderness and that it happens yet.

The rest of your post is a bit confusing. Rankedness (as in 300'+ clean prominence) and namedness (as in officially named) determine significance on our peak lists, especially 14ers. Which governing body determines what things are named? I believe it's this one:
https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geogra ... stic-names

Which official peak names in CO are missing from GNIS? Any 13K+?

If you were agreeing their attempt to classify feature types (summit, pinnacle, ridge, etc.) is poor, I'm back in.

[Scott P]

Correct, we all know it's impossible to name peaks in Wilderness and that it happens yet.

The rest of your post is a bit confusing. Rankedness (as in 300'+ clean prominence) and namedness (as in officially named) determine significance on our peak lists, especially 14ers.

The person didn't ask for a list of named peaks; only for a list of all spires (which as far as I know doesn't exist). His question has nothing to do with the BGN or whether something is named. He's looking for a list of spires that may or may not have names.

Also, as you point out ranked peaks are based on prominece which has nothing to do the BGN but still a bit off topic. Most spires arent ranked.

Which governing body determines what things are named? I believe it's this one:
https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geogra ... stic-names

The BGN only includes names pertaining to Federal Government documentation. It doesn't determine all locations that are named. Does your street have a name? It is in the GNIS? Off topic though.

Which official peak names in CO are missing from GNIS? Any 13K+?

As far as I know, none. There are plenty of ranked 13ers that aren't in the GNIS though.

There are also plenty of officially named spires and many other offically named locations that aren't in the GNIS. If a name of a location appears in government publications, maps, or government legal documents, the name is considered to be official regarless if it's in the GNIS. That's getting way off topic though. The person isn't asking about points in the GNIS or named points.

[Marmot72]

Sorry for the misinformation; I didn’t see that LiDAR had confirmed the spire as being below 14k.

[Been_Jammin]

According to Google, LiDAR is very precise. Cool. I still find it hard to believe there isn't an almost 14K ft Spire in CO that is harder to climb than Sunlight Spire which is a 5.10 splitter.

[Veory]

There are other similarly hard spires in the 13k range, all in the San Juans:

Purgatory Point, 13,545', 5.10, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/141015
Gray Needle, 13,335' 5.10, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/373
The Index, 13,417', 5.9, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/382
Noname Needle, 13,617', 5.8, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/141030

Of course there is Lizard head which is 5.9 by it's easiest route and is actually a ranked 13er.

I've not heard of any other spires near 14er summits that has a chance of exceeding 5.10. I'm sure there are small boulders that would be 1/2 move problems somewhere, but that's not really a spire is it.

[justiner]

I've not heard of any other spires near 14er summits that has a chance of exceeding 5.10. I'm sure there are small boulders that would be 1/2 move problems somewhere, but that's not really a spire is it.

There are many in RMNP.

[Been_Jammin]

There are other similarly hard spires in the 13k range, all in the San Juans:

Purgatory Point, 13,545', 5.10, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/141015
Gray Needle, 13,335' 5.10, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/373
The Index, 13,417', 5.9, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/382
Noname Needle, 13,617', 5.8, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/141030

This is a dope tick list. I'm going to look at these. Thanks!

[Scott P]

There are other similarly hard spires in the 13k range, all in the San Juans:

There are a lot of them (literally thousands) in the Cimmaron area of the San Juans and around West Elk that are close to or above 13K but they have no names.

I would assume at least some of them are 5.10 or harder but of course I can't say for sure. Some are super cool to look at but look pretty nasty to climb.

FB_IMG_1777410760089.jpg

[Veory]

I've not heard of any other spires near 14er summits that has a chance of exceeding 5.10. I'm sure there are small boulders that would be 1/2 move problems somewhere, but that's not really a spire is it.

There are many in RMNP.

Aside from the keyboard of the winds area (which has towers up to 5.8 ) what technical towers are at 13k? Maybe a couple unnamed rocks around the remainder of glacier gorge?

[Boggy B]

................................

The premise of the OP was "Per Mountain Project, “[Sunlight Spire] would be Colorado's most difficult fourteener ..."
I simply pointed out that there are other reasons besides it not being 14K that the Spire wouldn't be considered a 14er. I didn't mean to start a debate about whatever it is we're debating. Good day to you sir.

RE: Hard towers over 14K, there's a decent amount of rugged terrain over 14K on Crestone Peak and Uncompahgre, though probably not many independent towers. Windom has a bunch of smallish towers on its S ridge but not sure any are over 14K.

Scott is right about the Cimarrons hosting a very high concentration of wild unclimbed choss towers, at least some of which have over 100' of prominence, though not many near 13K. The west side of Sheep and the other main Cimarron ridgelines are bonkers.