Deserts at the end of the Permian period, 260 million years ago, formed the De Chelly and Wingate Sandstones that make up the buttes, totems, and mesas in Monument Valley.

[4] The Totem Pole rises next to a gathering of thicker spires the Navajo called Yei Bi Chei and can be seen via a self-guided Valley Drive.

[5] The Totem Pole was first climbed June 11–13, 1957 by Bill Feuerer, Jerry Gallwas, Mark Powell and Don Wilson.

According to author Ron Hogan, "[i]n addition to directing and starring in The Eiger Sanction, Clint Eastwood did all his own stunts during the mountain-climbing sequences.

"[7] Hogan further adds that, Eastwood and his film crew "were the last people to climb Monument Valley's Totem Pole; in order to gain permission for the shoot, they had to agree to clear the mountainside of all the pitons from previous climbing expeditions".