Vedauwoo, Wyoming, 2024

I visited the Vedauwoo, Wyoming climbing area just over 25 years after my rock climbing accident there.

I fell about 30 feet on July 3, 1989, leading to an emergency room visit, 3 days in the hospital, and 9 weeks of knees-to-toes casts.

On September 2, 2024. I went back for a visit, as a tourist. I haven’t been rock climbing since early 1990.

September 2 was the Monday of Memorial Day Weekend, 2024. My wife and I drove up to Vedauwoo to see the sights, smell the pines, and generally enjoy nature. The park was surprisingly empty. I think I went up to Vedauwoo to go climbing maybe 3 or 4 times during the 1980s, and it was always pretty well populated.

In 2024, I saw a couple of families picnicing, and that was it. Zero climbers, despite really great climbing weather that day. Has the sport of rock climbing lost popularity, or does everyone just go to indoor climbing walls?

I took an image of the “Fall Wall” formation, where I fell in 1989.

If you look closely, you can see a human standing on the large rock with water channels on it.

Here’s my friend Jay Truesdale’s image, scanned from a photo he shot July 3, 1989.

In 2024, I was standing in almost exactly the same spot Jay stood in 1989 to take his photo.