Bear Creek Spire is a prominent Sierra Nevada peak in California’s John Muir Wilderness within Inyo National Forest. It ranks as the forty-sixth highest mountain in California and the two hundred twenty-fifth highest in the United States. Joseph LeConte, James Hutchinson, and Duncan McDuffie named it in 1908 for its position at the head of the Hilgard Branch of Bear Creek. The mountain also holds an important place in climbing history. Hermann Ulrichs made the notable first ascent in 1923 with a solo climb of the west face, and Norman Clyde later established the Northeast Face in 1931 and the Northeast Buttress in 1932.