Elevation

14,203 ft / 4,329 m

#25 in Colorado

#56 in United States

Prominence

457 ft / 139 m

#913 in Colorado

#6,566 in United States

Summits

45 summits

#59 in Colorado

#803 in United States

Top climbing months

August   37%

July   24%

September  17%

Most climbed route

Treverse from Crestone Peak

Highlights

  • Crestone Needle is a dramatic Colorado 14er in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Range.
  • It is part of a group of 4 14ers known as "the Crestones" headed by Crestone Peak and also including Kit Carson Mountain and Humboldt Peak.
  • While not as high as Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle is a more difficult climb by its easiest route.
  • The easiest route is the South Face usually accessed via Broken Hand Pass from South Colony Lakes. This is a Class 3 exposed scramble with a few tricky moves and is one of the more difficult standard routes among the Colorado 14ers. Routefinding is essential, especially when it slyly hops across a couloir. Wrong ways here quickly become 5th Class.
  • The most classic route is the Ellingwood Arete, a steep ridge on the northeast side of the peak leading directly up from the Upper South Colony Lake basin to the summit. It is a 5.7 technical rock climb and is particularly popular because of its inclusion in the well-known book Fifty Classic Climbs of North America by Steve Roper and Allen Steck.
  • Crestone Needle is connected to Crestone Peak by a difficult ridge, generally known as one of the four great Colorado 14er traverses.

Awards

Challenges