Crestone Needle, Mountain peak in Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado

Crestone Needle is a 4,327 m summit in the Crestones cluster of the Sangre de Cristo Range, 11.1 km east-southeast of Crestone, Colorado. It is made mainly of granite and conglomerate, with knobby handholds near the top and snowfields that linger through summer. A jagged ridge connects it to Crestone Peak.

Crestone Needle is one of the Crestones, the cluster of high summits in the Sangre de Cristo Range that also includes Crestone Peak, Kit Carson Peak, Challenger Point, Humboldt Peak and Columbia Point. The peak is protected within the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, on the border of Rio Grande National Forest and San Isabel National Forest. Its classic route, the Ellingwood Arete on the northeast ridge, gained wider fame through its inclusion in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America by Steve Roper and Allen Steck.

The Ellingwood Arete, a 5.7 rock route on the northeast side, is listed in Steve Roper and Allen Steck's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America, which draws climbers to repeat it. Most accidents on the peak happen on the Class 4 traverse from Crestone Peak or on this route.

The ascent requires solid climbing skills and rock climbing experience, as the terrain is steep and technical. Good physical fitness and proper preparation are essential for a safe climb.

Almost all fatalities on Crestone Needle happen on the Class 4 traverse from Crestone Peak or on the technical Ellingwood Ledges Route. The Ellingwood Arete, a 5.7 rock climb on the northeast side, appears in Steve Roper and Allen Steck's Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.