Sun on the headwall of The Needle.

All Locations > Colorado > Alpine Rock > Sangre de Crist… > Crestones > Ellingwood Ledges (5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b)

Sun on the headwall of The Needle.

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Fun in the Winter, too.<br>
March, 1975.

On the summit with clouds circling in.

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4.5 from 11 votes

Sean O'Dell

Mar 11, 2002

“Sun on the headwall of The Needle.”

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Ellingwood Arete (aka Ledges) routes.

Fun in the Winter, too.<br>
March, 1975.

Sun on the headwall of The Needle.

On the summit with clouds circling in.

Don't step on the flowers.

Here are some ways to start [[105748714]]. I have not done the starts labeled "Direct" and "Most-Ledges".
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The "Full-Ledges" start - after a little up climbing and a little down climbing - passes just above a large slung horn with old rap rope as of July 2016. The old rap rope was knotted off for a two-stranded rap, and it was a little sun-bleached with some sheath damage visible in one strand about 15 feet down from the anchor.
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In July 2017, the rap station was gone.

Ellingwood Ledges as seen from the summit of Humboldt.

Mystery of the Head Crack pitch....

View of Ellingwood Ledges in the morning. The full route is visible. Picture taken from Humboldt's saddle.

Summit view - Sandunes!

Crestone Needle

Looks good.

Interesting chimney exit sequence on the left final pitch(es) variation, which is the gift that keeps on giving.

Ellingwood Arete...and me thinking 'I should have been at the base of the climb about an hour ago....'

Shiny bolt anchors on the 3 pitch direct start. (We simulclimbed the direct start in one pitch, using a microtraxion as pictured in the photo.)

Starting up the final (crux) pitch. <br>
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Photo by Dan Perry.

Options for the final headwall pitch. Option A or B must be the Head Crack pitch. We climbed option C, which seemed to fit the descriptions of other climbers who recommended climbing a steep right-facing dihedral, but the move over the overhang was strenuous, feeling more like 5.9 than 5.7. The cracks to the right were lower angle and appeared easier, but we weren't sure if they ended on a ledge. Option F looked like it was the easiest.

First hard headwall pitch.

Looking down the 5.7 pitch.

Crestone Needle approach map.

The upper section of Ellingwood Arete. We took the left variation, which our topo called 5.7, and I call B.S., but it was memorable!

Getting to the trailhead for South Colony Lakes entails 2.6 miles of rough road. We had a Highlander and stopped 1 mile short and walked to the trailhead, only to be humbled by a couple of "lesser" vehicles in the parking lot!

The direct start. 3 pitches of 5.6.

The start of the first headwall pitch.

Sunrise on the one of the namesake ledges.

The crux pitch.

Mike Schillaci on the arete, 1990.

Looking up the technical headwall pitches higher up on the route.

The start of the climb can accessed via the diagonalling ramp through the black cliff.

Grassy ledges start.

Topping out on the crux pitch.

Ellingwood Ledges as seen from near the end of the 4WD road.

Me on one of the belay ledge immediately after the crux pitch.

Carol about halfway up Ellingwood Ledges. August 26, 2000.

A friendly Marmot poses a few feet below the summit of Crestone Needle in the early morning. Humbolt Peak is silhouetted in the background.

Success! Now if we can only get down before dark....

On the final 3rd class pitch, only 100 feet below the summit. This is a very exposed pitch, but the rock is excellent.

Another angle on the start of the first headwall pitch.

Josh Hobgood following the first hard headwall pitch.

Cully just feet below the summit.

Looking down the first crux pitch, Ellingwood Ledges, 2002 - Jay Evans photo.

4th class climbing above the Red Tower. The complex final Headwall is visible high above.

Fun climbing below the final crux headwall.

The steepness of the left exit is apparent in this photo. Good thing the knobs were big, because there wasn't any pro except for the lone piton!

Marcello leading the 2nd hard pitch, near the crux.

A climber taking a direct variation to the start, with the first piece of pro visible. I placed gear in a similar spot but found the climbing easier and better protected doing the undercling to traverse left.

After a successful ascent of Ellingwood Ledges, September 2010.

John Bissel on the 5.9 variation.

1st ledges after simul-climbing past the Direct. Note the mackerel sky! Photo of Josh Hobgood.

The Crestone Needle and Peak massif. Photo by Anna Thomas.

Jolly Max on the early morning approach.

Sunrise looking back toward campsites from the approach to The Needle.

Early on the arête - Photo of Greg & Marcello.

One of the interesting inhabitants of Ellingwood Ledges, taken on a pre-climb day exploring the "Full-Ledges" start (native? invasive?).

Taken low on the route where the direct and normal starts merge. Above George's head is the "Red Tower" - most parties rope up for the pitch that goes just left of it.

This is one of the goats we saw while simulclimbing the ledges start. There was a family of 15 or so with babies that did not like having us anywhere near them. She and a few others made some aggressive noises and followed us down all the way to camp.

SUMMIT!

Charlotte following me up the left exit, which is way harder than the topo's 5.7 claim. This section is overhanging about 5-10 degrees, protected by a single piton after the traverse (a draw is on it in the photo). The wide crack did not take pro - only a chickenwing for rest.

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