Dorado Needle is a steep mountain summit in Washington’s North Cascades National Park, rising to at least 8,440 feet near Eldorado Peak and Perdition Peak. It is part of a landscape formed by ancient tectonic uplift and terrane accretion, then dramatically carved by repeated Pleistocene glaciation into sharp relief and deep U-shaped valleys. A small glacial remnant clings to its south slope, while McAllister Glacier borders its north side. The peak’s marine west coast climate brings heavy precipitation, dense winter snow, avalanche danger, and clearer summers. First climbed in July 1940, it remains known for technical routes and runoff that feeds Skagit River tributaries.