Crestone Needle is a 14,203-foot summit in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Range and the twentieth highest peak in the state. Joined to nearby Crestone Peak by a high, jagged ridge, it is widely regarded as a serious climb and one of the most respected ascents in the range. Its standard South Face route, usually approached from South Colony Lakes by way of Broken Hand Pass, is considered one of the harder standard routes on a Colorado fourteener. The mountain is also known for the technical Ellingwood Arete on its northeast side, a route whose inclusion in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America helped extend its reputation beyond Colorado.