Ellingwood Ledges (Crestone Needle)
Encyclopedia
The Ellingwood Ledges is a popular technical climbing route
on Crestone Needle
in Colorado
's Sangre de Cristo Range
. The Ellingwood Ledges Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
. An "arete" is a "a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains".
Albert R. Ellingwood was a pioneering member of the Colorado Mountain Club
and the first to climb the Crestones
The route is technically difficult, and the site of repeated climbing fatalities.
Climbing route
A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and, once committed to that ascent, can be difficult to stop or return. Choice of route can be critically important...
on Crestone Needle
Crestone Needle
Crestone Needle is one of the fourteeners of Colorado, in the heart of the Sangre de Cristo Range. It is part of a group of four fourteeners known as "the Crestones", headed by Crestone Peak and also including Kit Carson Mountain and Humboldt Peak.While not as high as Crestone Peak, and connected...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
's Sangre de Cristo Range
Sangre de Cristo Range
The Sangre de Cristo Range, called the East Range locally in the San Luis Valley, is a narrow mountain range of the Rocky Mountains running north and south along the east side of the Rio Grande Rift in southern Colorado in the United States...
. The Ellingwood Ledges Route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America
Fifty Classic Climbs Of North America is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a definitive piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspiration for more recent climbing books, such as Mark...
. An "arete" is a "a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains".
Albert R. Ellingwood was a pioneering member of the Colorado Mountain Club
Colorado Mountain Club
The Colorado Mountain Club , formed in 1912, is a nonprofit, 501 outdoor education organization based in Golden, Colorado that gathers and disseminates information regarding Colorado's mountains in the areas of art, science, literature and recreation...
and the first to climb the Crestones
Crestones
The Crestones are a group of four 14,000 foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Range above Crestone, Colorado, comprising:*Crestone Peak *Crestone Needle *Kit Carson Mountain...
The route is technically difficult, and the site of repeated climbing fatalities.