| Ellingwood Arete | |
| Other Name: | Ellingwood Route or Ellingwood Arete |
| Location: | Crestone Needle, Colorado, USA |
| Coords: | 37.9647°N -105.5761°W |
| Climbing Area: | Sangre de Cristo Range, Rocky Mountains |
| Route Type: | Trad/Alpine |
| Rating: | 5.7 |
| Grade: | III |
| First Ascent: | Albert R. Ellingwood and Eleanor Davis August 1925.[1] |
The Ellingwood Arete (also known as Ellingwood Route or Ellingwood Ledges or some combination thereof) 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.[2] An "arete" is "a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains".[3]
Albert R. Ellingwood was a pioneering member of the Colorado Mountain Club and the first to climb the Crestones[4] On these climbs including the 1925 ascent of the arete,Ellingwood was partnered with the long lived Eleanor Davis.
The route is technically difficult, and the site of multiple climbing fatalities.[5]