Spanish Needle

October 21st, 2023 at 6:58 AMOwens Peak Wilderness, CA

Info

Distance11 mi

Elevation gain3,100 ft

CruxClass 3

Route typeOut & back

Duration7 hr

Quality8/10

Vehicle to trailheadCar

Protected areaOwens Peak Wilderness, Bureau of Land Management

EcoregionSierra Nevada

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Report

Spanish Needle — From Chimney Peak Road, we followed this dirt road toward Lamont Meadow.

Spanish Needle

Spanish Needle — Alpenglow on Lamont Peak.

Spanish Needle — The road peters out after a couple miles as we enter a pine forest.

Spanish Needle — Slowly gaining elevation as we make our way up the valley toward a saddle north of Spanish Needle's summit.

Spanish Needle — Beautiful fall colors.

Spanish Needle — Following a sporadic use-trail, we veered slightly south.

Spanish Needle — View back. Lamont Peak is on the left; Lamont Benchmark is on the right.

Spanish Needle — Some deadfall and brush slowed our progress slightly.

Spanish Needle

Spanish Needle — Final climb to the PCT.

Spanish Needle — Following the PCT a short distance to the saddle.

Spanish Needle — Arriving at the saddle.

Spanish Needle — From the saddle, view east.

Spanish Needle — View south toward Spanish Needle. Although the peak is only 1 mile away, it would take us 1.5 hours to traverse its eastern slopes.

Spanish Needle — Dropping about 100 feet from the saddle.

Spanish Needle — The first of several chutes filled with loose dirt and rock.

Spanish Needle — Another, much larger chute. We aimed for a weakness in the rib near the tree, left of center.

Spanish Needle — A short ramp leads around the rib.

Spanish Needle — We started up the slope at the final chute.

Spanish Needle — View back toward the saddle.

Spanish Needle — Final climb to the ridge on very loose, forested terrain.

Spanish Needle — View back before gaining the ridge.

Spanish Needle — Starting up a relatively brush-free slope on the west side of the ridge.

Spanish Needle — View back down a Class 2 section. North Needle, a minor peak along the ridge, is on the left.

Spanish Needle — Remaining ridgeline to Spanish Needle's summit.

Spanish Needle — There are a couple intervening pinnacles (like the one shown here), which offer some fun Class 3 scrambling opportunities.

Spanish Needle — Closing in on Spanish Needle. The route crosses an exposed slab, visible on the left.

Spanish Needle — A cruxy, Class 3 ledge system leads to the slab, shown here.

Spanish Needle — Ben crossing the slab. This move is trickier in reverse due to the slight angle of declination.

Spanish Needle — A notch just north of the summit block, accessed via a Class 3 crack ahead. (Photo taken on the return.)

Spanish Needle — Ben climbing a Class 3 crack below the summit block.

Spanish Needle — Spanish Needle summit. View south toward Owens Peak.

Spanish Needle — View east into Sand Canyon.

Spanish Needle — Back at the saddle, descending a more northerly line than our ascent route to avoid some thickets of manzanita.

Spanish Needle — Admiring the pinnacles along Lamont Peak's ridgeline.

Spanish Needle — Exiting through a meadow.

Spanish Needle — Chimney Peak Road ahead.