Peak Climbed: Weavers Needle

Peak Height: 4,553'

Route: West Chimney

Difficulty: 5.4

Location: Superstition Mountains, Arizona

Trailhead: Peralta

Mileage & Gain: 9 mi & 3,900 ft RT

Date Climbed: November 28, 2020

Weavers Needle is a huge column of volcanic tuff (fused ash) in the Superstition Mountains just east of Phoenix. It can be seen for miles and is one of the most recognized peaks in Arizona. Despite its fierce appearance, the summit can be obtained via a single long pitch of surprisingly easy 5th class climbing.

The usual approach is via the hugely popular Peralta Trail up and over Fremont Saddle. The view of Weavers Needle from the saddle is phenomenal and for many people this is the turnaround point for the day. We continued on, losing about 800 feet down the other side before leaving the trail and hiking steeply up the lower western flanks of Weavers Needle.

The technical portion of the "hike" is a large chimney that leads to the obvious notch between the two summits. The climbing is easy but the rock quality leaves something to be desired in places. Marc carefully soloed the pitch and then gave me a belay.

Routefinding from the notch to the top is obvious and a few bits of class 3-4 scrambling are required. A final steep, somewhat exposed headwall with gorious jugs leads to the summit plateau. The views of the surrounding Superstition Mountains are spectacular.

We did three rappels on the descent, all from beefy bolted anchors - one down the upper class 4+ headwall, one from a somewhat uninspiring boulder at the the top of the chimney, and one in the lower part of the chimney. A singe 70m rope works well.