I was slightly surprised to see this in a summit list, but I suppose I shouldn't have been, as it's as distinct and distinctive a top as you get! It's first ascent is traditonally (but somewhat arbitrarily) seen as the start of pure rock climbing in Britain, and the pinnacle is still the symbol of Lakeland's Fell and Rock Climbing Club. It nestles at the foot of the Napes Ridges over halfway up Great Gable and takes about an hour to walk up to from Wasdale Head, so is less climbed than it used to be. 50 years ago however it was probably the most famous rock climb in Britain (before the Old Man of Hoy replaced it) and the price for that is the horrendously polished crack on the original first pitch. Better is to slant up rightwards to reach the arete and climb that on lovely big holds to the shoulder and a good belay. The crux is a precarious mantelshelf onto the top block, which has to be reversed, as does the rest of the route. Abseiling off is definitely not recommended, and has resulted in several fatal accidents. The Needle may be only 20m high, but it's certainly not trivial (graded Hard Severe). Incidentally the first ascentionist, Walter Haskett Smith, once did a headstand on the top, then when asked by an admiring audience to "Tell us a story" replied "There is no other storey, this is the top storey". Luckily his climbing ability was better than his jokes. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/B3689/comment/9848/