Needle Sports is named after Napes Needle, a prominent rock pinnacle, some 20 metres high, situated amongst the Napes Crags on the southern flank of Great Gable, a mountain in the heart of the English Lake District.

Napes Needle was first climbed (solo) by Walter Parry Haskett Smith in June 1886, an ascent considered by many authorities to mark the birth of rock climbing as a sport in its own right.

Today the original route of ascent via the Wasdale Crack (as seen in the photo above) is graded Hard Severe. The Arête follows the right-hand edge and is the least sustained route of ascent, though it too ends up with some hard moves at the top (above the Shoulder) where it joins the Wasdale Crack route and is also graded Hard Severe.

The final moves onto the summit block are the most trying, although manufacturing an adequate belay and descending in safety requires considerably more mountaineering acumen than the ascent (see below)!

Although easy by the standard of modern test pieces, an ascent of Napes Needle will always remain a memorable day in any climber's career.

Photo top right: The classic view of Napes Needle as seen from the Dress Circle. The climber has just climbed the Wasdale Crack (the original route of ascent). The Arête takes the arête to the right of the Wasdale Crack. Both routes meet on the Shoulder under the summit block which forms the crux of both climbs. The Gap is the cleft to the left of the Needle, between it and the main crag. Threading the Needle (M) is the traverse of the Gap and is a popular scramble. The highest mountain in the distance is Scafell Pike.

Photo right: What goes up must come down, but how? A climber on the summit of Napes Needle with another about to join him.

Photo below: An unusual view of the Wasdale Crack, taken from the Lingmell Crack.

Photo below right: Stephen Reid on Sick Heart River (E2, 5c), a new route he put up with Ron Kenyon on Napes Needle in 2000. The climb follows the arete above his head and was the first new route on the Needle for over half a century. The name is taken from the title of a book by John Buchan. (Photo: Colwyn Jones)

Photo below: Craig Matheson attempting the second ascent of Phil Rigby's spectacular climb, The Wasdale Roof (E3, 5c), the first alternative way to climb the top block on Napes Needle for over 90 years! This superb image was used as the cover of the 2007 FRCC climbing guidebook, Gable & Pillar. (Photo: Al Phizacklea)

Climb to the summit and belay by draping a large loop of rope around the overhang of the summit block on the west side (this is the ovehang seen in the photo above). Drop a second loop down to the south side and get your second to attach it to your belay on the Shoulder. Finally drop a third loop down the Gap side and get your second to lean round the "back" of the summit block and clip it into the cam that you placed there previously. Sit down firmly and tighten up these various loops using clove hitches.