The peak of the Tower of Orthanc was marked by four razor-edged points, and between them was a space where a man could stand. Reached only by a stairway of thousands of narrow steps, Saruman would climb to the Pinnacle of the Orthanc to watch the stars. On the polished stone floor of the Pinnacle were a series of strange figures, which were perhaps connected with Saruman's star-watching.

It was on this Pinnacle that Saruman imprisoned Gandalf in the early days of the War of the Ring. Five hundred feet above the Ring of Isengard, there seemed little hope of rescue, but Radagast sent the Eagle Gwaihir, and so Gandalf was able to escape the Pinnacle of Orthanc.