Last week, I joined four friends to climb in one of the most magical areas in California. Yellow and orange lichen make the rock explode in color. The formation names: The Sorcerer, the Witch, the Magician and the Warlock, add to the magic of The Needles.
Located in the Sequoia National Forest, a series of granite spires compose the Needles. The narrow ridge that hosts the luminescent rock sirs high above the Kern River and offers perfect rock, amazing scenery, remote climbing and lots of adventure. A long three mile hike from the trailhead campsite into the climbing and the lack of cell phone service for forty miles added to the mystique of the area. For years, there was a fire lookout on top of one of the spires. A woman inside watched for fires during the summer months and baked cookies for climbers. Unfortunately, the lookout burned down a few years ago due to a propane accident.
Fred Beckey, Herb Laeger, E.C. Joe and others developed many of the early routes in the 1970s. In the 1980s, Mike Lechlinski and Tom Gilje added a number of amazing routes to lines like Thin Ice (5.10c), Igor Unchained (5.9), Airy Interlude (5.10a), Spook Book (5.10d), Don Juan Wall (5.11b) and Atlantis (5.11d). Randy Leavitt and Tony Yaniro arrived to free some of the amazing harder lines like Pyromania (5.13b), Romantic Warrior (5.12b) and Scirocco (5.12b).
We spent our time climbing the three pitch routes Don Juan Wall, Thin Ice, and Atlantis. I projected Pyromania and climbed the thin crack on toprope but the thin gear and technical climbing thwarted my lead attempts.
Unfortunately the Needles guide book, “Southern Sierra Rock Climbing: The Needles Area,” by Moser, Vernon, and Paul, is currently out of print. Mountain Project, Clint Cummins website and other areas online offer topos.
The Needles climbing season runs from May until November but despite it’s location at 8,000 feet, it can be hot during the summer months. The road into the Needles, FS-21S05, can be closed due to snow in the early season. Call the Ranger Station at Kernville (760-376-3781) or Porterville (559-784-1500) for current conditions.
