 The
V5.12b or 5.10A4
(w/orig. 4th pitch)
-the first ascent
Unlikely as it was, now that I think about it; a climbing shop in Bakersfield, CA? It was a bit of a stretch, even though it was my home town. Outdoor activities unrelated to hunting, fishing or four-wheelin' in this town are still pretty foreign to most folks here. Then, if you can fathom the chance of two shops in 'B-Town'...well there was for a time.
The few of us at that time who were introduced to the activity of rock climbing could always be found hanging around the local climbing shops. They would be considered quaint when compared to today's super outdoor shops. There was lots of natural wood, gear hanging in every available space and the merchandising was as if it was some guy's closet. It was the simpleness of it all that I recall that was most appealing. What you saw is what you got. The shops were at times the venues to find willing partners and check out new gear. It was definitely the best place to listen to, exchange info on, dream up or read about anything concerning climbing a climber could ever want. There had been many trips conceived here as crazy ideas woven around bull-shit so deep you'd need a snorkel to stay in the room. I hung out at the shops enough that I should have had my own personal parking spot at each. Unfortunately, it was only a short period of time until there was only one climbing shop that B-town could support.
It is here that I got to be acquainted with one of the owners of the remaining shop in town, John Peca (pronounced: Pes-sah). John became part of the local outdoor scene through having his shop. He had a sort of 'John Denver look' with his blonde hair and little round glasses. John had a college education, but decided not to put his degree to work in the normal fashion. Instead he chose to be a retailer and put up with us climbing bums in the shop constantly. His mountaineering background kept us coming around and helped brew our interests.
On one particular visit to the shop John struck up a conversation with me about his desire to do a climb that he could bivouac on. John and I had climbed a couple times previously at the local 'Slabs' and an ascent of the South Face of Warlock Needle. We actually had our own mini epics on each trip too. Nonetheless, we got along well and still had good times; John with his dry humor and my tolerance of it. I had spent the night out on a few walls by this time and was always ready to go at a moments notice. Without hesitation, I mentioned to John that I had been eyeing a new line out at The Needles on the Warlock Needle. I knew the route was one that I would HAVE to do. I informed John that it would be the perfect route that we could spend a few days on.
I encouraged John to prepare the specialized gear that he would need on the ascent. Items such as ascenders, etriers, a hammock would be included on the list. I stressed the importance of setting up his ascenders correctly ahead of time in order to be efficient and safe. We got together a standard rack of Stoppers & Hexentrics, a small assortment of pitons, carabiners and two ropes. There was enough food and water packed for the both of us for the weekend. All seemed to be in order for our ascent.
It must have been a peculiar sight when we pulled up into the Needles parking area in John's new/used Mercedes sedan Friday night. Stepping out dressed in our climbing garb we were a sight only for ourselves to behold. Of course, the Needles hadn't yet seen the quantity of visitors it does these days. The place is deserted. To us, this place is always like this. It is October, 1977. We crashed out on the ground in the chill of the Southern Sierra autumn night near the meadow, excited about the adventure in store for us ahead.
John and I headed out on the trail to the Needles with our loads. It took some time to negotiate the Witch-Sorcerer Gully and then the tight squeeze through the bushes along the south side base of the Witch Needle. The terrain opened up finally and the boulders became nearly as big as a house. I found a perfect vantage point to view the route from the summit of one of the boulders near the base of the Warlock.
This
was the very first time either of us had been to the base of the
intended route. I had only viewed the line first on a recent evening
from Dome Rock a few miles to the south, then from the fire lookout on
the Magician Needle. The sight was daunting as we could view all but a
short section of the route from our platform on the boulder. In other
words, the route had to be close to vertical or overhanging to be able
to see close to 800 feet of stone from the base!
It
was a beautiful wall bright with the yellow lichens. The rock looked
solid and was white & golden granite. The line was simple, elegant
and direct. We were to follow a single crack system straight up the
southwest wall of the needle to a point just short of a huge curving
roof. There was a thin crack visible at that point that departed to the
right of the main crack and appeared to be the most direct path more
vertically up to a small stance. This could allow us easy access to a
huge sloping ledge and then a major corner that would get us to the
top. We knew that we had our work cut out for us. I had John choose
'odds or evens' to decide who would lead each pitch. He chose 'even'
and I had him swear that he would to hold to it so we could share the
burden of the work.
 Following
the line of the main crack system down from above, I found its origin
at the base. It was intermittent at best and steep. I opted to aid a
few moves especially since I was wearing boots, not climbing shoes. The
wisps of cracks accepted small stoppers easily. In a few moves I was
into the main crack system. Free climbing was not difficult here and I
stopped at a small stance about 45 meters up. Here the corner steepened
and turned incredibly vivid. It was so alive with yellow lichens that I
named it the 'Living Corner.' As I hauled the bag up, John came up big
wall style and 'jugged' up with his ascenders. We then realized that we
were going to need more time than what we had left this weekend to
complete this project. The days were awfully short due to the autumn,
so we fixed one of our ropes and rappelled down to the base. We had
just enough daylight to hike out and call it a weekend; happy with our
progress.
Returning
to the base of the route the next Saturday we ascended our fixed rope
to our high point. John free climbed up the Living Corner, wildly
stemming off features on both walls with the haul rope hanging in space
due to the steepness. The crack in the corner was a good size, but
merely for protection. It was quite an impressive lead. Totally
intimidating however not too difficult. John stopped a full rope length
out at a small sloping ledge below a bulging headwall. Here he placed
an anchor and a bolt to facilitate the hauling.
The
next pitch headed out right underneath a huge flake. The rock was a
little loose and threatening. I stepped out into space, carefully
aiding out right and then back left as the crack changed directions.
The rock quality turned better as I m oved past the overhang and onto a
more vertical section. Higher, the cracks got much thinner, but I was
able to secure a good anchor nuts pitons and two bolts at the point
where we had planned to follow the crack that departed up and right. It
was a full hanging affair here. I don't believe there's a more exposed
position at the Needles than this spot. It was very similar to being on
a Yosemite wall. The wall was virtually flawless, steep and white. I
explored the possibility of continuing left to the huge roof, however
the quality of the rock there appeared of less quality than on our
'direct' crack. The seam was the shortest line between the two points;
of where we were hanging and our destination. It took John quite some
time to jug and clean the pitch. I did not realize it at the time, but
John was struggling with the pack on his back as well as jugging the
steep (for the first time).
When John appeared over the lip of the overhang he cried out, "I almost died down there!!!"
His
ascenders had not been adjusted correctly for use on a wall this steep
and made his progress below even more difficult. I could not share in
his terror and made a dry remark on how I had asked him to make sure
his ascenders were 'right.' I w
as busy at the anchor. Daylight was now
waning and the October chill was about. By the time John slugged his
way to the belay I had our bivouac primed.
Bivouacs
can come in many variations on the side of a cliff. Starting with the
most welcome is a nice grassy ledge, then in decreasing order, the flat
rock ledge, the lumpy ledge, the gently sloping ledge, the very sloping
ledge, a stance, the butt cheek ledge, a sloping stance, hanging stance
and just hanging. Obviously, it is a matter of degrees; steepness and
comfort have a direct relationship to each other. The key on dealing
with each situation is to adapt as quickly as possible and remind
yourself it's only a temporary situation. I had our hammocks deployed,
food bag ready and all essential night gear on hand. In this world with
no floor, one must be careful not to drop anything and the most
important items are on their own leash. This is where carabiners come
in real handy. What a concept! We made short order of dinner, passing
our shared food back and forth between hammocks. The night was chilly,
but mild for October.
 In
the morning we were in full shade and it was pretty hard to get much
done in the autumn chill before 8 am. As with most walls we got all our
gear packed and it was now John's turn to forge ahead. The next lead up
and right was up a seam. It appeared to be much like the cracks in the
photos of 'The Shield' route on El Capitan that I had seen in Mountain
Magazine 44.
John stepped up to the plate. He checked his swing and looked back at me saying, "You know that I've never driven
a piton before."
"You're
kidding!" I laughed. "Don't worry, it's just like driving a nail into a
board. Just hold 'em steady so they won't vibrate too much," I remarked
about the postage stamp size pitons called RURPs (Realized Ultimate
Reality Piton) that John had to use for this lead.
John
used several RURPs in a row and when the crack opened up once he boldly
used a Leeper Cam Hook in a maximum inverted placement. After two bolts
in a blank spot and a couple of tiny Stoppers John acquired the tiny
stance above.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life." John reflected.
After
he placed two more bolts to make an anchor at the stance I ascended
into space and up to our new home. The stance measured about one foot
by two feet and was perfectly flat. It was situated in a position at
the very top edge of the overhanging wall we had climbed up; giving us
a clear view of the base of the route. The walls below were steep, gray
and streaked with black and yellow lichens. This view of the exposure
was so surreal here we dubbed the stance 'Excess Reality Ledge.' We
were glad to have this small place to stand instead of hang. The summit
corner loomed overhead.
I
made a few difficult moves above the ledge to gain a huge sloping area
that I could traverse to the right into the corner and belay. As I made
the traverse, huge updrafts of air blew my cap into oblivion. At that
precise moment I heard some screams coming from the direction of the
fire lookout. Feeling more like cavemen in our own separate world than
modern rock climbers, we hailed them back with a wave and continued
about our business. I later had found out that Richard Leversee had
appeared on the scene to climb the exact route we were on. Richard had
been the only person other than John that I had divulged my discovery
to. Before hiking out to the base of the Warlock, he had been showing
the climb off to his buddies through the telescope at the fire lookout
when he saw us enroute. Timing is everything! John had to manhandle and
drag the bag on the slab in order to help me haul it up to the anchor.
The base of the corner was truly an uncomfortable place.
John
climbed up the spectacular, vertical corner above aiding on nuts and a
few pitons. The climbing was straight forward and straight up. We were
dwarfed by the two enormous walls of the corner. The the route changed
in character totally from the wall below. Previously, we had hung
precariously and exposed. Now, we could nestle in false security by
'hiding' in the summit corner. When John finished with the lead we
decided to fix the rope at his high point and stay at the base of the
corner for another night. I actually think in this instance that a
fully hanging bivouac can be more comfortable than an extremely sloping
ledge. Adjusting to laying on a slab while keeping yourself from
sliding down or around is an all night maintenance project. 
After
a restless night we were on the move early. It is amazing of the
incentive one can muster to get off of a route. It is as if we could
smell the top. I guess that is what has been known as 'Summit Fever.'
In
the years after this, I have chuckled at the efforts to neophyte wall
climbers, remarking to them, "Yeah, you are going to spend all this
time making your plans to climb your route and even relish the thought
of living on it for days. I'll tell you, once you get up a ways, unless
you bail off, you're going to do everything in your power to get the
hell off the damn thing as fast as possible. Climbing walls can be like
beating yourself on the head with a hammer, only because it feels so
good when you stop."
I
continued up the corner on aid using mostly nuts and a couple of
pitons. We thought we would be up in no time at all. However, 'The Book
of Deception' seemed to never end. When the corner finally did end, I
was faced with some tricky face climbing and placed a bolt for
protection. I finally reached the southern tower of the Warlock Needle
about mid-day and fired in a couple of belay bolts. John and I quietly
gathered our gear and made tracks for the car. FOOTNOTES:
I
had named the route the 'Romantic Warrior' after a favorite progressive
jazz album by a group called Return to Forever. It seemed a name all to
appropriate at the time as I viewed the route from Dome Rock that one
evening with a telescope. The needle appeared to me as the knight in
armor did on the cover of the album jacket and was truly the one "in
armor gold" as in the poem, "Romantic Warrior" by Neville Potter.
During
the next season, Leversee attempted to repeat the route several times
with no success. A few of the times his partners refused to climb when
they saw the route from the base. Richard even told me about when he
had led the first pitch only to have one partner become "unresponsive
and comatose" at the base. I personally came along on one of the
attempts only to have one of the ropes get stuck in the crack along
with some other bizarre occurrences that quickly changed our minds
against climbing the route. I was so impressed with the beauty of the
route that I decided to return that same season and completed the
second ascent with Randy Powers in two days/one bivy. On this ascent he
was able to free climb the start at 5.10.
It
wasn't until the following season that Leversee and Ian Gill completed
the third ascent of the route. Ian made an impressive lead of the third
pitch, free climbing all but the last thin section to the belay anchor.
The pair was also able to complete the climb in one day.
In
1982, I ran into Tony Yaniro while at the Needles parking area. He had
mentioned that he was working on free climbing the route. I reflected
that I had figured that all but the RURP pitch would go free. I also
elaborated on the tiny nuts that he would need for climbing the 'Book
of Deception.' Tony and Randy Leavitt were successful in their efforts
in free climbing the route, except the RURP pitch. Here they climbed a
variation to the left of the seam and up past the huge curving roof.
The answer that I have for the 'FFA' controversy, well, you know, we had our adventure. Have you had your own?
 Voodoo Fetishes:
Three Classic Rock Climbs
on the Needles'
Voodoo Dome
by E.C. Joe
The Western slope of the Sierra Nevada is a rock climber's paradise. The foothills to the high peaks are conveniently adorned with granite domes; the route selection is endless. While each particular dome is different, one route on any given dome at times, can be a classic example of what the remaining routes on that dome may be like (i.e., the type of rock, features, moves, etc.). The Needles of the Southern Sierra are a remarkable cluster of spires and domes; Voodoo Dome is amongst them. Voodoo Dome has many routes that do not follow this formula.
Voodoo Dome is arguably the most monolithic rock at the Needles, rising some 900 feet out of the ponderosa forest. Along with its sunny Southern exposure, the climbing routes can vary from a "Summer Sojourn" of easy face climbing to the horrendous splitter cracks of "Pea Soup." The lion's share of the climbing routes on this fine dome are typically full day outings of multi-pitch adventure on near perfect granite in a wilderness setting. Any route at the Needles is certain to allow the willing participants to be able to immerse themselves with rock climbing at its best. Of course, careful preparation and consideration for being self-sufficient is tantamount for any venture in a wilderness environment.
There are many Voodoo Fetishes. The three routes chosen for this article are well worth noting. Each route is a truly unique experience and has character that is their very own; the character that classic routes are made of.
Crossbones, IV 5.10
It was late autumn of 1992. The cold, crisp mornings at Needlerock Creek were typical for mid November. The quantity of climbers here during our visit was also pretty normal too; none, except us.
Like most new prospective lines, for me, visualizing the route is usually straight forward. Others, like this one, lay hidden in my mental 'blind spot' for quite some time. Then, mysteriously, something triggered an epiphany about this classic, one thousand foot face climb. Which in turn, was followed by my obsession to climb it.
I intercepted a willing and capable partner, Eric Gable from the Bay Area to join me in climbing this new line on Voodoo Dome. A frequent customer at the rock climbing shop that I managed, he was easy to enlist in the project. Gable was a 'hungry' climber. His desire to climb just about took precedent over much of anything else. Besides, being of amiable character, I liked the fact that Gable just liked "being here" in the mountains, hanging out.
We shouldered our loads in the early morning and made the hour long trudge to the base of our intended route: the long arete that formed the left side of the route that was known as "The Skull." Above the arete, it was not entirely clear where we would be able to go, but that didn't shake our enthusiasm.
After starting on the left side of a huge flake that formed a short hand crack, I quickly led through some fun, but scantily protected face climbing and a short, easy crack. This got us onto a good ledge at the base of the final arete. Above this, Gable made a spectacular lead up the steep arete using a tied off horn as well as placing a couple of bolts on the way for protection. The belay stance was situated just before the arete arched right and became the huge roof of The Skull.
I ventured up and left, with only a questionable piton behind a small flake for protection. My probe had poor results. Gable also took a turn at the face above, which was visibly devoid of any stances from which to drill a protection bolt from. Boldly securing himself with a skyhook in order to drill a protection bolt, he was immediately overruled. The hook placement was gone and Gable's ankle was sprained. We then found ourselves retreating, leaving just about everything, including a few fixed ropes, which enabled us to make haste, in light of the situation.
By morning, Gable's ankle was no better. While he hung out at the van, I went back up to retrieve our gear. Climbing with the fixed ropes for a top rope and rope soloing one pitch, I returned to our last belay point. Continuing to rope solo, I probed around and discovered a possible way up the next section that had stances for us to drill from. After my investigation, I retrieved all of our gear and retreated to the ground. Muscling a severe load of gear that was meant for two of us, I returned back to Needlerock Creek and my convalescing partner; then headed for home. That next week it snowed in the Sierra and the roads to the Needles were closed until the following Spring. Patience...
May, 1993 had arrived and I was ready to go; Gable, nursing another injury, was not. Norman Boles, another Bay Area resident and avid climber enlisted for the project. Norman had plenty of first ascent experience to his credit too. He knew, that I knew, that he knew, that I really wanted to do this route. Both Norman and I had just come out of hibernation. This would be our wake up call!
Again, it was an early start from Needlerock Creek. In order to speed up the process, so we could get to the new climbing, I led the three pitches to the last belay point. Moving to the left of our belay, I traversed a short ledge and brought Norman over to the start of a more probable passage. Here, I found difficult, steep face climbing including friction, slopers, edges and mantles. Drilling from stances, I eventually, used up the full rope and eight protection bolts. Hanging from the belay bolts, while belaying Norman, I gazed at the next lead. The section above was not as steep as the last pitch, but it appeared almost featureless, except for a couple of possible stances waaay out there.
As Norman approached the anchor, I expressed our common knowledge about his mastery of friction and that the next lead had his name all over it. Norman graciously declined. I suppose he was a bit more cautious than I was about jumping off the couch. The lead turned out to be a exercise in self-control. There were only two stances, therefore I could only place two protection bolts in a full rope length of 5.9 friction. At least they were evenly spaced out! I told Norman that he didn't know what he was missing. He replied to the contrary.
Moving our belay slightly to the right, Norman and I were able to access a short right facing corner formed by a huge flake. Norman gave me the, "It's your route, man." I suppose that meant that I was to be responsible for this whole idea; climbing this thing. So, I racked up. Above this, was face climbing up a knobby wall. I was able to tie off a few of the knobs for protection; so different from the previous pitch! In the absence of any more good knobs, a couple of bolts got the job done. This lead was a full rope length again. Gazing above our belay, we realized that there was still more work to be done.
On the next lead the terrain was not as difficult as the last, but again this was a pitch with a character and features all its own; not knobby or real smooth. It was yet another classic, airy full rope length of face climbing on Voodoo Dome. The ledge at the end of this lead was a relief from our toils. The final lead went to the right up a parallel pair of peculiar, but fun two inch wide water cracks, followed by a long section of friction. This led to an unroping spot on Voodoo's Southeast shoulder and the end of our Spring training!
Crossbones is one of the longest face climbs at the Needles. The unrelenting nature of its passages will thrill many adventurers as a Needles' Classic!
Voodoo Chil, III 5.9
I met Ron Felton at the mountain shop I worked at. Ron was a neophyte climber and I enjoyed his candid, enthusiastic view of the world and climbing that he was always glad to share on his visits to the shop. It wasn't very long until I had invited Ron and his buddies along on an outing. Even though I was pretty busy instructing a climbing course that weekend, during my off time, the meter was still runnin'. I had promised Ron earlier on that Saturday that we would get together and do a route. When most people were retiring about camp Saturday night, we were just racking up. Ron, Jimmy Wright and I did a new multi-pitch route by a full moon that eluded us our whole journey up the rock. Epic as it wasn't, our climb, "Saturday Night Special" set the stage for Ron and I to venture into new territory together in the future.
That future was not too far away. Recently, I had just finished a new route on Voodoo Dome called Crossbones. During the time I had spent scoping that route out, I spotted yet another project to start on. This next line was probably the most direct route up the South Face of Voodoo Dome that I had ever seen. Ron and I packed up his Dodge van for our voyage. Ron seemed to have the van camping thing down, he had just enough creature comforts that we would need for hanging out, even a set of homemade stools and table was a welcome addition to our gear. We set up our basecamp at Needlerock Creek, both of us excited to do this new route.
When preparing for such ventures, a 'basic' rack would be needed to help insure our success and provide us with adequate protection. One set of micro, wired nuts & Stoppers was always a good start. Since it appeared that there were some cracks to encounter on the way, a double set of cams was in order, from tiny finger tip sizes to about three inches. To round things out we tossed in one four inch size cam and the first three sizes of Tri-Cams, 'just in case'. One lead rope, a lightweight haul line, ten slings, eight quick draws, twenty carabiners, a bolt kit and hammer were added to the pile as well. Windbreakers, a light micro fleece, fleece gloves, hats and headlamps considered standard equipment at the Needles were not to be forgotten. Along with all the gear, there were four liters of water, ERG and 'wall munchies' like, energy bars. Now, the difficult part was to organize the gear into two backpacks, then move it to the base of the rock.
However, we first needed to have some dinner and get some rest. Ron conjured up a one pot stew with some fixin's on the side. There was plenty to go around. So much, that we should have invited two more people! Certain that we would need as much energy as possible for the next day's climb, I was intent on finishing off the stew, which I did to Ron's surprise. Even though there was the absence of a warm campfire, it didn't stop us from weaving some entertaining tales for each other. The finale of the evening was Ron's animated description of a climb that had him falling backwards over one of the stools, disappearing in a cloud of dust over the edge of the road!
Timing is everything, so we made sure that we arrived at the base of our intended project in order to start climbing at first daylight. The start of the route was in a crack situated on the right of two peculiar massive blocks that are just left of center along the base of the South face. I pointed out the line, which for a considerable distance, followed a line of cracks as far as we could see from this vantage point. A distinctive feature was a huge roof that was in the shape of a backwards 'L'. Our proposed crack system passed this feature on its right side. Ron took the first lead up the crack. Things were going well, until he was faced with a wide section near the crack's end. Ron had never encountered wide stuff like that before, but quickly mastered the problem.
From the top of the block we moved the belay inward towards the main wall at the base of a short right facing corner with a nice straight in hand crack to its right. I followed the hand crack up to a point where it turned into a left facing corner. I only continued up the corner a short distance, just enough to allow me to negotiate a traverse left to the start of a thin hand crack; stopping at a small stance a short distance below a small roof that was on the left side of the crack.
The cracks ahead thinned out considerably requiring Ron to do some tricky stem moves to move up to bypass the small roof. Above, the crack opened up, but continued to stay interesting. Ron belayed from a convenient ledge for two at the base of the backwards 'L' roof. We were excited that the climbing had been quality so far, but we couldn't see beyond the huge roof.
I made a couple of awkward moves around the right side of the roof to find that there were two possible cracks to follow above. After some investigation, it proved that the right crack was to be the best path to take. This crack was extremely thin, but graced with just enough features on the adjacent face to the right, and it was only 5.9! After several moves the crack widened to heavenly hand size and I belayed at large block below a headwall on a sloping ledge. An easy pitch followed where we moved left, then right behind a huge flake to a belay below the middle of the upper face of Voodoo Dome. Placing two bolts for protec-tion, I worked the features up and left to a good belay ledge where I placed two belay bolts.
We now were below the wide open face directly in the center of the South Face of Voodoo Dome! Since there were no cracks in this next section, all Ron would need for the lead would be some slings, carabiners, quick draws and a bolt kit. Ron made good of our direct ascent, finding outstanding features on which to move up on. This section of the rock is not too much different than an immense "Titlest," where the climber carefully balances up on the dimples! Ron placed four bolts in this long lead getting us to the huge pine tree on the ledge one rope length from the unroping spot.
Moving the belay to the right a few yards, I continued up some more superb, featured granite, placing three more protection bolts and two belay bolts. The Voodoo Chil was born that day. Its beautiful direct line consisting of superb cracks and face climbing is certainly a hidden classic!
White Punks, III 5.8
It was spring of 1976 Scott Edmiaston and I were up to our usual antics of hanging out in the Kern River Canyon. Climbing was still pretty new to us but we had made an unconscious commitment of immersing ourselves in this fascinating activity. The freedom to explore new terrain and create a different adventure each day was truly addicting. As climbers, we had a blank slate but which to draw, given the vast resources of rock we had in our backyard.
During our ventures to "The Canyon" we encountered Richard Leversee, an individual with similar vision to ours. Richard had the good fortune to have a base camp at his parents cabin at Camp Nelson near Dome Rock and the Needles. Richard's main focus had been at Dome Rock, where he pioneered many of that rock's classic routes. However, on this occasion, Richard had mention of a new line to climb on Voodoo Dome, the most massive formation of the Needles and one of the tallest as well. This open invitation had Richard and his partner Todd Burrell, Scott and myself embarking immediately on a very special adventure.
We negotiated various game trails starting just north of Needlerock Creek below the dome. The route, situated left of center on Voodoo Dome's broad south face was to follow a series of cracks to a long section of slab below the top. Richard forged ahead on the initial lead up a broad left facing corner below the apex of a colorful arch/headwall. Climbing a wonderfully featured straight-in crack, he stopped at a small stance to belay just as the cracks seemed to disappear. Todd led through, finding good, but sparse protection on delicate face moves to the headwall above. Showing true boldness, Todd didn't hesitate to master the moves over the headwall. Adding to our awe of his boldness was watching Todd downclimb the move after he realized how wild the exposure was at the lip! After rationalizing for a minute, Todd continued up, finding a great belay in an cave hidden above the headwall.
While Scott was climbing up, I tunneled through a hole at the top of the cave and scrambled up an easy and interesting chimney. Richard and I made it to a large ledge below an impressive wavelike left facing corner while Scott and Todd followed. Richard and I took turns mastering moves up past some plants and sod at the thinnest spot of the crack in the corner. Richard finally made it through with some continuous finger laybacking. Higher, the crack in the corner cut left into a small roof and back to a corner again. The crack at this point became about eight inches wide and with no protection to fit for the next thirty feet, Richard decided to squeeze chimney! A fall back into the main corner would not be pretty from his position. After thrilling himself and the rest of us emotionally, Richard hauled himself onto a beautiful small ledge below a huge expanse of slab. While following Richard's lead we discovered that though scarier, that an undercling to a layback was much less traumatic than his squeeze chimney.
I took the next lead, heading directly right from our belay a few feet to a system of black knobs. I then ran it out straight-up to a big stance and placed a bolt. Delicate moves out right and up got me to a faint watercourse where I was able to place two more bolts on the way. Heading for a huge pine tree on a ledge above took some route finding. Climbing down a bit, or to the side, then up, and back was pretty standard for this pitch. The final run-out to the tree was pretty horrendous. That fact hadn't occurred to me while I focused on the climbing. Little did I know, but everyone at the belay was wagering on the quantity of the bolts that I would place on that lead!
We discovered a great finger crack to be the final pitch left of the huge pine tree. Richard went ahead and soon got us all on easier terrain and the summit at dusk. We slowly picked our way through the forest back down to Needlerock Creek. Truly, the descent was more epic that our climb. We had to crab craw without the aid of lights for what seemed like an eternity.
Since that day, many others have passed by way of this route, to enjoy its continuously fun and varied climbing. I personally have returned just about each year since to recapture the those great moves. The route has changed little since 1976. The plants in the corner have since been cleaned and the old bolts have been replaced. White Punks is considered by some to be the best moderate freeclimb in the Southern Sierra. I hope it will continue to be an inspiration to others as it has been to me in the search of the climbing experience.
 Crossbones Topo .pdf
Voodoo Chil Topo .pdf
White Punks Topo .pdf
Voodoo Dome Topo .pdf
Needles Area Topo .pdf
TopoZone USGS Map of the Needles Area - link
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30 years after its first ascent, the Romantic Warrior is featured on the
cover and in the text of the book, "Fifty Favorite Climbs, The Ultimate
North American Tick List" by Mark Kroese. I have had some individuals
ask me a few questions about the route and its history. One individual
climber I spoke to questions the validity of the 'First Free Ascent' by
Yaniro & Leavitt. He stated that due to their variation to the
original route, the route truly has not been completely free climbed.
On a different note, I thought that by writing this story I could least
shed some positive light on this remarkable route's history.
- ec
"Without hesitation, I mentioned to John that I had been eyeing
a new line out at The Needles on the Warlock Needle. I knew the route
was one that I would HAVE to do."
"The sight was daunting as we could view all but a
short section of the route from our platform on the boulder. In other
words, the route had to be close to vertical or overhanging to be able
to see close to 800 feet of stone from the base!"
"I don't believe there's a more exposed
position at the Needles than this spot. It was very similar to being on
a Yosemite wall. The wall was virtually flawless, steep and white."
"The walls below were steep, gray
and streaked with black and yellow lichens. This view of the exposure
was so surreal here we dubbed the stance Excess Reality Ledge."
"Yeah, you are going to spend all this
time making your plans to climb your route and even relish the thought
of living on it for days. I'll tell you, once you get up a ways, unless
you bail off, you're going to do everything in your power to get the
hell off the damn thing as fast as possible. Climbing walls can be like
beating yourself on the head with a hammer, only because it feels so
good when you stop." "Any route at the Needles is certain to allow the willing participants to be able to immerse themselves with rock climbing at its best."
"Like most new prospective lines, for me, visualizing the route is usually straight forward. Others, like this one, lay hidden in my mental 'blind spot' for quite some time."
"The lead turned out to be a exercise in self-control. There were only two stances, therefore I could only place two protection bolts in a full rope length of 5.9 friction."
"Windbreakers, a light micro fleece, fleece gloves, hats and headlamps considered standard equipment at the Needles were not to be forgotten."
"This
section of the rock is not too much different than an immense
"Titlest," where the climber carefully balances up on the dimples!"
"The freedom to explore new terrain and create a different adventure each day was truly addicting. As climbers, we had a blank slate but which to draw, given the vast resources of rock we had in our backyard."
"White
Punks is considered by some to be the best moderate freeclimb in the
Southern Sierra. I hope it will continue to be an inspiration to others
as it has been to me in the search of the climbing experience."
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