The Needles

I got off work at 7.30 in the morning on Friday the 21st. Frank arrived a little after I did and we were off, or were we? Seemed my van didn't want to start! I haven't had any problems with the van since I put in a new starter, battery and alternator over a month ago. Of course, the little microchip that senses when you really need your car to start never seems to malfunction.

One hour and one solenoid later we were off. The trip up there was without incident, although we went to highway 190 through Porterville and found the last 30 miles to be the longest set of curves I have ever seen. On the way back home, we drove to California Hot Springs and through Earlimart to highway 99. We found this route to be much easier and faster. It took us around 5 hours from Orange County and around 4 1/2 hours to drive back.

Frank knew of a restaurant called The Ponderosa, a mile from the road to the Needles trailhead, so we decided to check it out. We had the chicken the first night and it was good, although the amount wasn't enough to satisfy someone who is hungry, which of course we always are. Subsequently, we found the club sandwich to be more to our liking.

Some beers and a couple of miles later we were at the trailhead.

The next morning was really nice and after coffee and breakfast we were off. The trail to the Needles is about three miles and we took our time, since the view was great and pictures had to be taken. At the ranger station lookout we met the resident ranger, Margie. Margie is one of the few rangers I have ever met that actually likes climbers. She really helped by giving us beta on the best way, the climbers trail, to the Needles and said that she bakes cookies on Sundays for the climbers. Cool, I made a note of that!

We got to the notch between the Sorcerer and the Witch Needles. What a great view of Airy Interlude and Igor Unchained on one side and Thin Ice on the other! In one word I would have to say that they looked scary! I have never seen so much continuously steep granite other than at the top of El Cap!

We decided to do Igor Unchained (5.9) first. I started out on the cleanest handsized crack that went for over two hundred feet with less that 1/2 inch variance all the way up! I got three quarters of the way up and pumped out. Frank was surprised and so was I. It's just that it was so continuous; there were no rests! After a shake-out I finished the pitch and Frank lead the second, short, pitch. I hesitantly lead the third pitch and I'm glad I did. After the first part the climbing changes to more like Tahquitz, with a good mix of climbing, i.e., finger, hand and stemming.

After rapping from the top we went down and got ready to climb Airy Interlude (5.10A). There were two girls on Igor. The leader looked really strong, even though she was using hexes. She got to the place where I pumped out and took tension. I knew that was tough! I led the first pitch Of Airy, it probably wasn't any harder than 5.7, and was at the belay pretty fast. Afterwards, Frank and I talked about it and we decided that we wouldn't do the first pitch again, since you can start the second pitch from a ramp that avoids this first pitch.

It was Frank's turn to lead and he styled the whole pitch. I followed it and found it to be really fun. It's steep but has shallow dimples on the face that make it possible - and really fun - since you can walk your feet on what looks like nothing.

Frank set up the belay right after the roof and the leader on Igor was just under where Airy converges on Igor. She ask me if I wanted to go first. I told her no way, since she was leading. She seemed really cool. After she passed Frank, I came up and started the last pitch of Igor and reach the top right after the girl did. We started talking and I found out that she lived in Santa Monica, quit her job to climb full time, and her name was Kelly.

Frank cranked up the last pitch and we were on our way to the van. At the van we had one beer and opened another as we started for town. We finished the beer just before the highway. So if you ask us how long the dirt road is, we can tell you. In Edward Abbey distances, it's just a short, one beer, road.

At The Ponderosa we ate dinner, had some beers, O.K. more than some, and played pool. Now this is the kind of climbing trip I like! Where you're just one beer away from dinner and a bar. I told Frank that it was just like the Legion in Idyllwild except that the live music is better at The Ponderosa. Frank said that the music sucked. "Ya", I said, "but you haven't heard Guy at the legion, who only plays old showtoons!" I stopped going to the legion on Fridays when I started having "Hello Dolly nightmares"!

Margie was there with a stud on both sides but she recognized me and said, "Hi Jim". Wow, I was really surprised that she remembered my name. I asked her if she would be making cookies tomorrow and she said yes. I bought a half gallon of milk and put it in the cooler in my van.

The next morning we were a little slower than the day before but got a good start anyway. At the lookout, the gate was closed so I left the milk under the steps in the shade.

We started down to the base of Thin Ice (5.10B). When we got to the base of the climb we noticed Kelly at the notch, waved to her and yelled for her to come on down, which she did with her friend and her friend's boyfriend. Frank took off on the first 5.9+ dihedral. He looked really solid. Where the dihedral turns to a finger crack, he went up some then started liebacking the crack to the right. From there he did three face moves over to a ramp on the right. I knew he was now off route and going towards Atlantis (5.11+) but it was too late to do anything, so he went up to where Atlantis meets Thin Ice again, forever to be known as Frank's variation. He set up a belay and I started up. I did the dihedral and looked at the face moves. I really didn't like the thought of the 35 foot pendulum with the crux at the start! I was able to get the rope behind a flake and make it across, but I didn't like it!

Kelly started leading Thin Ice to put up a toprope for her friends. She looked even more solid than yesterday, even on the 10b part. I was really trying to talk her and Frank into finishing the climb and letting me rap but they wouldn't have any of that. I hate it when they gang up like that. Kelly rapped and Frank started the second pitch, a flaring chimney forty feet long. It's 10a but probably gets as many falls, if not more, than the first pitch. When I followed, all I can say is that it's the best quality chimney, if you think that there is any quality in a chimney!

The last 5.9 pitch was as beautiful as the rest of the climb. I think that, for its grade, Thin Ice is as good if not better than The Vampire.

At the lookout we feasted on cookies and milk as Patrick Paul topped out on a climb that finishes at the lookout. What's it called you ask? Cookies on Sunday, of course! After that we ended up at The Ponderosa and then back at the trailhead.

On the last night Margie said that the weather was going to be much cooler and windy. Although the morning looked about the same as the other days, I knew that if the weather was bad we wouldn't climb, so I had already figured that we would hike in, get our stashed stuff and hike out.

By the time we got to the notch it was rather windy and a little bit cooler, but not as cold as predicted. The thought of fighting the wind really didn't interest me, so we decided to hike over to Voodoo Dome, which is the furthest away, and check out the approach to White Punks on Dope (5.8), said to be the best moderate climb in southern California. We found that it would be possible to do it in a day if you camped at the notch.

After that we hiked back and drove out and back to Santa Ana knowing that we would definitely be back.

Comments?

• Fri Mar 17 bonjour, jeannoel (51)