All things wild and granitic, in one 300-foot rock climb

Forecast Radar Cameras

Every story you've heard about the Needles (California) is true: the place does feel haunted, and the climbing is that good. Towering cones of granite claim the horizon of this wonderland, perched at 8,000 feet in the Sierras near the edge of the Kern River Wilderness. You earn your summits here, given the Needles’ fluctuating temperatures, howling winds, and constant exposure.

Although you might not notice it at first, one of the Needles’ better domes is the Wizard, a narrow, 300-foot formation just downhill from its better-known sibling, the Sorcerer. Beneath the Wizard’s distinctive, cone-shaped “hat” (sometimes home to peregrine falcons), a perfect swath of yellow lichen streaks the west face. Yellow Brick Road ascends this via varied, quintessential Needles climbing — face, offwidth, thin (splitter) crack, and roof — all in two (or three) pitches.

Do the up-down, up-down-again trot to the formations, drop down the gully between the Djin and the Charlatan needles, and then cut across slabs to the route’s base. Begin climbing at a small, twisted pine 15 feet left of the Yellow Brick Road crack itself, traversing into the fissure via flakes and edges. The first pitch typically ends where the crack widens, but if you have the juice, link on through the offwidth for a 200-foot monster pitch. Legend has it a member of the second-ascent party, while following, lodged his knee irretrievably in the wide crack. His partner rappelled to earth and ran to the nearby fire lookout, where he begged the tower attendant for a squeeze bottle of salad oil. He soon returned to orchestrate a saucy rescue, and the bottle remains wedged in the offwidth to this day.

To begin the final pitch, belay from the ledge splitting the west face, heading into a right-facing corner. Thin gear leads to large horizontals below the “hat,” surmounted via a few strenuous moves through the bulging rim. The views of the Kern River Valley from here are epic.

To descend, rap (north) 50 feet to chain anchors, and then make a 165-foot rappel to the ground. Find yourself on the route at dusk, and you might just witness the vibrantly lichened Wizard glowing in Technicolor around you — a haunting glimpse of the wild and windswept Needles at their finest.