Yellow Brick Road (5.9+) - Wizard Needle, California

Five More Classic Routes at the Needles, California

By Majka Burhardt / majkaburhardt.com

Airy Interlude (5.10b) — This is perhaps the most obvious crack in the Needles: a brilliant horizontal on the west face on The Witch, the formation opposite the Sorcerer in the main gulley. Gear to #2, need three 1/2" to really make the traverse pitch safe for the follower. Small gear for third belay. Rap anchors at the top. 

Igor Unchained (5.9) — When you walk down the gully to the base of Airy, you'll see an obvious crack that goes straight up four pitches to join airy on the last pitch. Gear to three inches, massive pin is the first belay, ledge for second belay, small gear for third belay, rap anchor fourth. 

Thin Ice (5.10b) — The east face of the Sorcerer is home of the a dense array of Needles classics. Start with Thin Ice, a three pitch finger and hand crack splitting the face in the middle. The northern reaches of the face go into the shade soon, so layer up if cold is a possibility and you want to feel your fingers. Standard rack to a #4, doubles .2-,75. A rappel descent is possible down the face, or the standard Sorcerer descent route. After finishing the descent route off the Sorcerer, you'll arrive at the bottom of Spooky, which makes for a great end-of-the-day link-up. 

Atlantis (5.11c) — Step it up post Thin Ice to Atlantis. The 5.10c starting pitch combines laybacking, flake pulling, and stemming to warm you up for the off the belay crux (the second or third pitch, depending on how you do it). Mirco cams and an attentive belayer keep you safe as you power through shallow liebacks and highsteps into a dreamy handcrack above. 

Spooky (5.9) — Don’t be fooled by the name, this 5.9 is the Needles exemplified. Tucked into the east face of the Charlatan Needle, this three-pitch face and crack climb winds its way to yet another dome summit. Read the Classic Climb description by Jim Thornburg HERE

Also, check out Michael Reardon's Five More Classics at the Needles

The Beta
Guidebooks: The out-of-print Southern Sierra Rock Climbing: Needles (1992), by Sally Moser, Greg Vernon, and Patrick Paul. More easily, find a mini-guide at monsteroffwidth.com (Cummins and Cooper).
Equipment Shop: Mountain River Adventures (Kernville): (800) 861-6553, mtnriver.com
Season: May through October
Rack: Thin nuts, cams to four inches (optional to five); tagline or double ropes

Show us your photo of Yellow Brick Road and win an Asana talon hangboard!
Log on to climbing.com’s Photo Post, submit your Yellow Brick Road images to the Classic Climbs folder, and we’ll hook up our favorite with this slick Asana hangboard, bizzlin’ with jugs, slopers, crimps, and pockets.