Trip Report
Trip Report: In search of the best crack at the Needles
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Monday November 4, 2013 10:37am
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Aaron Cassebeer
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About the Author
Aaron Cassebeer is a climber from Mojave, CA. |
Comments
Dapper Dan
Trad climber
Redwood City
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what a beautiful crack ...
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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Nice Job ! That looks awesome. Thanks !
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Very cool crack...
My first BBQ was climbing that thing, aid on hexs...... But I think the 12 section is on P2....A3 or 12a
It's stacked KB's for like 25 feet, I have never spoke to anybody who said they did it free.
Maybe Kris will set the record straight with the new GB....
Good job on sending this one. Its harrd 4sure.
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pvalchev
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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Glorious looking crack, as always in the Needles! Thanks for the TR!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Impressive!!
So how hard is that Emperor thing anyway? You know, just in case it doesn't say it on every single photo....heh..heh...
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Nov 11, 2013 - 03:02pm PT
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Just for the record; I did the first ascent of the Emperor crack back in 1970…..not free, but the OP mentioned the FA. The American Joe Brown followed me up. We nailed it back then while doing the first 3 pitches of PEA SOUP. We got about 1/2 way up the first ascent of Pea Soup on that occasion and left fixed ropes. I went back with Fred Beckey to finish the climb months later. I did do some interesting face moves up higher above the little alcove at the top of the Emperor. From the alcove belay I moved out and left and got onto the chicken-head face out over there. There’s a sloping chicken head mantle that I put in a bolt above (only part way in and tied it off) and then climbed the face above. I’ve been trying to get somebody to go up there to see how real it is. It’s relatively difficult above 5.10 somewhere. Above the bolt it is blank so I let my body slide to the right with body friction until I could grab a small lie-back flake and move up with that. Anyway, it basically bypasses the easy gully above the alcove and makes a better climb of the wall. I did that section also when I was up there with Joe.
It seems like the Emperor is a bit like 'City Park' at Index Town Wall (5.13d), but slightly wider and with sharper edges and features. I've aided City Park too, but clean. :>)
Thanks, Dan McHale
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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First pitch is 5.11c. Second is some kind of 5.12. It eluded me when I tried it. IMO harder than .12a...
Looks like y'all had a great time on one of the best Needles cracks.
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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So Kris, I'm not sure I'm following this right. Are the photos of the first pitch?
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Great photos!
Here a couple of overlays which show the general location, and might help other people find it more quickly.
But Kris' guide will help even more!
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Thanks for the history McHale!
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cultureshock
Trad climber
Mountain View
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Awesome photos Aaron!
Thanks for a location shot Clint.
Looks like there are some other sweet cracks and dihedrals near by. Can anyone draw in some of these other lines?
The Skull, 5.11+ - Five pitches.
Millenium Falcon, 5.13b
The Dark Side, 5.12+
Aurora Austrialus, 5.12a
Aurora Borealus, 5.12
I got those names from here: http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/needles/p18.pdf
But the quality of that scan is pretty bad...
Was hoping for another overlay like this one:
http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/needles/Voodoo_Alexander_8382a.jpg
Wanna bridge the gap until the new guide comes out!
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Nov 11, 2013 - 05:22pm PT
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Hey Darwin. It's funny, I remembered quite a bit from my time up there with Joe, but I remember zero from when I was with Beckey. Memory from once we got to the high-point of where me and Joe got to is a blank. I do remember Jumaring up the old green military goldline type rope me and Joe had left. It had been hanging up there for quite a few months. That was the crux of going back - that rope was wimpy to start with. I read Beckey's old account in the AAJ and I have no clue of having done any of the upper climb. One clue is that I had a bad case of something like ADHD in High School and could blank out big swathes of time. I remember starting to redo the crux climing on the chicken-head face I had done with Joe, but with Beckey it seemed like we were pressed for time so we probably just headed up the easiest way possible to 'bag' the rest of the climb.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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But the quality of that scan is pretty bad... haha, that is putting it mildly.
Sure, Luke - I've drawn those other climbs in for you:
Note: I have not done all these climbs; this is just a projection of the Moser-Vernon-Paul topos onto Alexander's photo, using the free GIMP image editing software.
[and with Kris' correction to Millenium Falcon]
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Thanks for the TR. That's one fine looking crack!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nice, nice, nice.....still haven't been there, no excuses.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Me too!
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Say YES to crack!!!!!
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Ksolem
Trad climber
Monrovia, California
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Millenium Falcon starts well right of where shown, on the blunt arete left of Emperor. This will be obvious to anyone looking for it, that is where the bolts are.
To the right of Double Jeopardy, across the clean face, is an arete. It is not as blunt as appears in the photo. When you're up there you'll see the bolts. This is "Supernova," 5.12b, Carson-Yaniro, ***.
The left arching but right facing corner just to the right of Supernova is "The Light Side," 5.11 a/b, Carson-Leversee, ***. Climb a short pitch with cruxy stemming to a good ledge. Pitch 2 continues up the fantastic corner through overhangs to a rap station. Of course one could link with Double Jeopardy to the top.
Just to the left of Ewok is a prominent flake with bolts. This is a fun little sport climb called Broken Arrow. 5.11a, Brian Jonas-Ron Carson, **.
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Leggs
Sport climber
Made in California, living in The Old Pueblo
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Fantastic photos, Aaron.
TR's are the best thing about the Taco.
TFPU!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Thanks, Kris - I corrected the overlay for Millenium Falcon,
to move the bolts over to the blunt arete.
This is a good example of why real knowledge is a lot better than semi-blindly reproducing an old topo.
I hope work on the real guide is going well!
Kris, I didn't add the other routes you mentioned, but I could take a try at it.
The "eric and lucie" photo shows the sharp arete, but I haven't asked them for the original version.
Do you already have (or plan to make) a good photo overlay of this section for the guidebook?
Or are you using a topo diagram here? That would be quite good also.
I think some people download photo overlays like this to their smartphone
and take them to the crag in case they have trouble identifying the routes.
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Aaron Cassebeer
climber
Mojave, CA
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Author's Reply
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Nov 5, 2013 - 10:32am PT
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Luke, this area is well worth visiting for a day or even a weekend. There are several other routes at the same anchor as Ewok that you can warm-up on. Also, The Dark Side caught my eye as an awesome, but ridiculously hard looking corner. The protection looks interesting to say the least. I would also add that the crux of The Emperor (for us) was the first 25 feet. It is laser-cut 0.5 Camalots with marginal feet. We decided the climbing above was somewhere around 5.11b/c to the anchor, but I'm sure there are other opinions out there.
-Aaron
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geoffgeorges
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Any idea when the Kristian Solem guide book is coming out?
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cultureshock
Trad climber
Mountain View
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Thanks for all the beta.
Didn't mean to hijack your thread Aaron. I always thought voodoo dome only had slab routes. Good to know there are some killer cracks.
Seems that I will have to make a visit to Voodoo Dome!
Another perspective of the same area from another thread
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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sick looking crack
was just gonna post those pics on here too.
here's another
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Luke, this area is well worth visiting for a day or even a weekend
The Road would be open in late March... we would keep climbing there - weekend after weekend intill the heat in June would become to intense.
But now the road opens up Memorial Day!
Pretty lame IMHO.
There are some really nice long Moderates that start at "The Dihedrals"... The R & L Snort, Summer Sorjourn etc....
Good to see some climbers going back and sending.
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Here is the same photo from higher in the thread that I have added black dots to showing the original route of Pea Soup. I wanted to make it more interesting than just going on up the easy gully. I really wanted explore what could be called the Shield over there. From the tree in the alcove the route goes straight left past a large chicken-head alcove structure and then up on chicken-heads. I think I slung at least one of these on the way up ( no pins or chalks ) to a sloping chick-head mantle where the chicken-heads ended. While on the sloping slippery chicken-head I managed to get a rawl bolt in about halfway in the ultra-hard rock. I tied it off and the next move was to let my upper body slide to the right across the steep face until I could reach a slanting flake. I don't believe there where any footholds until actually getting the feet on the slanting flake. From there it was something like 5.9 edging without further protection to the ledge above. The area before the edging must be at least 5.10. It's a pretty classic little pitch if that bolt got replaced. If nothing else, the hole is still there. The area above the Emperor was difficult nailing - probably A-4 originally. I remember difficulty in getting in some small stuff and at least one CMI crack tack. This was probably the first multi-pitch technical climb at the Needles. This section was done in 1970. Joe Brown was my partner, as mentioned earlier. Most of this was posted earlier too but I wanted it to go with the photo. Unfortunately it did not make it into the guidebook.
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ec
climber
ca
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I did Pea Soup in 1975, prior to the FFA; yes, that section was A4.
 ec
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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If you ever go back you have to try the chicken-head pitch. It's well protected by the pitches below though! So much to do at the Needles!
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