Atlantis and Romantic Warrior 9/9/2012

[TeleRoss]

Trip:Atlantis and Romantic Warrior

 

Date: 9/9/2012

 

Trip Report:

I love the Needles, these spires have definitely cast their spell on me and rekindled the fire I once had for climbing.

I had to go back...again. The climbing is just too f'ing good to ignore. There were two routes that were beckoning me to return... stronger, fitter, and more determined, and with a partner feeling the same.

Some of my best memories in the mountains have been shared with my good friend Sky. It had been quite a while since we had seen each other, let alone climbed stout alpine routes together, but we found some common goals and set about to see what might transpire. Great times, chill moments, misery, frosty beers, splitter stone, misfortune, crushing and being crushed, rising to the challenge and being humbled would all be part of one of my greatest trips to the hills.....

 

Sky flew in to San Diego Friday evening and we spent some time catching up over frosty beverages and burgers at a chill spot out in Ocean Beach. Saturday we stocked up on beer and pastis, and made the never ending drive to the Needles and set up camp.

Sunday dawned cool and clear and we made the familiar(to me anyhow) slog along the ridge out to the Needles. Sky's first impression upon seeing the spires was quite similar to mine...amazement and awe and stoke!

Atlantis 5.11c....

Atlantis follows a striking line linking splitter cracks just right of the center of the east face of the Sorcerer

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Sky eying the first pitch, an awkward and stellar leaning corner

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Sky leading the goodness

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Me following

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Nearing the end of the first pitch

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I led the second pitch linking flakes and cracks up to a big ledge from which the crux 11c pitch begins. While Sky followed some ominous clouds began building and darkening. As Sky was getting stoked for the crux lead and placing his first couple of pieces from the ledge, not too distant thunder began echoing amongst the spires. We hemmed and hawed a bit before making the decision to fix our rope and bail. Good call...as soon as we got down the sky let loose with a torrent of rain wind hail and lightning. We huddled along with 4 other climbers waiting for some respite. A very cold and miserable hour later the storm finally cleared and we all made our way back to camp to dry and warm ourselves by the fire.

The next day we started late and jugged the line back to the top of the second pitch.

Sky leading the crux pitch, some powerful layback moves to a big reachy move to a good edge...followed by some stellar finger crack moves to a classic "OH NO" sloper! Topped off with a splitter thin hands crack. Good fun!

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Me in the splitter had crack

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After the crux pitch you have the option of topping out, or making a one pitch detour on a route called Lost at Sea, a sweet flake leading out across a smooth steep swath of stone, with a killer mantle at the end, with thin gear behind the thinning, expando-flake.

Me leading

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The steep section was sweet, with great gear, but as you near where the flake turns right and turns into a finger tips traverse, it gets thin and very moveable. Unnerving gear behind the thin expando-flake was not calming my nervers as I eyed the mantle at the end. It was all up in my head but what was there to to but just get a high foot on the flake and stand? ha! I nearly pitched, thought I was gonna die, but somehow regained poise and stood up to clip the chains...PHEW!

Sky following

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We rapped back down to the start of the last pitch of Atlantis, some funk undercling to layback, and up into a classic thin needles corner.

Sky leading just off the belay

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me following the corner

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What a route! Stellar, involved climbing with a couple of powerful cruxes. Always well protected, and always interesting.

From the top of the Sorcerer, we rapped into the notch between Sorcerer and Charlatan, and climbed out Gemstone to the top of Charlatan, before stashing our gear and hiking back to camp.

 

The next day we had much bigger plans. To climb THE route in the Needles, and maybe one of the best routes anywhere. Romantic Warrior climbs the singular feature on the SW flank of the Warlock Needle. A striking, steep, sweeping line with 3 pitches clocking in at 5.12, and one a very stout 11d. I was both stoked and quite intimidated at attempting such a climb.

The Needles from below

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There is conflicting beta on how best to approach Romantic Warrior. We chose what seemed to be the most direct and least time consuming: Drop down the notch between the Witch and Warlock and make our way down to the route...sounds easy enough.

We climbed up a chimney up to the notch and found a rappel anchor on the other side. A single 70m rope rap got us down to scrambly ground between the spires.

It's an intimidating place down in there with smooth stone rising on both sides.

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A bit of scrambling down the gulley led to a massive chimney and cliff. We found a rap anchor and Sky went first but the rope came up short and we couldn't make the ledge below. Bummer. We scrambled back out and sussed out our options. We discussed other climbs, possibly relocating to the Valley or High Sierra, but came to the conclusion that it would be pussification of us to forgo the route we had come for due to a slight setback while we still had a day left on the trip.

We had heard that you could approach the route from a lower road so we hiked back to camp, packed up and drove out.

The lower road afforded us some beautiful views, but the approach looked long and heinous through scrubby brush and steep slopes. Again, we went back and forth about what to do before deciding to head back up to camp and approaching from above, this time by dropping down between the Witch and Sorcerer, and continuing all the way down and around the Necromancer. This proved to be the magic potion, and early the next morning we were greeted with our first glimpses of this amazing route.

 

Romantic Warrior 9p. 5.12b....for us 5.12 C0

Looking up the first four pitches

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Once again stoked and quite intimidated, I tied in and set off up the first pitch, a funky, greasy 5.10 corner with typically fiddly gear.

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Sky following

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The second pitch is the "Living Corner"...the best 5.7 in the universe?...quite possibly!

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Sky leading the Living Corner

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Brassies....mandatory for the Needles!

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Me leading the sweet 5.11 layback flake on the third pitch

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Yup...it was steep and fun!

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Sky following, nearing the top of p. 3

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We were like giddy kids in a candy store at this point. Maybe counting our chickens before they hatch, probably quite naive as to the turn in nature the route was about to take.

Looking up the beautiful, thin, very steep fourth pitch

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Tech stemming and power laybacking will get you up this one, but I have no idea how you're supposed to do the 5.12 mantel right below the chains. Sky pulled on gear, and I did some ridiculous mantel/layback/palming weirdness following and made it, but probably would not want to lead it that way. Yikes! Scary and hard!

 

me following p.4

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nearing the dreaded mantel

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The fifth pitch is a trick 5.12 campus traverse with virtually no feet for the first several moves. It does relent a bit towards the end...but not much....SICK pitch with ridiculous exposure!

 

me leading

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Sky following

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pitch 6 offers a bit of respite, a 5.8 slab traverse across and then down to the anchors below the "Book of Deception".

Sky leading across the slab.

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Me following

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I cannot even describe the mix of thoughts going through my head when I first saw this looming above the sloping ledge.

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From the belay it looks like it isn't that steep, almost like it lays back from you...yes it's deceiving indeed, as it is vertical to overhanging...and very very thin and flaring. Quite more than I could hope to onsight. I gave it what I had, and it still beat me down. A beautiful unrelenting pitch that one day I will come back to climb clean. This time it went at 5.12 C0 for me...I can live with that as a first go. Ridiculous stemming, palming, smearing, and desperate tips laybacks will only be part of what you need on this pitch. Simply awesome!

Giving it what I got mid-way up the pitch

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Sky on the Book of Deception

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Pitch 8 is quite possibly the most sandbagged 5.11 anywhere. Some topos have it at 11b, some at 11d...I like to say 5.11+++++. It's hard and funky, and really really cool.

Looking up at the pitch after Sky's lead.

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Following

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The last pitch has some funky 5.10 face moves before pulling around an arete and onto a lower angled and very chicken head juggy face...a fine fun way to finish!

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A bit of summit hopping leads to the top of the Warlock

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And a fine view from the summit

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Can't really say much else about this route. It's stunning, hard and sustained and absolutely incredible.

 

I'm sure Sky will add his much more eloquently and entertainingly written trip report here at Ski Sickness

Edited September 14, 2012 by TeleRoss

[JasonG]

That is some of the most beautiful looking rock I have ever seen.....and hardest, stout work!

[powderhound]

love that feeling on P2 of Atlantis when you do an all points off sideways dyno for the flake/jug that flexes outward when you latch onto it. Forever memorable!

[layton]

love that feeling on P2 of Atlantis when you do an all points off sideways dyno for the flake/jug that flexes outward when you latch onto it. Forever memorable!

 

or just fall into thin ice!

[bigwallben]

Nice Needles TR guys! It really brought back great memories...

[powdherb]

WHY IS IT SUCH SPLITTAR??

[bwrts]

that had to be the most granite in one TR ever on cc.com. thanks for sharing! looked nice and tasty...

[wayne]

Ridiculously great report guys! Thanks for the stoke.