The Needles, Merlin Dome, Unbolt the Gate. In December Dave Seres and I climbed this route on the left side of Merlin Dome. Begin on a very bushy ledge system about 400 feet up. From the upper bushes, the first pitch starts up a short crack and ends on a small ledge higher up. (Rappel slings were found here.) The second pitch traverses diagonally left to a belay beneath a large cave. The third pitch goes up and right (almost entirely unprotected) to end on protectable ground where the fourth pitch is obvious to the summit. NCCS III, F8.

Dick Leversee, Unaffiliated