Recently a few Earth Treks Timonium and Earth Treks Golden staff got together and decided to head out for a climbing trip to the Red River Gorge.
Here is Jodye Boam’s blog about their trip! Enjoy the blog and amazing photos!
Climbing in Red River Gorge
by Jodye Boam, Earth Treks Timonium
Retail Assistant/Shift Supervisor
Rainy is the first word I can think of to sum up our climbing trip to the Red River Gorge in October. But contrary to popular belief, rain does not ruin a climbing trip (condensation, on the other hand, is en entirely different beast). At least not with a crew as psyched as ours. Included in the line up were Earth Treks all-stars Matt and Charlotte Bosley, Mike Hauck, and myself, as well as Justin Smith, Sam Voso, and Adam Pettee.
We all stayed in a cozy cabin that had a wonderful surprise in store for us. One particular night, while we were relaxing in the hot tub (!) it started to rain sideways. Booms of thunder were punctuated by screams of terror as we all sprinted into the safety of the cabin. To say we were surprised that it was just as wet inside as it was outside would be an understatement. Rain was pouring in through our (apparently unsealed) windows, soaking everything on the left side of the house. Don’t worry, though: when we called the cabin rental agency, they confirmed that it was, in fact, going to rain again the following day, and that they’d send up plenty of towels for us to clean up with.
Weather aside, we had 10 full days ahead of us, and no set agenda. We took plenty of time to climb the classics, as well as explore routes we’d always swept past, and found some real gems along the way. Thank goodness for four wheel drive; most of our time was spent in the depths of PMRP, where, it seems, the climbing potential expands every time we return.
Purgatory, home of the classics Lucifer 5.14c, as well as Paradise Lost 5.13a was one of the first destinations on our list. We found great warm-ups just around the corner. In perfectly pumpy Red River Gorge style, the holds were great and the angle was steep, which provided fun and interesting climbing for everyone. After a sufficient warm-up, Matt put in great work on Dracula ’04, being hindered not by the pump, but by that pesky condensation we talked about earlier. Meanwhile, Justin hopped on Paradise Lost, a project he had committed to on our last trip to the Red. After a few days of work, a break in the weather, and a send train led by none other and Anna Stohr, Justin was able to send!
Running with the theme of hard sends, Mike found his project, Triple-Sec (aka 50 Bucks) 5.12d, at The Sanctuary in the always beautiful Muir Valley. Mike’s send of this seemingly blank face, sprinkled with a few crimps and pockets, leading to a crux, then to a no-hands-rest, followed by another crux, was truly inspiring.
Another fine gem in PMRP was Random Precision, one of the few vertical climbs in the entire Red River Gorge. This was one of my absolute favorite climbs of the trip, and one I’d surely come back to again.
Drive-By is another crag we found ourselves at time and again. With climbs like Breakfast Burrito, Fire and Brimstone, Naked Lunch, and Whip Stocking, lined up perfectly in a row, it was hard to stay away. After we had all tried nearly every classic moderate Drive-By had to offer, we made our way down the line and eventually came to the super-classic 5.14c Kaleidoscope. You know the saying: last go, best go. Matt punctuated the trip perfectly with a send on the very last day!