Red River Gorge
The Red River Gorge is a stunning area consisting of long beautiful routes that give a whole new meaning to the word “pump”. The area houses an abundant number of classic sport and trad lines, with a handful of boulder problems.
Best Time to Visit
* The best time to visit this is the Spring and Fall with ideal temps being in the 60’s (Fahrenheit) and below. Plan on rain during your visit.
Guidebook
* The guidebook for the area is “The Red River Gorge: A Rock Climbing Guide Book. 2007 2nd edition” by Ray Ellington and can be purchased at Miguel’s. New routes and areas, such as the La Bibliotech Wall, are listed online on the RRC site.
Camping
There are two main places were climbers camp: Miguel’s Pizza and Lago Lindas. Both have great access to crags, located at opposite ends of the Red.
* Miguel’s Pizza – Cost is $2 a night to camp (for tent or car). There are showers, in little wooden shacks that are naturally decorated with cobwebs, and cost $1.50 per 5 minutes. Food is available, at reasonable prices, as well as a climbing shop for any items you might have forgotten at home. As a solo traveler, Miguel’s is the partner solution as crowds of 50+ visit each weekend during high season. The downside to Miguel’s is the noise, especially on weekends. Also, there are only 2 bathrooms, a problem I hear that will be addressed this winter.
* Lago Lindas – Cost is $5 per night for car or tent, but includes a shower. The facilities are a lot nicer with heated restrooms, with three stalls each, and a nice indoor shower. The area is a lot quieter, due to the fact that population of campers are a little older (older in this case meaning 25+) and there are a lot of couples. As a solo traveler it is definitely still possible to find partners, but you might just be a third wheel.
Food / Drink
* Grocery Store: The closest grocery store is Krogers in Stanton, 10 minutes west of Slade on the Mountain Parkway.
* Restaurants: I must admit that I only ate at two restaurants during my month stay in the RRG, and the only one I will really suggest is Miguel’s. Everything I tried was delicious, but my favorite pizza combo (that was thankfully introduced to me by Ginley) included the toppings of chicken (or bacon), avacado, cilantro and tomato. Yum!
* Alcoholic Beverages: I thought Utah liquor laws were strange, but I think Kentucky might rival us. Kentucky counties are either dry or not, dry meaning you cannot buy any type of alcoholic beverages. I kid you not. Miguel’s, the main climber hang out, resides in one of these dry counties. Luckily it borders a non-dry county and so a beer trailer is about 5 minutes up the road on KY-11. Prices are reasonable.
Personal Hygiene
* Showers: Showers are a non-issue when in the Red as they are completely accessible if you camp at Linda’s or Miguel’s. However, if you stay at Miguel’s, which has the outdoor shack showers, you can go for a real shower at the hostel. The hostel is located off the next exit on the Parkway with showers costing $3. Note that the hostel has extremely odd hours.
* Laundromat: The closest laundromat is in Stanton. It is located just down the adjacent street from Kroger’s and is open 24 hours. Note that for some odd reason they don’t sell laundry soap. I don’t understand why they choose to miss out on this revenue generator.
The Red River Gorge Coalition
* The Red River Gorge has a superb coalition, something I truly wish the Salt Lake Climber’s Alliance would emulate. The RRGC is on the pulse of what is going on in their climbing community and is actively raising money that is directly used to buy crags, allowing permanent access. Donations can be made on their website or by attending the annual Rocktoberfest. If climbing in this area, please consider donating to this cause!
Other
* Theft: Theft is a problem in the Red. Do not leave anything of value in your vehicle at the crag; rather keep these items in a vehicle back at camp.
* Torrent Falls Registration: Only a handful of climbers are allowed in Torrent Falls on a daily basis. In order to climb there you must register the day of climbing. Registration opens at 6am, is open Thursday through Sunday and can fill up quickly. After registration the screen prompts you to print the page, but you can write the details on a sheet of paper if a printer is not accessible.
* Dogs: Two climbing crags do not allow dogs: Torrent Falls and Muir Valley. Torrent is lax about the rule, as long as you call Dr. Bob (the owner of Torrent) prior to climbing.
* Snakes: There are two venomous snakes in the area, the most prevalent of the two being the copperhead. The snakes are docile but will bite if you (or your dog) gets too close. They have been seen on trails, underneath crags and in the cracks on route. Also, there were two big (4 foot) snakes (non-copperheads) lingering at The Dark Side this year.
* Transportation: If you stay at Miguel’s, you can completely get away with not having a vehicle and still being able to get to the crag.
Sites of Interest
* The Natural Bridge – a natural arch located in a state park across the street from Miguel’s. Very beautiful and makes for a good run on a rest day. I did the Balance Rock trail, which is quite steep, but there is another trail that is more gradual in vertical gain. The Balance Rock trail from Miguel’s door to door is probably 3.5 – 4 miles (I think).
* Keeneland Horse Races – Definitely fun! They are located in Lexington which is an hour drive from Slade. Races only run in April and October (I believe).
* Bourbon Tours – I did just the Wild Turkey tour (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but there is what is known as the Bourbon Trail that takes you to each of the distilleries. I hear it is pretty cool.
* Snake Zoo – Everyone seemed to mention the snake zoo at the rest stop, but I heard it was closed and forgot to personally check. Might want to check it out if you are in the area.
Thanks Cragbaby for the info
www.cragbaby.com
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Jonathan Dean Urness 9 days ago
climbing Fri 05 Mar @
Red River Gorge
Comment/Reply - Msg Jonathan Dean UrnessWhat's the weather like... anyone want a partner... girl friend and I want to come for 5 days - This coming Friday to Tuesday - we climb everything from 5.8 - 5.13- , trad, sport whatever... just want to have fun...
- Tabitha - We've had a ton of snow here so even if it were to warm and melt I would think it would still be too wet to climb. The skiing is great though. Thanks for the invite. I'm so ready for spring and look forward to climbing! Let me know if you end up trying.
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Jonathan Dean Urness 16 days ago
climbing Wed 24 Feb @Red River Gorge
Comment/Reply - Msg Jonathan Dean UrnessWondeering what the weather is like...
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sean 28 days ago
Looking for climbers @Red River Gorge, Red Rocks, Fosters, Ozarks, the obed, King's Bluff
ReplyWill be in Red Rock Canyon for most of Mar and Apr.I am looking for partners to climb with during this time period. Will mostly be climbing sport(all grades but am mainly interested in in the 12's and 13's)Some trad. Camping at BLM or wherever I can park.
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Who's heading to Red River Gorge this April?
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I am a developing climber. I have led up to 11a single pitch sport. Most of my climbing is 5.10 sport but i also enjoy bouldering and have sent V4/V5. Recently I started getting into trad. LOVE crack climbing but i need a trad mentor.
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I'm the staff photographer at WKU and a new climber. Looking to learn from more experienced climbers.
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hi,
i'm a sport climber/boulderer from SF that'll be in kentucky over Thanksgiving and looking for partners for Red River Gorge. Nothing like a good burn to work off that tofurkey!
hope to see you on belay!
t
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Michelle Anderson 164 days ago
climbing Fri 23 Oct @Red River Gorge
Comment/Reply - Msg Michelle AndersonHey! Small group of climbers of varying levels, doing sport and trad. Headed down 10/23-10/26 aprx. We are new to the area. I'd just love to get more beta for my group and of course welcome others interested in joining us!
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Super green wanna be climber looking to learn. Why would you want to climb with me? Well...for starters I am not an idiot, I am a quick learner and I am dependable. I live in the very southwestern tip of Virginia.
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We climbed in Muir Valley all Saturday on Bruise Brothers and Johnny's Wall. Sunday we hit Roadside before heading home.
- Michelle Anderson - That's exactly the areas I've been looking at. I'm pretty new to sport and I am planning on going to the Red with people of varying climbing abilities. I just bought the guide and I've been asking around.
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Hey! I live in Kentucky and will be home for a few weeks. I NEED TO CLIMB. Bouldering, top-roping, leading, whatever. You name it. Let's do it. I have a car, but no ropes (yet, maybe soon). You provide gear, companionship, and I will drive. As often as you want, wherever you want to go, I want to do it. Please? Three weeks! Anywhere within driving distance of Louisville, KY. Yeah!
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A friend and i are going to Mexico!
The dates are Dec 18th through January 3rd
Want to come? Two people needed.
Potrero Chico is the Multi-pitch sport climbing destination of choice in N. America...Limestone!!!
With moderate routes ranging from 1-7 to 23 pitches (up to 2000') with top end grades from 10-11a it is definitely doable for a wide range of skills (even if you cant pull 11a, to do the rest of the route and yard through one section would certainly be amazing!). If you pull harder than that they go all the up! The routes are all 100% bolted with burly 3 bolt rap stations at every pitch.
Of course there is also an incredible amount of single pitch as well...
It is roughly 4000 miles roundtrip from ohio....lets say 4600 to be safe and conservative...@ 20mpg and $3 a gallon that is $690 in gas or with 4 people $175 a piece!
Camping at the base of the mountain is $5 US / Night and with the exchange rates and local economy food is roughly half what youd expect to pay here.
ALSO: We would have the option of stopping in a range of places on the way there or back such as Foster Falls TN, Rocktown GA, HP40, Hueco, etc and spending a few days there before using a rest day doing the last stretch of driving into or out of mexico...
James and i are looking for 2 people, no more no less. You have your own gear and are comfortable leading sport, setting anchors, and rapelling. One 60m rope, 12-24 draws, helmets and camping gear is all that is really required...James lives in Ithaca NY and i live in cleveland...so if you are NE then youd meet james in ithaca or come straight to cleveland and if you are SW we could pick you up...
Email me for details! bonner1040@gmail.com
Check out these Links!
http://cosleyhouston.com/images/recent-images/05-02-mexico/DSCN3284.JPG
http://www.potrerochicoclimbing.com/routes.htm
http://is.gd/1rzVG
http://www.potrerochicoclimbing.com/camping.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potrero_Chico
http://cosleyhouston.com/recent/05-02-potrero-chico.htm
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I am looking for someone to climb with on tuesday or wednesday this week. I am fairly new to climbing, so I don't have a lot of experience with leading.
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Looking for a partner for the week of June 1
