A Few Annoyances Observed At The Red River Gorge This Weekend

heat. heat at the crags annoys me. so too does precipitation. give me dry 40 degree days… maybe 50 for a warm session. also, darkness. darkness is just not cool at the crag. shade is totally fine, but not darkness. eff that in the a.

finally, belaying. belaying is the worst climbing related activity ever. spotting is cool. belaying is the suck. especially when you do not have belaying muscles and you belay all day in the heat, then you are too tired to actually do some REAL climbing on your favorite granite boulders the next day… makes all the warm fuzzy feelings of having ‘volunteered’ and ‘helped out’ fade into a dark ball of festering rage.

i blame sport climbing and trad climbing for suggesting to management that there is an alternative to pads to “protect” boulder problmes. there is no alternative. pads only. forever pads. pads a muerte. chinga les ropes.

Heh heh, sock hands is totally right. Heat sucks.

I haven’t been to the Red in 4 or 5 years, but all of the things described here were prevalent then as well. In general, I think it was “people” that caused us to start trad climbing at the Red.

Last weekend we were down at a pre-designed outdoor-gym-esque area in Colorado Springs called Red Rocks Canyon. The area was quiet and beautiful until about 2pm, when everybody else showed up. There were babies crying, iPods belting out AC/DC tunes, a large group of young guys who seemed to think it was cool to bark (like dogs) loudly at each other, and of course, the ubiquitous “dude taking his girlfriend climbing” who feels the need to yell beta at her as she leads up a creepy, slabby 5.10, nearly crying the whole time.

We were being laid-back, and accepted it for the party atmosphere that it was. For about 2 hours. Then we took off.

Mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes are THE SUCK at the crag.

Thankfully it is fall! HORRAY!!!

Yes…I went to Horseshoe this weekend for the 24HHH but not to compete but to climb for REAL (boulder) and I encountered the same problem with music…I totally agree if you want music go to the gym don’t bring your portable speakers or an iphone…..and damn it don’t use it for video beta thats half of the fun …and for eff’s sake don’t leave you cigarette butts all over the place

Really hate old guys at the crag that complain about everything like dogs, eliminates, ect. Man whats with those guys… Oh wait Never mind.

You guys are missing the point, the most annoying thing about the Red is all that amazing rock and no damn boulders, obviously. Sock hands will back me up on this one.

The music thing isn’t a problem, so long as your group is the only one there. Asking is courteous, but not as courteous as just turning it off. Most of the time (as in when music is playing that I like) I don’t mind it, per say, but it’s definitely a different environment. I like the birds and the wind and the leaves, though I’d hesitate before telling someone to turn music off.

Yea, RRG has been turning that way for some time I think. It was better when Miguel didnt have that huge gravel parking lot to attract a crowd, people are always worse in mass. I decided to to go other places a few years ago (Jackson) in response to that sort of behaviour. Damn shame the climbing is so good in Kentucky!
Music is so tacky at the crag, what a bunch of yahoos.

OMFG I WAS TYPING A HUGE COMMENT RE: SPORT CLIMBING LOSERS… not climbers who sport climb, but losers who only sport climb and think that they are significantly more awesome than all else… and was inadvertantly erased by some unknown sloppy bump of my outer right palm…. all highlighted and replaced with a period taht i musta typed.

maybe for the best…

Yeah, I was at the Gallery and heard the same music on Saturday, wonder if we were hanging out with your “observers”. And there were a ton of dogs there (didn’t bother me as much). And a decent sized snake chilling out next to the path near 27 Years of Climbing. Fortunately routes like Goldrush totally make up for all the annoyances.

Old school You and me are going to have to fight. I love dogs,fibs,and hammocks. I am, however, one of the most tolerant people in the world. Why can’t we all just get along.

it is ALWAYS five degree too hot for that sloper…. and in my pants.

narc: you forgot to add ‘sport climbers’ and ‘trad climbers’ and ‘anyone but big poppa “sockhands” chosscrush von soxley and his friends’ to the list of annoyances.

i could see how folks out of the inner sanctum would find the inner sanctum objectionable in many situations. however, i also postulate that such people are worth less than little and should be maximumally marginalized whenever possible.

finally, in these potentially dire economic times, has YOUR listening of dead kenedey’s “soup is good food” increased or decreased?

the more work i do at work, the more i sing “at my job” quietly to my tortured self.

what?

skip the people. boulder in the red. all 4 problems await you.

4 i say. 4.

1. Dick Strange not having his signature pizza named after him. (much less on the menu)
2. Mandatory first time camper orientation consisting of Miguels gun toting curfew warning from “Red River Ruckus.”
3. Canadians from the Gunks that broker their way into being climbing partners and reveal the fact they refuse to have anything to do with cracks insanely late in the proceedings.
4. <- Someones already mentioned how this number relates to bouldering.
5. The lack of respect shown to Miguel, private property, disposal of human waste, and an obviously pipe friendly environment. See also “Spring Break Destinations” or “REI sold me a beyond organic consciousness the belies my lack of bearing?”
6. More snakes than minx.