“Fifty Words…” & Horseshoe Canyon Ranch Sneak Peak

Fifty Words For…

…Get A Life??  …A Job??  I’m not really sure what to make of the mini-melodrama that took place at the Red this weekend.  Here is a brief synopsis for those interested in reading about immature climber antics.

There is a route at the Red River Gorge in KY called Fifty Words For Pump (5.14c).  It was an open project for about a decade before Michael Fuselier made the impressive FA at last year’s Petzl Roc Trip.  One of the difficulties that had stymied prior suitors was a very difficult clip that Fuselier skipped during the FA.  Subsequent attempts by other climbers revealed a more logical, safer, and easier sequence mere feet to the right of the original bolt line.  After discussions with the original equipper and Fuselier, Mike Doyle added a couple of bolts to make climbing the right variation more feasible (and safe).  That is how the route has stood for the past year or so.  Every repeater of the route since the FA has apparently used this easier right variation while still calling it 5.14c. 

I’ll let Joe Kinder pick up the story from here (Emphasis mine):

After taking a well needed rest day I was WELL ready and VERY prepared mentally and physically to send my project (”50 Words Right”)

…[snip]…

We soon learned that Adam Taylor took a hammer to the bolt hangers on “50 Words Right” the night before.  For what reason I am still not sure.  He claimed “his draws were stolen 7 times and he was sick of it”, “‘THEY’ don’t  count it”, and “it will never happen again”…All expressed in a very aggresive and agitated way.  It was very apparent that Adam Taylor had some built up anger over the fact that the right variation exists.

You can read Kinder’s blogsite link above for more of his reaction if you are interested.  Apparently Taylor’s venom was directed at Kinder in part because he felt that Kinder was the one who had been stealing his draws.  Kinder has denied this.  

In addition to Kinder’s blog, there is an interesting discussion taking place on RedRiverClimbing.com if you care enough to read through it all.  Most people there don’t seem to support Taylor’s actions and I would have to agree.  He might have a point, but his tactics for making said point seem poorly thought out.  You can learn more about Taylor by reading this interview he did with DPM this summer.

On a side note, it was good to see Joe Kinder tone down his reaction to the situation (somewhat) today.  Unless I am remembering incorrectly, he had some pretty immature comments on his 8a.spray scorecard regarding the situation that he has since changed.  His reaction of taking the situation so personally and calling for others that have sent the right variation to change the name on their scorecards to “Fifty Words For Drama” seems overblown, but what do I know…

HCR…

We spent this past weekend at the Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas.  HCR was made famous in recent years by bouldering segments in Dosages 3 & 5, and we were very hyped to check it out.  Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to our (probably exaggerated) expectations, but we still had a good time.  Arkansas is really beautiful in the Fall, and HCR is an incredible place to hang out.  I will have more on the climbing later in the week.  In the meantime, here is a sequence of photos of Danny sending a fun dyno called High Five (V4).