Popular Posts & Videos For May 2010

Popular Posts & Videos For May 2010

Posted June 1, 2010 at 9:23 am · Comments { 12 } ·

Well then.  Hello there and welcome back from what was hopefully a 3 day weekend for you that hopefully involved climbing of some sort in your life.

Mrs. Narc and I thoroughly enjoyed our long weekend at the Red River Gorge despite the heat, humidity and the unbelievably large crowds down in the Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve.  Obviously holiday weekends are going to be busy, but it went from crowded on Saturday to insane on Sunday with the line of parked cars stretching from the actual parking lot all the way to the pull off for Curbside.

Despite the aforementioned negatives the climbing was still quite fun, and I managed to fall off the last move of a route multiple times which is always good.

The weekend was not without its serious moments though as a climber was airlifted out of a near-by crag after decking from the second bolt of the popular climb Breakfast Burrito.  It sounds like the injured climber is ok, but just hearing the sirens on Saturday made us all pause a bit.

So, that was my weekend.  Did you get out climbing??  If so, share the what/where in the comments.

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  • Peter

    The Red is on the verge of being over-loved. Half of the people there this weekend were there for the first time.

    It is time for these crowds to start going elsewhere. People are inexperienced and getting hurt way too much.

    As for myself, I saw two bolts on Sunday at the Red, and no people aside from my partner.

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  • Mike o

    I was there this weekend too, eastern skybridge was nearly empty in the afternoon on Saturday, and roadside was also not very crowded on Sunday. I think I was probably the only person that attempted andromeda strain that weekend judging by the number of spiderwebs I knocked off on the way up. I think the crowds are from new sport climbers fresh out of the gym.

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    • http://climbingnarc.com Narc

      Skybridge is usually a good bet on a crowded weekend since the routes there tend to feel harder compared to more overhanging jug haul types. Please don’t let the secret out.

      Trad climbing is a good way to avoid crowds on just about any weekend imaginable…

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  • Andrew

    Odd enough on Saturday I was at the Lode for part of the day and there were only a few people and we all new each other. It was nearly empty, but the lot for Drive-by/Bob Marley was overflowing, probably because Demon Seed is such a good route.

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  • http://climbingnarc.com Narc

    There does seem to be a massive influx of people climbing 5.10- and under on these holiday weekends. It’s always struck me as odd since the Red is not really a great place to learn to climb if your limit is say 5.8 or 5.9 since there aren’t many good sport routes at those grades. And for whatever reason the “easier” routes all tend to actually feel harder than the overhanging jug hauls since they are typically slabbier and more runout feeling anyhow which makes them even scarier for the beginner climber.

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  • Dylan

    I witnessed some of this during my spring break at the end of March. I was with a group of people with a very wide spread of abilities, and we had a few people working towards 5.10. We noticed that crags with moderates would crowd very quickly but other crags like Bob Marley would be deserted. Also, someone wrote “GUMBY” in large letters on one of our cars (by wiping off dust), which I thought was a rather uncalled-for reaction.

    As for this weekend, I made it to Devils Lake and had my ass handed to me by Acid Rock. That’s about as far in style from Ro Shampo or Twinkie as 5.12a gets, I suspect.

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    • http://thelifeandclimbs.blogspot.com Mark

      I do think that was… kinda stupid, but I don’t think it was directed at us, because we weren’t the first people there, and no one saw us coming or going. Just a general dislike for the crowding maybe?

      Other than that. I think that while crowding sucks, theres a lot of things that informed groups can do to try to counter that. Spreading out, keeping their things together and not strewn all over is a good start. Additionally, for those who feel hounded by the crowds, there are always a few places you can go to escape the groups if it bothers you. On the nice days, the places that are generally a bit more in the sun or known as “wet weather” crags (i.e. Roadside, Bruise Brothers) might not be bearable at first thought, the heat or sun might make for better “climbing conditions” than a group of boy scouts begging you to rope gun.

      Personally, I just want to get back down there and tick some things off, no matter the conditions.

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      • http://climbingnarc.com Narc

        Those are probably 2 of the worst crags to visit on a crowded weekend but your point is well taken.

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    • http://climbingnarc.com Narc

      Acid Rock! Been such a long time since I’ve been on that thing. Definitely the anti-RRG route.

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  • Kevin

    Hihi!

    I was at the Red this memorial day weekend and the weekend before. Swas it swarmy? For sure. But excellent times anyway.

    There were definitely a lot of new climbers there. My group of 9 included 4 climbers who are still very new. Despite the wide ranges in ability (5.8 to 5.13) everyone had a good time.

    A lot of new climbers end up at Red River Gorge because it is where their more experienced friends talk about and go to climb.

    As a more experienced climber I feel obligated to help newer climbers and to keep an eye on them – even if they aren’t in my group. Teaching people proper technique and safety is a great way to not only help others, but also to refresh in your mind all the things you’ve learned over the years. At some point we were all noobs!

    I heard (secondhand) of one ground fall that resulted in a med evac. It was a new leader trying to clip the second bolt when they lost their stance. Not good – but hard to say exactly what happened since I wasn’t there. My only advice is – if you are a new leader try top roping a route before you lead it and practice clipping while on toprope. Just a thought.

    The Red has plenty of areas to absorb the number of climbers – Miguel’s on the other hand is a little under parked for peak weekends – funny that everyone used to fit inside Miguel’s and two tables outside, but the popularity of the sport is awesome.

    I second Mark’s sentiments…whatever the weather it is time to SEND! Or at least it will make our projects feel easy this fall!

    -Kevin

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  • http://climbingnarc.com Narc

    Miguel’s has gotten to be an almost insane proposition on busy weekends. It’s been super busy on holiday weekends as far back as I can remember (2003) but it just seems nuts the past couple of years. I think part of the problem is that I’m just a crusty old guy already at the ripe age of 26 and can’t deal with all the young kids running around there.

    I think that maybe the main problem on the busy weekends isn’t so much the number of people but rather the number of people travelling in large groups. I was in a large group last weekend too and it is really hard to be flexible with plans or accommodate other climbers when you are trying to get 10 people on the same route. It’s hard to tell the other group of 10 people who walk up to a wall to just work in when things are like that.

    I also thought several times over the weekend about how strange it was that we drove almost 10 hours one way through horrendous traffic to climb in terrible humidity and crowding yet the entire weekend was well worth it. Strange strange stuff this climbing is.

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  • Zachary

    I’ve got a secret crag at the RRG, to escape the crowds, it’s called Eagle Butress, and no one climbs there, trad though

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