Red River Gorge, Ky
60 days have passed since I arrived at the Red River Gorge from the west, wide-eyed with anticipation. Now that I have left I reflect back on that time wishing I had ventured there long before this year. Not only did I experience some of the best lines I have ever been on, but I also met a wide range of people from all over the world, got to know some locals, witnessed the development of a new climbing area as well as the closure of a popular cliff, and belayed my boyfriend, Mike Doyle, on what is now the hardest graded route in the gorge!
When we arrived at the gorge, the rain had come and for the first 30 days, we had only logged 10 days of climbing. We were not happy about this. Soaked routes, condensation, and miserable temperatures kept us away from the cliffs. Still, we were determined to make the most of what days we had and by early November, Mike had already sent impressive lines like Transworld Depravity (14a, 2nd go), Thanatopsis (14b, 4th go) and Ultra Perm (13d, 2nd go). It was no surprise when Mike met Bill Ramsey that Bill would guide Mike towards some open projects, Lucifer at Purgatory, being one of them.
By Thanksgiving, I had a decent list of moderate 12s under my belt; routes like Stain, Resurrection, and Mosaic. Also, by this time, I felt ready to leave. The cold was too much and I longed for sunnier days climbing in Mexico. We had friends leaving for the south right after Thanksgiving and I wanted to follow not long after. The only thing keeping us at the Red was Mike’s successful linking on Lucifer. He had linked it to the point of being within a millimeter of the send.
It was nearing the end of the climbing season, Torrent Falls would shut down after the holiday and when the season closes, our favorite climbing amenities close with it: Miguel’s Pizza and The Red River Outdoors breakfast, both boasting internet access. The weather was awesome but a cold front was moving in and we thought for sure we would be leaving for Mexico well before the cold front hit. But, Lucifer became a daunting climb, beating down on Mike to a point I had never seen him at before. This was no way to leave the Red! The cold front would be just the break we need. Heal the skin, step away from that climb, rest and regroup. With this regrouping, I had the chance to push the limits of my own climbs and work routes like Snooker (13a) at the Motherlode and Table of Colors (13a) at Left Flank.
One weekend, just after the cold front cleared, Kenny Barker, the developer for Purgatory, came down from Columbus, Ohio to work on a new area he was establishing. We visited him there and I learned a lot about developing at the red, access challenges with oil companies or archeological research locations, and how the red river gorge climbers coalition helps preserve certain locations like Pendergrass Recreational Preserve. The coalition, founded and run by climbers, mortgaged land to keep cliffs from closing and their payments come from donations. I had never heard about the coalition until climbing here. Now, I’ve met people that work on the board helping to raise money to make their financial goals so climbers like me can keep climbing in areas like Muir Valley. If the financial goals aren’t met, they lose the land they have been trying to gain for the privilege of all of us. At the time of this writing, they are $20,000 short of their goal. I also leaned that many climbing areas, like Torrent Falls, are on private land, which creates it’s own set of challenges. Land owners risk a lot when they allow climbers to climb on their property. I’ve seen climbers who were respectful on these properties and I’ve seen climbers who weren’t. Torrent property may have had other issues, but in general, it makes sense for climbers to tread cautiously when climbing here. Private land owners aren’t the only ones looking for a reason to shut us down.
Alone at Lago Linda’s, again, the weather warmed and the forecast boasted solid climbing temperatures for the next 10 days. I ticked off Snooker and Table of Colors and Mike resigned to give Lucifer one more try and then we would leave, for real this time. We started packing up the van, tearing down what we had called home for the last 60 days. Mike’s last day had finally come.
Like any athlete, superstitions gave rise to caution: leave the music, remember the watch, pack your lucky charm or leave it at home, whatever works. In this case, it was his favorite pair of jeans and lucky boxers that were among the top of the list of must have for this morning. I left the music, but forgot the watch. It was a good thing it was sunny that day! Mike looked solid on his warm ups, and his first attempt on Lucifer. I tried not to get my hopes up, just in case we had to walk away without the send. Mike’s second attempt was the same as the first. I watched him shake his head and wished for a way to encourage him. Best to leave him be, was what I decided. This was a battle between him and the rock. There really was nothing I could say that could penetrate that barrier. I opted to play around on one of the routes there and hopefully distract him from thinking too much about his route. I think it worked because he had a lot to say about the route I was doing while I was up there. When I came down, he tied in and up he went.
One of the moves
on the route at
the 5th
bolt was a hit
or miss for him
so I watched him
carefully,
prepared to take
up and catch his
fall. He stuck
it. I breathed a
sigh of relief
and unclipped
from the bag of
rocks that was
weighing me down
preventing me
from grounding
him if had
fallen. The next
challenge would
be from the 6th
to the 7th.
I watched him
stick the pocket
that had torn
open his middle
finger several
times, now. He
stayed in the
pocket and
prepared for the
move to the next
pocket. I
couldn’t
breathe, this
move was also a
hit or miss,
mostly because
of tape on his
fingers
preventing him
from feeling the
pocket. Without
the tape, it was
just a matter of
pain tolerance
if his finger
did rip open. I
had no way to
know what that
hold felt like
and when he went
into it, there
was a brief
moment where I
was sure he was
falling out of
it only to find
he re-set and
stuck it. I
exhaled. There
was only one
more move that
he needed to
stick and it had
been his
highpoint on 3
previous
attempts on
other days. He
was within a
millimeter,
before, and as
he climbed above
the 7th
bolt and moved
for the hold, I
stopped
breathing,
again. He stuck
the move,
crossed up left
and with a loud
exclamation, he
bumped his right
up to the ledge
and we both
breathed a sigh
of relief. He
had done it!
He’d made a new
highpoint. Now,
there were 4
more bolts to
the chains, 13b
climbing, he’d
noted
previously. I
watched him milk
his rest, then
casually climb
to the chains
where he smiled
down at me while
pulling up rope
to clip the
chains in a calm
and almost lazy
fashion. He’d
done it! Lucifer
gets a first
ascent. Kenny
will be proud!
And, we get to
leave the Red,
despite it’s
warm hold on us,
and head to
Mexico for
Christmas.
As we drive away, I can’t believe we were here this long, but I have no regrets. The Red River Gorge feels like a thriving and active, young climbing destination with steep and variable climbs. If you want pocket pulling, you’ve got tons, if you want technical or powerful routes, they are here, too. With the politics of climbing in this area and the progressive development it is still seeing, this is a place to keep an eye on for some time to come.
