Climbing (Sport)
Climbing (Trad)
UVA
Red River Gorge, Kentucky, USA
Good day, my beloved outdoorspeople. As the end of the school year draws nigh, so does the spring climbing season. Let’s go out with great fanfare through a mega trip to the Red River Gorge. The Red is a premier sport climbing (lead climbing on bolts) destination located in eastern Kentucky with a lifetime of climbing on gorgeous sandstone cliffs. The Gorge is also home to a multitude of trad lines if that’s more your speed.
Please read the entire trip description and fill out this google form in lieu of the typical trip questionnaire: https://forms.gle/5omdg8FenV58co6o6 . You will not be let off the waitlist without having completed the google form.
This trip serves as the main carpool to our campsite in the Red. Individual activities/trips will be organized by attendees and decided upon on a day-by-day basis with folks breaking off to do the things that speak to them the most.
DATES
We will be heading to the Red toward the end of finals. Since we will have a few cars going, there will be staggered departure and return dates between May 11 to May 21 (ish?) to accommodate as many peoples’ schedules as possible. Have a final on Friday the 12th? Come to the second half. Need to be back for a summer job on Monday the 15th? Come to the first half. It’ll be a jolly good time.
Note that outliers in scheduling needs might not be accommodated since we will be trying to transport 3-4 people in each vehicle.
CAMPING
We will be staying at Miguel’s Pizza. For those who have never climbed at the Red, Miguel’s is a pizza spot and legendary climber’s hub since they let climbers camp on the land behind the pizza shop. It can become an ocean of tents on weekends during climbing season, complete with a rambunctious community of climbers sharing the wins, woes, and beta of the day.
The pizza shop serves breakfast-y things in the morning and pizza-y things for lunch and dinner. There are ample picnic tables for enjoying both restaurant food and camp food, as well as a yoga/meditation/homework room, bathrooms, and a sink for dishes and water bottle filling. They also have a bonfire, basketball half-court, slacklines, sand volleyball area, and gear shop for any emergency gear needs. There is usually spotty cell phone service if any, but there is wifi. Note that showers are available at a cost of $1 for 4 minutes.
TRANSPORTATION
The Red is approximately a 7 hour drive away. As stated above, we will coordinate staggered departures and returns based on peoples’ availability. Drivers will be prioritized off the waitlist and will receive full gas reimbursement (partly from the club’s reimbursement policy and partly from the trip fee) + a tip capped at $20 (per club policy). Due to the long distance, we will prioritize vehicles with good gas mileage, followed by vehicles with 4WD capabilities and cargo space.
SUSTENANCE
Food will be on your own for this trip. We will provide camp stoves, fuel, pots, pans, and other cookware for group use. However, trip attendees will be responsible for bringing and preparing their own groceries/food items. Coordinating with a buddy or group of friends is strongly encouraged to reduce food waste and workload, but the trip organizers will not be facilitating this.
We may make a grocery stop halfway through the week if needed.
ACTIVITIES
This is primarily a climbing trip, so we are relying heavily on our climbing trip leaders to help us get up to some fun. As such, we are asking approved climbing trip leaders to lead at least one day’s worth of beginner-friendly climbing.
With the vast offerings of the Red, we wanted to provide a few starting points when looking at crags to explore. Below is a list of some of my personal favorites and recommendations for the intermediate climber. Of course, everyone is encouraged to research on their own – there is seriously a lifetime of climbing here, so the list below is just the tip of the iceberg.
Muir Valley – $15 parking fee
– Bruise Brothers (lots of moderate sport climbing: 5.8 to 5.11)
– Animal Crackers (quick warmup wall with a few 5.8s)
– Land Before Time Wall (a handful of moderates: 5.8 to 5.10)
– The Solarium (high quality hard sport routes: 5.11 to 5.13)
Miller Fork – car approach is best done with a high clearance, 4WD vehicle
– Camelot (some good moderate stuff: 5.8 to 5.10)
– Neverland (a newly developed crag right next to Camelot: 5.8 to 5.11)
– Chaos (mostly 5.10 to 5.12 with a few warmup routes)
– The Record Shop (good spot for the 5.10 to 5.11 climber)
Bald Rock (BRRP)
– The Chocolate Factory (many high quality sport lines 5.10 to 5.13)
– The Motherlode (exactly what it sounds like: very many high quality sport routes in the 5.11 to 5.13 range)
– Hazel Hollow (5.9+ to 5.11)
Pendergrass-Murray (PMRP) – car approach is better with 4WD vehicle
– Chica Bonita (a smattering of routes 5.8 to 5.12)
– Drive By (high quality sport lines 5.10 to 5.14 with a few easier trad lines)
– Solar Collector (a smattering of grades)
– The Gallery (mostly 5.10 to 5.12 and home to some mega-classics like Starry Night and Mosaic)
– The Crossroads (roughly 5.8 to 5.12)
Northern Gorge
– Pebble Beach (trad starting at 5.7)
– Jewel Pinnacle (really just for Diamond in the Crack)
– Tower Rock (a few classic easy trad lines including the famous Caver’s Route)
While the Red is primarily a climbing destination, there are a wide variety of other, non-climbing activities in the area. Trip attendees are STRONGLY encouraged to climb no more than 2 (maaaaaaybe 3) days in a row without a rest day in between. Below is a starter list of ideas for your non-climbing shenanigans. I’m sure you’ll come up with many more.
– Hiking/Backpacking (Daniel Boone NF, Natural Bridge, Gray’s Arch, Whittleton Arch, Star Gap Arch, Double Arch, Hidden Arch, Silvermine Arch, Flat Hollow, Courthouse Rock, etc. etc.)
– Swimming (Shelf waterfall and swimming hole, Jump Rock, etc.)
– Yoga
– Hang at camp (basketball, slacklining, beach volleyball, etc.)
– Artsy time (music jam sesh, painting, journaling, etc.)
– Nature walks (birding, plant ID-ing, etc.)
TRIP FEE
Because of the timing of this trip, it falls under the club’s summer reimbursement policy. This means that the gas reimbursement is capped at $125 per car. This is unlikely to be enough to cover each car’s total gas expenses. Additionally, some climbing areas have parking fees that we would like to ensure is shared fairly between attendees. As such, we are requesting attendees pay a $50 trip fee to help ensure drivers are fully reimbursed for their gas expenses and parking fees. In the event that there are leftover funds, we will prioritize reimbursing drivers for their trip fee.
If this trip fee poses a financial hardship for you, please let us know in the google form and we will be happy to work something out.
WAITLIST
Since this trip will not be possible without a way to get to the Red, drivers will get priority off the waitlist with high efficiency vehicles being prioritized over others. Once we have the cars needed, climbing trip leaders will be prioritized next since we will need people to facilitate our time on the rocks. After that, we will try to be as fair as possible in taking people off the waitlist in signup order; the exception is if someone’s schedule simply does not work with the trip logistics, in which case we will reach out to see if you can change your availability before skipping to the next person.
We do have a limited trip capacity and will only take as many people as we can responsibly manage with the gear, vehicles, and trip leaders available.