Fall Reading Days at the Red (Beginner-Friendly Climbing Trip)

OVERVIEW

What are you doing with your fall break? Nothing? Great! Come climb at the Red River Gorge with us! The Red is a goldmine of fantastic sport climbing routes in the eastern U.S., touting some of the country’s most famous climbs. October is prime climbing season in the Red, which means the weather will hopefully be cool, not too humid, and not too buggy.

If you’re a relatively new climber, this is a great opportunity to climb some really amazing rock. We will be focusing on going to areas with a generous offering of easy-to-moderate routes in terms of difficulty, so even beginners should be able to find fun things to climb here. We will need at least a few experienced climbers with lead climbing/belaying abilities, and then we’ll prioritize getting some up-and-coming rock climbers off the waitlist (on this trip, we are reserving 2 experienced spots, 2 beginner spots, and 2 wild card spots).

DATES
The plan is to leave Charlottesville early on Friday the 28th. If there are enough folks that would like to leave on Thursday, we can definitely make that happen too. We will plan to leave Kentucky sometime on Tuesday, probably in the late morning/early afternoon, which puts us back in Charlottesville late Tuesday evening.

CAMPING
We will be staying at Land of the Arches campground, which is a short 10 minute drive from Muir Valley and PMRP, which are two of the main places we’ll be climbing. They also have nice bathrooms and showers (relatively speaking). The club will reimburse our camping expenses, so trip attendees won’t have to worry about paying for the campground.

TRANSPORTATION
The Red is approximately a 7 hour drive away. We need drivers! 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.

FOOD
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 stop by Miguel’s for pizza at least one of the nights, so bring $$$ for pizza if you’d like to partake in that.

ACTIVITIES
This is primarily a climbing trip, so you should come prepared (and hopefully excited) to climb. However, there are also a variety of other activities in the Red River Gorge including swimming and hiking if anyone is feeling like they need a rest day.

TRIP FEE
Because this trip is quite far away, our gas expenses may be high. The club’s gas reimbursement policy is capped at $150 per vehicle for gas. It is possible that this won’t 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 of right now, we are not asking anyone to pay the trip fee upfront, as there is a good chance we won’t need it. However, we would like everyone to be prepared to chip in up to $30 after we know how much we spend on gas and parking fees.

If this trip fee poses a financial hardship for you, please let us know and we will be happy to work something out.

Things you should bring (items noted with an asterisk are available for checkout at the gear room):
– climbing harness*
– climbing helmet*
– climbing shoes*
– ATC + locking biner (or other belay device)*
– chalk + chalk bag*
– personal climbing gear
– a backpack for carrying gear (~40L capacity recommended)*
– sleeping bag*
– sleeping bag liner (optional)*
– headlamp*
– tent
– eating utensils/dishes
– food for ~5 days
– snacks
– water bottles with at least 3-4L capacity total
– one set of short sleeved clothes
– one set of long sleeved clothes
– sleepwear
– fleece jacket and/or puffy layer
– rain jacket
– swimwear if you think you may take a day to swim instead of climb
– toiletries
– medications
– good riddles for the car ride (I mean GOOD riddles, not easy give-mes)

The trip organizers will bring the following group gear:
– climbing ropes x3
– quickdraws
– stick clip
– anchor building materials
– group cookware (stoves, fuel, pots, pans)
– tents as needed
– guidebooks
– chill vibes