Red River Gorge (Kentucky)

We are not sport climbers. Everyone knows that. However, from time to time we go to some sport climbing areas to see if we suddenly get the hunger for a long route. So far without much success.
Red River Gorge is really famous, maybe one of the most famous climbing areas in the world. Pictures and videos we had seen of the area made us curious, so we packed our harnesses and belay gear when preparing for the flight to the USA.
Lucia and Noah, two of Birte's friends from Ann Arbor, moved there two years ago and invited us to climb and stay with them. We gladly accepted and had a great day climbing with them after a night at Miguel's Pizza, which we had to visit for at least one night! Miguel's is known throughout the USA. At every crag, whether it's sport climbing or bouldering, you'll find climbers wearing Miguel's Pizza shirts. It is the American counterpart to Magic Wood, but much bigger...and much cheaper!
The rock is bulletproof sandstone, like everywhere in the Appalachians. And the climbing is really fun. The holds range from crimps to slopers to jugs. Some of the climbing is very technical, other routes are mostly physical. There are short boudery routes and long endurance testpieces that go 50 meters or more.
As expected, we were not very strong mentally while climbing and had trouble committing to moves above the third or fourth quickdraw, but we still had a lot of fun! The climbing was better than anywhere we have climbed before. We could really see doing this more often. But RRG is not just around the corner...

Saturday night was a big party at Miguel's house. It was the 40th anniversary! There was live music, free pizza, and free beer. After a long day of climbing, the crew of Lucia and Noah, Ciarand, Danny and Jonah, and us grabbed one of the last parking spots near Miguel's and rewarded ourselves with pizza and beer. The vibe was awesome!Lue lisää