and we're off

It's the end of day three on the ropetrip. After two days of crushing routes at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, we've got just enough energy to stay up and post. The drive from Morgantown to the Red involved a shit ton of rain, some high winds, and anticipation. However, the road trips gods graced us with unbelievable climbing weather. During summer at the Red, temps rarely drop below 80, humidity stays high, and mosquitoes reign supreme. Our first day of climbing involved a hoodie for belaying in the shade, and today proved to be warm in the sun but temps stayed steady under 80 degrees.

The highlight of the first day involved watching a climbing movie called 'Scene' after arriving at Miguel's Pizza (the climbers campground, gear shop and eatery). The movie features current cultural scenes at big climbing areas around the world, and one of the featured areas was our climbing home of the New River Gorge at Fayetteville in West Virginia. Not only was the New featured, a climbing guide we had hired for our first sport lead class, Jess, was in the film. It ended up being a big inspiration for folllowing days of climbing.

Day 2 - We sent four routes at the Prendergrass-Murray Recreational Presever (PMRP) for a total of 275 feet for Eric and 325 feet for myself. Eric led all of the routes as is usual, and I had my first lead (5.9+) of the trip.

Day 3 - We hit the Muir Valley climbing preserve hard, with Eric climbing six pitches and five pitches for myself. I climbed a total of 380 feet, and Eric beasted 455 feet of good routes. Eric onsighted every route today except for a sketchy 5.11b at the tail end of the day. I led my first 5.10a route, and although it was shaky at best, it was a big accomplishment.

dylan cleaning a 5.11a that eric led - photo by eric fizer

the massive recess cave amphitheater at the gallery - photo by dylan jones

some cool canadian climbers we met at muir valley - photo by dylan jones