The Red! October 2011

This color could describe many things that are taking place here in Eastern Kentucky.  The trees in this massive deciduous forest are turning beautiful oranges and reds. Our fingertips are a painful red after only a few days of climbing on this impressive stone.  The stone itself has a beautiful rusty reddish hue due to the limonite that holds the sandy layers together.  However,  when I say, “The Red,” I am referring to one amazing place… The Red River George!!

 

Situated about two hours south of Cincinnati, Ohio the Red is an accumulation of hundreds of horseshoe canyons that host thousands of world-class  rock climbs.  For over 30 years the Red has been a climbing mecca. The solid and well-featured corbin sandstone makes for steep, spectacular climbing. The red has some of the worlds best steep sport climbs as well as classic single pitch traditional routes.

 

The forests here are much different than the familiar woods of Maine. The canopy is filled with huge pines, hickory, silver maple, and poplars. Some of the smaller trees and shrubs include rhododendron, magnolia, mountain laurel and Elephant’s ear. One can also encounter a diverse collection of wildlife here in the Red including bobcats, flying squirrels, copperheads and timber rattle snakes, as well as many beautiful song birds.  The Red River George is one of the most spectacular places I have ever seen in the US, and having some of the best climbing in the world is a big plus!

 

I am lucky enough to spend a month here climbing and camping with two of my good friends Henry Marchetti (aka Hanky P) and Josiah Glover. These two individuals could not be more different if they tried.

 

Hanky P is super tall and lanky 19 year old who has been climbing seriously for three years. He is a terrific climber and is also shaping in to a great guide.  He may be shy and quiet, but extremely motivated and organized. Aside from climbing he enjoys pottery, fly fishing, and skiing. Hanky is a terrific person to climb with as he is always up for a challenge and always seems to be on a quest for knowledge.  In the past 10 days of climbing we have been choosing our power animals, and Hanks is definitely a stork!

 

Josiah is 10 years older than hank and about  half a foot shorter. He is built like a UFC fighter and has a strong wrestling background to go with it. He is very confident, outgoing and expressive.  But don’t let the looks of this brute fool you. Josiah is a wicked smart wizard. He got a perfect score on the math section of his SAT’s and graduated from CSU with a Mechanical engineering degree. He now makes a living as a metal fabricator and sculptor in mid-coast Maine.  Josiah was one of the people who taught me how to climb.  I imagine if he had never taken me climbing on some of the tiny rocks in the Camden Hills when I was 15 my life would be very different than it is today. Back then Glover was one of the strongest and boldest climbers I had met and I certainly looked up to him. In the past 10 years Josiah has fallen in and out of climbing periodically and this trip marks is his first real extended climbing trip.  As an engineer he is always looking at things differently than I do and this has helped me keep an open mind in most situations.  Josiah’s power animal is definitely a gorilla!

 

 

The three of us are living the life of a full time climber. We wake up around 7:00am shower and eat breakfast,  pack up our lunches and climbing gear and head out climbing for the day.  Usually on a climbing trip, whether or not to put honey on my peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the most stressful part of my day. Here at the Red there are about 40 different crags to choose from, all areas are unique in style and in difficulty and are, in general, amazing. So now choosing where we climb during the day takes the cake for the most stressful decision of the day. We climb until the sunsets and than we return to our campsite, eat and sit in front of the fire.  We are off to bed shortly after it gets dark.  We repeat this process for two or three days until we require a rest day so we can grow some more skin on our fingers.

 

I feel very fortunate to be able to spend this time climbing in a beautiful place with wonderful people.  I will finish my trip to the Red by running a three day AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course, followed by a weekend of guiding with a wonderful family from the Carolina’s.

 

In early November I am flying to Las Vegas to meet up with Pete and spend two weeks of climbing in Red Rocks and Zion National Park.  Our goal is to climb one of the worlds most beautiful crack climbs called Moonlight Buttress located in Zion. Stay tuned for more entries from the road!