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Photos at Hidden Valley with Fixed Line Media
A couple of weeks ago, we were excited that despite it being August, climbing conditions were not unbearable. THIS weekend, however, we were shocked to find that conditions were down right good. The...
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SEND-tember Kickoff – Red River Gorge
Ordinarily when I see rain in the forecast for a climbing weekend I’m pretty bummed. But when it’s Labor Day weekend and we’re going to the Red, I’m actually psyched. That’s because I know rain...
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A Weekend of Firsts at the New River Gorge
This weekend was our second on Locking off down low on Preparation H 12a (photo from previous week) e in a row spent at the New River Gorge, and it represented a game-changing milestone for our family...
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This Time it’s Endless, Not Sendless…
CragDaddy reaching tall on Gift of Grace 12b Photo: Michael Johnston Ah, Endless Wall season. There’s nothing like it. Endless Wall is definitely my favorite climbing area at the New River Gorge,...
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Hidden Valley Sendage
Lately the Southeast has felt more like “June-tober” than “Rock-tober,” much to the chagrin of every climber that I know. What’s up with this?!? This is supposed to be our prime time, with conditions...
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Breaking the 5.13 Barrier!
Rodent’s Lament 13b (although pic was taken last spring by Nick Hitchcock) This past weekend I hit a huge personal milestone for me. Though my climbing journey has more or less featured slow and...
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Mom Guilt and Type 2 Fun…aka Making Lemonade
“Well, this sure is some slip-sliding fun!” I said with my best fake smile to both of my kids as we made our way down the gully to the base of the cliff. We’d been hiking for about an hour along a...
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NRG at Thanksgiving
Did your post-Thanksgiving plans include shop til you drop or #optoutside? As you might have guessed, ours involved the latter. The forecast was beautiful for the early part of last weekend, so we...
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The Ruchert Motion 5.13a – Grand Finale at the NRG
This fall has featured some pretty goofy weather conditions. October was hot, November was wet, and December is…perfect?!? Our NRG season typically wraps up before Thanksgiving. After that, the days...
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Spring, then Winter, then Spring at the Red
So it’s been a loooooong time since I’ve written on this blog. While I never write as often in the winter, usually I can at least put together a post or two, but apparently not this time around! The...
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Friday is the New Saturday
What do desperate climbers do when the past umpteen weekends have had a crap-a-delic forecast? Play hooky and make Friday the new Saturday! While our last-minute decision to leave a day early made...
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Ten Sleep Canyon, Part 1 – French Cattle Ranch and Valhalla
CragDaddy working through the opening boulder problem on Pussytoes 12d Not sure about your summer, but ours has been nuts – especially the month of July. Last Friday I had vocal cord surgery (don’t...
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Ten Sleep Canyon Part 2 – Superratic
Big C crushing Boy Howdy 5.9 Our typical “vacation climbing” (ie, more than a weekend) strategy involves a smattering of rest days in addition to climbing days, so that we can climb as close to our...
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Ten Sleep Canyon Part 4 – Superfly 12c/d
So after a patriotic day at the rodeo on the 4th, the next day was back to the canyon for business as usual. As I said in Ten Sleep Recap Part 2, the 3rd day on in our 3 day chunk was spent scoping...
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NRG Rounds 1 and 2…aka “Hey Fall, No One Likes A Tease.”
Desperate Egyptian-move beta on Bourbon Sauce 11d Our first fall forays at the New a couple of weeks ago actually ALMOST felt like fall. Then this past weekend was back to summer. Autumn is such a...
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This Just In – Conditions Matter…A LOT!!!!!
Were you aware of that? You probably were. For some reason, I’d forgotten. Maybe because it’s been so long since I’ve touched rock as dry and crisp as it was this past Saturday. Or maybe because...
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Gettin’ Sendy on Green Envy
I am quick to profess my love for the New River Gorge. It is the gold standard by which I measure all other crags against. I’ve been climbing there since 2007 and it just never gets old. But for all...
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Spring Sum-up: Because Summer is Already Here
A little over a month ago, I wrote a “here’s where things stand midway through spring” post. After enduring 90 degree temps in Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend, I’d say it’s time to officially close...
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An Addendum to the Spring Sum-Up
Entering the crux When I wrote a re-cap of my spring climbing season 2 weeks ago, it was 95 degrees, and jungle status humidity. Today feels similar. But this past Saturday brought a rare respite...
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NRG Sport Climbing Superlatives – 5.11
Mutiny 11d…the water makes for a big crowd deterrent! Photo: Dan Brayack Ah, 5.11. While the New has some of the best climbing on the planet at any grade, 5.11 is where it really starts to get good....
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