One More Go Round At the Red

It's getting down to the wire. I have officially have 3 more days in Oxford OH. 2 Days until the 8th when we leave for vacation then I'll be back for the 16th. Very weird to me. Anyway a couple days ago Matt and I went down to the red for 1 last time before I leave. We have been trying to for a long time and work or weather has impeded our ability to, so when we heard that the rain was going to stop Monday morning we decided to try. As always we only had a day to be down there so we left Oxford at a ridiculous hour. We got down to the red at about 8:45 and were a little unnerved to see what we saw. Everything was flooded. The red was underwater. The Kentucky Mountain Highway had water sitting somewhere between 2 and 5 feet below the highway. There is no water near this highway. This was all from rain. Apparently they had just been getting pounded with no type of sensitivity from mother nature. We crossed over the Red River and saw that it was not the tiny little trickle it usually is but instead a raging river. It could have been class 3 rapids where it usually too shallow to put a boat it. As we get closer to Miguel's things do not look any more promising. Standing water is everywhere. Everywhere. As we observe in horror we both talk about how the climbing was secondary and we really just wanted to be able to take a trip together before I left. Although this was true it would have been a bummer. We stayed positive and headed into Miguel's for coffee and breakfast...ps the parking area was as empty as i've ever seen it...shockingly. Once inside we inquire to the guy working, which was Miguel's son, for the climbing report. His response was that as of last night the Gorge was flooded; and continued with "I hope you like hiking." Not pleased. A little disheartened we ordered our delicious breakfast wraps and gigantic coffees and post up in front of the shop. Now time to think. Where gets immediate morning sun? This was my thought process. We need a place that will be pounded with sun as soon as it's up; and preferably with a quick approach so if it is a no go we haven't hiked for an hour for no reason. My first thought is Roadside Crag, which is a frickin tourist attraction because of the huge # of climbs and it's ridiculously fast approach. However it gets sun all day and with 49 lines there something has got to be dry enough to climb! I thought. Well we get to Roadside and the 1st route we encounter is called Roadside attraction, which is a really cool 140 foot trad line. Well it used to be. Now it is a waterfall of epic proportions. Not a good start. We move down the cliffside still hopeful. The 5.10 wall is pretty overhung so there is still hope. We get there to find the holds have condensation inside the pockets. Yuck, and not to mention unclimbable. The 5.12 wall is in the same boat, which has a climb on it that I've wanted to try for a long time...which ill come back to later on. As we continue we see more water careening from the tops of the cliff. We finally make it to the last possible option. The tall but pretty moderate slab wall. It is also unclimbable due to water running down it.

As I pout Matt begins to paw at the start of a nice climb called Ledger Line. As I stare in confusion he turns and says, "this is pretty dry..." Note, this climb is literally right next to an area that has turned into a small waterfall and is spilling water straight down onto us. I return a look of being unsure of his statement and walk over. He was right, it didn't feel that wet. Now, it was slab, which means small holds for both hands and feet... and possibly wet. Also, when you fall on slab (slab means the rock is leaning away from you), you don't fall into the air, you fall onto rock and sometimes slide down it...especially if you fall via foot slipping off a hold. All good things that are really pointing us in the direction of "try it." I tell Matt I will get up on it first and hang the draws. PS this is Matt's first outdoor lead climb! Very exciting! I tie in, unsure of what will come my way. He was right. The holds were pretty dry. I did come upon some pockets that had been turned into little ponds, however I just skipped those and continued upward. The route was really nice and was pretty long, (80 feet). After I got down Matt got on it. It went really well and for his first outside lead was very successful. Kept a cool head and just concentrated on climbing.

By this time some other people were starting to show up and it seemed more climbs were starting to dry out. We got on the climb right next to ledger line which was also really nice. It was called All Cows Eat Grass and was a little harder than Ledger Line. Similar climbing which a more difficult finish. It involved a little chimney in a dihedral to a traverse on crappy holds to a nice jug to clip the anchors on.

At this point we decided to move back left and check out some of the previously wet climbs. When we got back to the 12 wall I took a look at Ro Shampo (12a) with whimsical eyes. I've wanted to try it for a long time and I knew this was my last trip to the red for a long time. Also I have been saying I want to get on a 5.12 before I leave. This things all added up to me deciding I wanted to try it. It it about 60 feet of very sustained overhung climbing. Very overhung climbing. I won't say it went well but I made it through all the moves after some work. The route was unreal. Really cool moves with high heelhooks (making you horizontal) and some really cool flagging and big hucks for good dishes. The crux (hardest move or section) involved a little pocket that you could fit about 2 and a half fingers in but was only about 1/2 a knuckle deep. You had to hit this pocket and then while falling away from the wall grab a big dish about and up to the left. Very cool move. After Ro Shampo we moved further toward the trailhead to climb 1 more route called fadda, which was my first lead when I first started sport climbing. It was kind of cool to go back to it and see how different it seems now. Afterward we called it a day and went to the beer trailer...for 1 last time. So sad. Also, Donnie, the guy who is usually working at the beer trailer, wasn't there! Kind of disappointing...oh well. We had a Red Stripe on the picnic table and headed back to Miguel's for dinner. The pizza was unbelievable as always. I got the usual, ranch dressing, chicken, spinach, bacon and feta. So delicious. Matt got a new one, he got bbq sauce, chicken, black beans, corn and pineapple. It sounded less than appetizing but was actually quite good. We enjoyed our pizza and our last remaining hours sitting outside Miguel's and headed to our tent for bed.

Our plan was to get up at 6am, which did not happen. We made it up at 6:45 though...not too bad! We had delicious waffles with vanilla yogurt and blueberrys on them for breakfast and headed to a crag in the Gray's Arch Region called Left Flank. The hike in is usually pretty uneventful however the smalls stream that we cross was not a wee larger. Matt decided to heave himself over while I teetered across a fallen tree. The climb we had our eyes on was called Mr. Bungle. It was 60 or so feet right on this blunt arete. It was a really aesthetic climb and really fun. Unfortunately this consumed all our available time at the beautiful Red River Gorge. We hiked out and made the drive back to Oxford.

Since we got back I have been running around trying to finalize all the little things and cross the ts. I am not a details person and this is not easy for me. It has been a sad week. I worked my last shift at the wall and said goodbye to a lot of people that I've become really close with. Last night Jenny and I had a get together at Skipper's to see everyone we could before our departure. It was a really good night and we got to see a lot of people that we may not have been able to otherwise. Well, off to pack some more. Until next time...

Goodbye Oxford