Category Archives: Climbing

Posts about…you guessed it – climbing! Trip reports, anecdotes, and musings about my favorite recreational pasttime.

Hidden Valley Sendage

Oct 18 2017

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 cool and crisp…but instead we all feel like gorillas in the mist. That said, we knew that the elevation at Hidden Valley would make for cool(er) temps than the surrounding areas, and considering we’ve spent the past four weekends at the New, we figured we could use a change of pace. And it turned out to be awesome! Our plan for Day 1 was for CragDaddy…Read the rest of this entry →

This Time it’s Endless, Not Sendless…

Oct 02 2017

Ah, Endless Wall season. There’s nothing like it. Endless Wall is definitely my favorite climbing area at the New River Gorge, though on paper I’m not sure why. From a climber perspective, the grades are stiff, the bolt spacing is spicy, and cruxes require committment from body, mind and soul all at once. You’d better bring your try hard if you wanna climb here. From a mama perspective, the hike is long, and giant ladders make for a difficult approach with kids. You’d better bring your hiking bears if you wanna climb here. As a family, it’s logistically always been…Read the rest of this entry →

A Weekend of Firsts at the New River Gorge

Sep 26 2017

This weekend was our second on e in a row spent at the New River Gorge, and it represented a game-changing milestone for our family – WE WENT BY OURSELVES. Just us – mom, dad, and two kids. To those not familiar with the logistical nightmare that comes with climbing with kids and might not see this as a big deal, let me break it down for you. It has been 7 and a half YEARS since we have been able to climb without having to nail down any logistics with other people… Of those 7+ years, the first 3/3.5 were spent needing…Read the rest of this entry →

SEND-tember Kickoff – Red River Gorge

Sep 06 2017

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 actually means that all the fair weather holiday climbers will bail on their plans, leaving the dry rock for those of us that don’t mind a little bit of mud. And ironically, despite the deluge we drove through Friday night, the only rain we saw was a bit of drizzle Saturday afternoon! Day 1 was spent at Muir Valley’s Solarium, one of our fave spots to…Read the rest of this entry →

Photos at Hidden Valley with Fixed Line Media

Aug 30 2017

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 mornings were cool, the air was crisp…I can’t believe this is happening in August, but I’m gonna call it – It’s Fall Ya’ll!!!! Bring on Sendtember and Rocktober! But first, this weekend. It was awesome because we had a great crew of people and got to work with Bryan Miller of Fixed Line Media. Bryan is a rad adventure photographer that does his best work dangling…Read the rest of this entry →

“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN