Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Tag Archives: Trad Climbing

Spring 2021: The Season of Redemption!

Spring 2021: The Season of Redemption!

With temps creeping up into the 90s on a regular basis down here in the Southeast, I think it’s safe to say that Spring is officially “sprung and done.” And with the first half of the year behind us, it’s a good time to look back and reflect on how the yearly goals are coming! I started this year with 2 very specific goals, but as the months went by, my spring climbing season quickly turned into a season of redemption on past projects! After coming up short on both of my season long projects last fall (Logotherapy 13a and…Read the rest of this entry →

Share

Family Climbing: Big C’s First Multi-pitch Adventure

Family Climbing: Big C’s First Multi-pitch Adventure

It was an epic day for our family at Stone Mountain last weekend.  Well, for three of us anyway.  We left Baby Zu with the grands, and whisked Big C off to Stone Mountain for his very first day of multipitch climbing. Up until this point the highest Big C had ever been off the ground was probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 feet.  But on a previous trip to Stone Mountain a few weeks ago, he had astonished all of us at how well he had scrambled up the friction slab, and the CragDaddy and I left wishing we could…Read the rest of this entry →

Share

NRG Craggin’ Classic

NRG Craggin’ Classic

Last weekend was the first official weekend of fall, and for climbers in the Southeast, that means it’s time for the Craggin’ Classic at the New River Gorge!  This NRG event is actually just one of a series of climbing festivals held across the country each fall.  The Craggin’ Classic Series (organized by the American Alpine Club), is a chance for climbers from all over to get together and play around on world class rock, all in the name of community, education, stewardship, and fundraising. This was my 2nd time working this event for Trango/Tenaya (first time was back in 2012),…Read the rest of this entry →

Share

Gettin’ High Off the Ground in Linville Gorge

Gettin’ High Off the Ground in Linville Gorge

This past weekend our family did an overnight in the Linville Gorge.  If you’ve never been to the Linville Gorge, it’s pretty spectacular!  If you like being outside at all, you will fall in love with this place, as it is top-notch at pretty much whatever outdoor endeavor you like.  On this particular occasion, we had planned a 24 hour quickie of hiking, climbing, camping, and lazing around in the hammock.  Thankfully it’s only a couple of hours from our house, and we arrived on Friday evening a little bit after 6 – just enough time for a short hike/picnic…Read the rest of this entry →

Share

3 Climbing Milestones in 1 Weekend!

3 Climbing Milestones in 1 Weekend!

We finally had an entire weekend free to head up to the New River Gorge, which of course meant it was going to be snowing and in the THIRTIES (after highs in the 60’s the weekend before…).  But at least the weather was good in our neck of the woods, even if it did feel more like a warm winter day rather than spring.  And even though we had to settle for Plan B, it ended up being a weekend filled with important milestones! The whole family marched up to Red Wall at Crowders Mountain on Saturday morning.  Steve had his sights…Read the rest of this entry →

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