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

Tag Archives: Virginia

CragKid on the Sharp End!!!

CragKid on the Sharp End!!!

Despite the rocky start to our climbing year, our family has been trying hard to make up for lost time the past few weekends, and it’s been refreshingly awesome. Typically by this point of the year we are tired of melting off the rock and ready to exchange our climbing gear for paddleboards and kayaks. But after all the spring clovid closures, we have been far less picky with conditions than we usually are by mid-June! Not to mention, the weather has been seasonably tolerable, especially up at Hidden Valley, which is where we’ve spent the past couple of weekends.…Read the rest of this entry →

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Labor Day at Hidden Valley

Labor Day at Hidden Valley

I’m not sure what the climbing conditions are like where you are, but around here it is still pretty hot and sweaty.  That was probably the biggest factor influencing our decision to head to Hidden Valley this past weekend.  Other factors included avoiding the throngs of people flocking to the Red and the New for the holiday weekend, as well as wanting to do some recon for the Hidden Valley Travel Beta series posts I’ve been doing. The good news is that we had success on all fronts – decent temps, crowd avoidance, and recon.  (Oh, and speaking of that,…Read the rest of this entry →

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CRAG PROFILES: Hidden Valley

CRAG PROFILES: Hidden Valley

Well, if you follow me on Instagram (@cragmama), you may have noticed the poll that went up last week about which crag to feature on the blog next – Hidden Valley or the Red?  It was a tight race, with the winner going back and forth numerous times before finally settling on Hidden Valley.  If you were hoping for the Red, have no fear, that Travel Beta guide will hopefully be up before your fall projects start calling.  But for now, read on for the travel beta for family climbing at Hidden Valley. First off, let it be known that…Read the rest of this entry →

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This Just In – Conditions Matter…A LOT!!!!!

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 I’d never experienced such a direct one to one comparison before on such a hard route.  But before I get ahead of myself, let’s rewind it back a few months to where this story actually begins.   I initially got on Death by Chocolate partly because it looked kinda cool and mostly because it was the only thing dry over Memorial Day.  Then, as usual…Read the rest of this entry →

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Death by Chocolate and Coming Up Short

Death by Chocolate and Coming Up Short

As much as I would love to have this post be a final “send”-off trip report (see what I did there? ;)) before we head west to climb in Ten Sleep, it just didn’t happen for me this past weekend at Hidden Valley.  Certainly not for lack of trying.  Maaaaybe for lack of good conditions.  But I think more than likely I’m just mid-way through the process and it’s not my time yet.   Let me back up – my last post mentioned a route that CragDaddy and I played around on called Death by Chocolate 12d.  It’s only 40 feet…Read the rest of this entry →

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