I thought I would write up a series of posts about transitioning into a nomadic life for all of you readers thinking about hitting the road for a climbing trip. I figure this will be the first of the following five posts.
Just leave.
The Best Car for the Road.
What to Pack.
Where to Visit.
Tips and Tidbits.
My little home in Boone, NC.
Just Leave
I think the hardest part of road tripping (or at least for me) was simply leaving; basically driving away from the life you know in hopes of something better. At the time of hitting the road:
I was living in a city I really loved and that perfectly matched my outdoor enthusiasm
I was working a job that I enjoyed (albeit the usual work frustrations )
I had just been offered a promotion, in fact the promotion that I had been “working towards” as an analyst
My work hours truly consisted of 9 – 5, allowing me to climb everyday after work if I wanted
I was dating a great guy
I had numerous friends and felt part of a community
I was comfortable
Life was great… but if I didn’t leave I would always wonder what I had missed out on. So I cut the ties and left, using the following steps to transform into a nomad.
Make things happen NOW. There is never going to be an ideal time of life to do a big trip or any other life change. When people ask how I was able to hit the road I catch myself often saying “I was in between careers”, but really I was in between careers because I MADE it be that way. I could have easily transitioned into the new role at my work, but why not travel for many months rather than sit in a cubicle? =) If I am a good worker, I should always be able to find work (or so I hope).
Set the day on which you will turn in your notice. I was offered the promotion weeks before I was planning on submitting my notice. I temporarily faltered, but decided to continue on with my plan, turn down the promotion and quit my job (though I have been very fortunate that my work requested that I continue to work from the road on my rest days. Best of all worlds.)
Figure out the details for your belongings. If you can’t or you don’t want to leave your stuff at your apartment / house, simply pack it up. Get boxes, some tape, a big black marker and start packing. And if you don’t need the belongings, rid yourself of their hassle by selling or throwing them away. =) I was planning on putting my belongings in storage, but first asked around to my house-owning friends as I would rather pay a friend to store my stuff than a business owner I don’t know. Sure enough I found a friend with a crawl space that wasn’t being used, and I have been paying a fee to her. Easy as that. =)
Set a day of when you want to drive away. I noticed it was real hard for me to leave SLC, and I actually purposefully stayed around the first 6 weeks of my time off. I think it was hard for me to leave for a two reasons. 1) It was August, my birthday month and my good friends birthday month. As many of you readers now, my birthday is a BIG DEAL to me and I wanted to celebrate it with friends. 2) I knew that part of this trip was to find a new home as I would really like to NOT return to SLC, except to visit. I felt like I still had a lot of climbing to do in the area, so spent 6 weeks exhausting the climbing in Utah and Wyoming while also wrapping up a bunch of personal items. But as soon as my date came up, September 15, I left to Rifle.
Adjust to your new life. Sometimes change is hard, but soon you will surprise yourself how comfortable you become in your new way of life. Find simple things that make you happy… coffee at the same place everyday? Listening to a certain song each morning? Etc.
Next thing you know.. you will never want to go home. And if that is the case, drop me an email and let’s catch up. =)
If you have been on the road before, please feel free to post up your thoughts.
After two wonderful weeks in Rumbling Bald, I packed up the little Honda Civic and headed four hours to Rock Town, GA. Good bye granite, hello sand stone!
Rumbling Bald is located outside the town of Chimney Rock, North Carolina and consists of granite trad lines and an expansive boulder field. I initially hadn’t planned to add this location to my trip agenda, but was pleasantly surprised when it ranked as one of my favorite bouldering destinations. The town of Chimney Rock is quaint and boasts a beautiful view of granite walls (not open to climbing, but it sounds like might be in the future) and a small waterfall. Rumbling Bald is within 5 minutes of the town’s edges.
Best Time To Visit
The best time to visit Rumbling Bald, like many places in the South East, is in the in the fall, winter and spring when temperatures are in the 50’s and 60’s (Fahrenheit).
Guidebook
A guidebook for Rumbling Bald was released within this last year and might be the best bouldering guidebook I have ever used. The book includes over 900 boulder problems and is very thorough with topos and numerous photos, making boulder problem finding quite easy. You can buy the book online from CarterBooks or directly from the author Chris Dorrity. Other than that, you can pick it up in outdoor stores based in North Carolina (for instance FootSloggers in Boone).
Camping
Coffee Crumbs – If car camping, you are allowed to camp for free at Coffee Crumbs, a coffee shop on the main street across from Duncan BBQ. They allow up to 7 cars, but when I was there I was the only person staying in the lot for my whole two week visit. The coffee owner is named Angel but often the whole family can be seen in the shop, including the daily presence of 2-year-old, Adler. If in the area (and especially if camping at this spot) please frequent this establishment. Their food is good, their coffee delicious (especially the snickerdoodle and caramel lattes), plus they have free wifi.
There are campgrounds (Creekside Mountain Camping and Hitching Post Campground) around but the cost is usually $15 – 20. However, free camping can be found along Highway 9. Whatever you do, DO NOT CAMP at Rumbling Bald as it is strongly prohibited and can potentially impact access.
Food / Drink
Restaurants: There really aren’t any good restaurants in Chimney Rock. The best available is probably El Sureno, the Mexican restaurant located at the bottom of Boys Camp Road. The food is ok and the service horrible. I must admit that I really did enjoy their Sangria, but I have quite a simple palette. =)
Beverage: Beverage can be bought at the Ingles on Highway 9. Or there is a tiki bar behind The Geneve, which is just the typical bar.
Other Coffee Shop: Another great coffee shop is Willow Creek. It is a store with a coffee shop upstairs. The coffee isn’t as good as Coffee Crumb, but two guys named Frank and Don run the store and are hilarious (especially Frank) and kind hearted folks. When my friend Darvell joined me in my travels, they let us camp out on the back porch of their store since we couldn’t car camp at Coffee Crumbs. It was one of the best camping spots I have had on this trip. =)
Personal Hygiene
Showers and a laundromat can NOT be found in Chimney Rock. The closest town with these amenities is Hendersonville, located about 30 minutes away.
Rest Day Activities
Visit Asheville – On rest days, definitely check out Asheville! What a fab city, that I definitely rank in my top 5 favorite cities. This liberal city houses artists, great musicians and numerous fabulous restaurants. I suggest Wasabi for sushi, The Sunny Point for breakfast, and the Noodle house (I can’t remember the name) on Broadway. A local band I saw was The Firecracker Jazzband. They were superb!
Other
Movie Rental – The closest movie rental place is Ingles on Highway 9, but they do carry only recent releases.
Climbers Coalition – The local Coalition for this area is the Carolina Climbers Coalition, who were instrumental in keeping Rumbling Bald open to climbers rather than being developed. Please join and consider donating if visiting the area.
If any of you readers have additional beta, please feel free to comment or email me.
After 2 weeks in Boone, I cruised the couple hours south to Rumbling Bald to check out its 900+ granite boulder problems. I initially didn’t expect to stay long, but was quickly enamored by the abundance of great problems and the ease of access due to the fantastic guidebook.
I luckily caught Rumbling Bald in prime season, being able to climb everyday except on my purposeful rest days and the 3 days it rained.
Andrew on the powerful Kung Fu. This is the only “pant dependent” climb I have ever been on. The beta includes using a knee to balance to a crimp, but without jeans or pants with some type of friction it seriously seems impossible.
One of my favorite problems was the uber classic Rotator Cuff.
This highball was such a aesthetic line. Though not difficult, I was still scared at the top and I was unable to top it off. Pictured is Nate.
One of the most ridiculous, yet fun problems I have yet to climb. The problem is named Wrestling the Alligator and includes beta of double heel hooks, double toe hooks and moving in a complete circle before manteling. Pictured is Colin.
The necessary campus move on Dime Crack. Thankfully, since the problem is a little tall, the climb gets easier as you go.
Dan on a new highball line on the Devil boulder.
Issa on a “fun” (aka impossible) problem. I have been fortunate that every spot I have visited I have met some really great people who have become good friends. This was the case with the Charlotte crew, in particular Issa, Joe and David.
I met Fire Fly, pictured above, in Asheville. We attended the most rocking concert put on by the Firecracker Jazzband and then he joined the crew at the boulders the next day. Good times!
And of course the obligatory photo of CB. I believe she was hanging out in the Fire Fly’s jacket in this pic.
Boone, North Carolina might be one of my all time favorite bouldering destinations with its gneiss boulder problems scattered amongst amazingly beautiful trees. I unfortunately was unable to get into Hound Ears, but perhaps that is for the best as it may have resulted in me never leaving the city. =)
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Boone is in the fall and spring when temperatures are in the 50′s and 60′s (Fahrenheit). If it happens to rain while visiting, certain areas (like Blowing Rock) dry lots more quickly than others (like Grandmother).
Guidebook
There isn’t a guidebook making the best resource for information being Boone Boulders. I usually would post up beta here on the CragBaby site, but the Boone locals take great pride in the lack of available information and so I will definitely respect them on this matter.
Camping
Campsites: There are a couple campsites in the area, but they seem quite pricey at $15 – $20 per night. I heard that the Julian Price campsite on the Blue Ridge Parkway is very nice, but I did not stay there.
Free Camping: There are a handful of pull offs along 221 where one can find free camping. Or there is a great spot on Roseborough Road about 5 minutes past the Lost Cove area.
Food / Drink
Restaurants: I didn’t eat out while in Boone but did hear that Melanies, located downtown is a good place for grub. (I actually tried to go to Melanie’s but it was closed the day I attempted.) Also, the restaurant next to the Boone Footslogger (I can’t remember the name) is known to have great burritos.
Beverage: Beer and wine are sold in all stores. I did stop by the Sixpence pub in Blowing Rock and really enjoyed my night there. Delicious brews with very friendly locals.
Personal Hygiene
Showers: A couple minutes off Blowing Rock road in Boone is a swimming facility with nice showers, cost being $3. It is a little tricky to find, but the Visitor Information right on Blowing Rock road can give you directions and a map.
Laundromat: I used a couple different laundromats, but preferred Village Laundry adjacent to the mall.
Other
Locals: Boone was (so far) the friendliest place I have visited on my road trip. I seemed to always have a crew to boulder with plus I had numerous non-climbers stop and talk to me, giving me their phone number in case “I happened to need anything” while in town. Amazing! The level of hospitality made me feel like I was back in Ireland. =)
Irrelevant Grades: I noticed that Boone climbers seemed to never talk about the grades of climbs. Seriously. They would point out a problem, give the name and everyone would try it. I sometimes would inquire the grade of a problem after working it, but there was something real fun about just enjoying the climb without a number attached.
Sites of Interest
Blue Ridge Parkway: The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most beautiful stretches of road I have ever driven, being rivaled only by the drive into Denali Park, Alaska. It is seriously stunning, especially when the fall foliage is still visible.
Linville Gorge: Wow! Linville Gorge is stunningly beautiful! Though a bit of a trek from Boone, it is worth every minute spent driving there.
Downtown Boone and Blowing Rock: Both these cities have quaint downtowns that can entertain while taking a break from climbing.
If any of you readers have additional beta, please feel free to comment or email me.
After my month stay in the Red River Gorge, I drove to Boone, North Carolina with my friend Pierre in search of gneiss boulders. I stayed in the area for two weeks, but Pierre could only stay one before having to head home to Montreal to work.
The scenery around Boone is stunning! It is filled with these wonders of nature called “trees”, something that I don’t often see being raised in the desert of Utah. =) I was there during the fall foliage and was daily amazed at the beauty of the area. This pic was taken on top of Table Rock and looks down on the Linville Gorge.
The climbing was extremely fun. I have bouldered a bit back home, but I really feel in love with bouldering once in Boone. Pictured is Erich sending M1 on the 221 Circuit.
One of the best aspects of Boone was the friendliness of the locals. It seemed that people were always looking out for me, plus I was lucky enough to meet a great climbing crew. Tilly was the first person Pierre and I met and he was such a great contact, joining us on numerous climbing days and providing us with climbing beta. Here is Tilly climbing at the Main area at Grandmother boulders.
Daniel working a superb problem at The Grandmother Boulders.
I met two sailor boys (he he …I have to write that as I have NEVER known a sailor boy) and we hung out for the weekend they were in town. The climbing was fun, the campfire HUGE and the bickering between the two amazingly hilarious! Pictured is Chris climbing at the Mushroom boulder at Blowing Rock.
I met JB in the parking lot of Table Rock where we ended up playing cards that evening and then enjoying the hike to the summit in the morn. He joined the crew of us out bouldering the next day. Here he is pictured bouldering at one of the local secret spots.
Tilly topping out a heady v2 roof on the 221 Circuit.
Pierre on the Roof of Death at Blowing Rock. The problem is aptly named as the top out has a potential fall landing on a huge boulder.
The back room of Panera soon became the “traveler hangout” as the wifi was great and the hours reasonable. Mark (on the left) and I hung out on a regular basis during the evening hours and he gave me continual great beta of things to see on my climbing rest days.
North Carolina is in the heart of the Bible belt, which means that I often found myself in Christian themed stores. This Christian theme coffee shop wasn’t really up to par with the coffee, but they were incredibly friendly with good wi-fi and late hours. Plus, they allowed me to print for free. Not too bad if one can deal with the scriptures written all over the wall and the music in the background. =)
On one of my rest days I went to the laundry mat and just happened to meet this house pet, Secal the goat. The goat was cute, but kept trying to “play” with CB, which consisted of Secal trying to head butt CB. Umm, yeah. CB wasn’t too psyched on that idea.d
And… of course… a traditional last blog post picture of CB. Here she is snuggled in the car one night. Ah, the best traveling mate ever.
Ahhh, CB is so cute I better put up two photos. Here she is in her layers of clothing at top of Table Rock. Yes, she IS wearing a bright pink sweater which is easy to spot as she runs through the woods. =)
Boone will always have a special place in my heart as it was in this destination that my road trip started to turn around. Not only were all my worries at home started to dissipate, but I learned to really love to boulder while in Boone.
The Red River Gorge is a stunning area consisting of long beautiful routes that give a whole new meaning to the word “pump”. The area houses an abundant number of classic sport and trad lines, with a handful of boulder problems.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit this is the Spring and Fall with ideal temps being in the 60’s (Fahrenheit) and below. Plan on rain during your visit.
Guidebook
The guidebook for the area is “The Red River Gorge: A Rock Climbing Guide Book. 2007 2nd edition” by Ray Ellington and can be purchased at Miguel’s. New routes and areas, such as the La Bibliotech Wall, are listed online on the RRC site.
Camping
There are two main places were climbers camp: Miguel’s Pizza and Lago Lindas. Both have great access to crags, located at opposite ends of the Red.
Miguel’s Pizza – Cost is $2 a night to camp (for tent or car). There are showers, in little wooden shacks that are naturally decorated with cobwebs, and cost $1.50 per 5 minutes. Food is available, at reasonable prices, as well as a climbing shop for any items you might have forgotten at home. As a solo traveler, Miguel’s is the partner solution as crowds of 50+ visit each weekend during high season. The downside to Miguel’s is the noise, especially on weekends. Also, there are only 2 bathrooms, a problem I hear that will be addressed this winter.
Lago Lindas – Cost is $5 per night for car or tent, but includes a shower. The facilities are a lot nicer with heated restrooms, with three stalls each, and a nice indoor shower. The area is a lot quieter, due to the fact that population of campers are a little older (older in this case meaning 25+) and there are a lot of couples. As a solo traveler it is definitely still possible to find partners, but you might just be a third wheel.
Food / Drink
Grocery Store: The closest grocery store is Krogers in Stanton, 10 minutes west of Slade on the Mountain Parkway.
Restaurants: I must admit that I only ate at two restaurants during my month stay in the RRG, and the only one I will really suggest is Miguel’s. Everything I tried was delicious, but my favorite pizza combo (that was thankfully introduced to me by Ginley) included the toppings of chicken (or bacon), avacado, cilantro and tomato. Yum!
Alcoholic Beverages: I thought Utah liquor laws were strange, but I think Kentucky might rival us. Kentucky counties are either dry or not, dry meaning you cannot buy any type of alcoholic beverages. I kid you not. Miguel’s, the main climber hang out, resides in one of these dry counties. Luckily it borders a non-dry county and so a beer trailer is about 5 minutes up the road on KY-11. Prices are reasonable.
Personal Hygiene
Showers: Showers are a non-issue when in the Red as they are completely accessible if you camp at Linda’s or Miguel’s. However, if you stay at Miguel’s, which has the outdoor shack showers, you can go for a real shower at the hostel. The hostel is located off the next exit on the Parkway with showers costing $3. Note that the hostel has extremely odd hours.
Laundromat: The closest laundromat is in Stanton. It is located just down the adjacent street from Kroger’s and is open 24 hours. Note that for some odd reason they don’t sell laundry soap. I don’t understand why they choose to miss out on this revenue generator.
The Red River Gorge Coalition
The Red River Gorge has a superb coalition, something I truly wish the Salt Lake Climber’s Alliance would emulate. The RRGC is on the pulse of what is going on in their climbing community and is actively raising money that is directly used to buy crags, allowing permanent access. Donations can be made on their website or by attending the annual Rocktoberfest. If climbing in this area, please consider donating to this cause!
Other
Theft: Theft is a problem in the Red. Do not leave anything of value in your vehicle at the crag; rather keep these items in a vehicle back at camp.
Torrent Falls Registration: Only a handful of climbers are allowed in Torrent Falls on a daily basis. In order to climb there you must register the day of climbing. Registration opens at 6am, is open Thursday through Sunday and can fill up quickly. After registration the screen prompts you to print the page, but you can write the details on a sheet of paper if a printer is not accessible.
Dogs: Two climbing crags do not allow dogs: Torrent Falls and Muir Valley. Torrent is lax about the rule, as long as you call Dr. Bob (the owner of Torrent) prior to climbing.
Snakes: There are two venomous snakes in the area, the most prevalent of the two being the copperhead. The snakes are docile but will bite if you (or your dog) gets too close. They have been seen on trails, underneath crags and in the cracks on route. Also, there were two big (4 foot) snakes (non-copperheads) lingering at The Dark Side this year.
Transportation: If you stay at Miguel’s, you can completely get away with not having a vehicle and still being able to get to the crag.
Sites of Interest
The Natural Bridge – a natural arch located in a state park across the street from Miguel’s. Very beautiful and makes for a good run on a rest day. I did the Balance Rock trail, which is quite steep, but there is another trail that is more gradual in vertical gain. The Balance Rock trail from Miguel’s door to door is probably 3.5 – 4 miles (I think).
Keeneland Horse Races – Definitely fun! They are located in Lexington which is an hour drive from Slade. Races only run in April and October (I believe).
Bourbon Tours – I did just the Wild Turkey tour (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but there is what is known as the Bourbon Trail that takes you to each of the distilleries. I hear it is pretty cool.
Snake Zoo – Everyone seemed to mention the snake zoo at the rest stop, but I heard it was closed and forgot to personally check. Might want to check it out if you are in the area.
If you have been to the area and have any additional beta (or see a mistake in mine), please feel free to comment.
After the Red River Gorge I hit the road again with my friend Pierre (from Quebec), with the destination being Boone, North Carolina and its abundant gneiss boulders.
My whole vacation, which started on August 1st, has been a little “off” with lots going on at home and on the road for me to worry about. Problems ranging from moving, car wreck, dealing with insurance companies (and in this case it was particularly long taking about 2 months to solve), looking for a new house and new car, breakups, job interview, car problems while on the road, the climbing accident and one of my dear friends at home being extremely sick (I actually considered calling the trip for the last two reasons.)
I usually climb to forget about my worries, but even climbing became stressful as being a sole traveler means that I am climbing with new climbing partners daily who I don’t know and who I am unsure know the technique of the soft catch. Add to that the fact that the bolt placements are more sparse in Rifle and the Red in comparison to home, and I catch myself really NOT wanting to fall. Falling is always scary (my head still being messed up from the broken ankle) but knowing there is a potential for a big fall on a belayer I don’t know is even more stressful On top of all that, there are so many strong climbers on the road and especially in the Red that my projects are often everyone’s warm-ups, resulting in me really starting to wonder if I truly am a “climber” since I am unable to climb 5.13.
But the past two days have started to turn around with me being truly happy each morning and excited to be on the road. I think it is because a lot of these worries have started to clear up: my car is working, the girl in the accident is doing real well and I am starting to mentally recover, my good friend at home is home from the hospital and it is just real nice not to be stressing about rope climbing. Though I’ve never considered myself a “boulder-er” since my focus has always been more towards sport climbing, I have loved my time here in Boone and perhaps the end result of all my worries will be me also loving this form of climbing. =)
I spent 4 weeks of my vacation in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky. I would have spent more time there as the climbing is superb, but after the accident I was in desperate need of a break from rope climbing.
Yet, even with the traumatic climbing accident, I noticed that when I drove away from the Red I had nothing but good memories. And though I am really glad I am taking some time off from the rope for a bit, I am excited to return to the Red to climb many more of its abundant classic routes at some later date.
The Red River Gorge icon is of course Miguel’s Pizza. It is well known in the climbing community and rightfully so. The camping is open only to climbers, drawing in crowds of 50+ climbers each weekend during main season. The food is fabulous and the location superb for climbing access. As a solo traveler it is the place to hang out to find climbing partners.
The mornings were especially beautiful with the brightly covered tents glistening in the frost. There were three areas for tents, all of which would be packed on the weekend. I was in the main area and the neighboring tents were literally inches away.
I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Ginley prior to hitting the RRG. He was extremely kind and showed me a good number of highlights of the Red while introducing me to a crew of folks. Here he is climbing at The Gallery.
The Red houses the largest number of strong climbers I have ever seen in one location. It was not uncommon to see Chris Sharma, Lisa Rands, Alex Puccio, etc hanging around, plus all the locals were incredibly strong, It truly seemed like the average RRG climber was crushing 5.13. At home I am stoked if I hop on one 5.12 a week, but at the Red 5.12a is a warm-up. I tried to keep up to pace, one week ending up working on 10 5.12’s, but the result was me just being worked all the time. Pictured above is my friend Nick, who currently resides in Montreal, climbing at the MotherLode.
One of the numerous classics is Buddha Hole, a climb divided into three sections by two large huecos. Pictured is me coming out of the first hueco and into the crux section.
This climb is so fun and harder than it looks as those plate-like features aren’t as good as one would hope. The moves are big and dynamic and it is just plain out enjoyable. Pictured is Eva-Lyn.
One of my favorite days climbing was at the La Bibliotech wall. The wall consists of all 5.11s with a couple 12’s and one 10. I went with a crew to focus on getting in some mileage and working on onsighting. It was one of the few days that I felt quite comfortable on the rope and got in 7 really fun pitches. Thanks to Elliot who took this picture. I wish I would have actually worn matching clothes that day. Oh, the life of living on the road. =)
As I previously mentioned, the falls are BIG in the RRG. One friend had to cut his rope after a day of climbing because he had taken so many big falls that day. This video is Zach taking a practice fall off Kaleidoscope. On this climb it is common to skip the last draw as it is impossible to clip, but the run to the anchors is still a good 10+ feet.
Part of climbing at the RRG is constantly being on the lookout for snakes. Within my first three weeks of being at Miguels, three dogs were bit by copperheads. This one bit a friend’s dog and was sitting under a climb we had all been working. I was especially nervous of the copperheads because I doubt CB could survive a bite.
I usually just worked on my rest days as I am fortunate to have a job I can work from the road. But on occasion went to check out many of the local sites. This day was particularly fun as Lynn, Gary and I went to see the Wild Turkey distillery in Lexington. It was one of the coolest tours I had experienced as nothing about it was tailored towards the tourist. They simply gave you a tour of their facilities, in its rough and rugged nature. Plus hanging out with Lynn and Gary, both currently Utah residents, was hilarious and exactly what I needed on this rest day.
I lingered in the Red one additional day so that I could check out the Keeneland horse races. I am so glad I did because the experience was one of my favorites. Everything from the diverse crowd to the classy nature of the event to the races themselves was intriguing. I attended the day’s races with a fun crew consisting of Andy from the Czech Republic, Lena from Russia and Tom from Germany. Tom is literally a traveling carpenter with his carpentry apprecenticeship requiring him to travel three years away from home prior to going back to school. On this day, he had worn his attire that distinguished him with his trade.
The best thing about the Red River Gorge was the community of climbers. I became friends with a group of French speakers, some from Canada and others from France, and hung out with them quite a bit, especially my last week. Sandra was one of my favorite people I met. Just seeing her made me smile.
I hung out with David, from France, quite a bit my last week. He was a great friend to me after the accident and I greatly appreciated his support. He did, however, strongly dislike my dog.
Last but not least, is the tradition of adding in a photo of my little one. My friend Elliot took this picture and it might be my favorite picture of CB.
Overall, my time in the Red was superb. I met lots of great people, I climbed many real fun routes, I saw some of the local sites, I had lots of time to think and of course I enjoyed some of the best pizza in the world at Miguels. Surprisingly one great take-away from my time there occurred the day of the accident. I cut ties with my family a year ago and this past year I have always believed it to be one of the best decision of my life. After the traumatic accident my initial reaction was that I needed to call someone close to me while also analyzing the relationships in my life, immediately knowing which broken relationships needed mending and which did not. I thought about my family, and I immediately still felt vindicated with my previous year’s decision. This confirmation was actually quite nice. So when I went back to Miguel’s I instead called my good friend Shaft, who was the perfect listening ear to my sobs.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I was unfortunately involved with a recent climbing accident where the climber decked from the chains. I wanted to write up a post to explain the accident, how it could be avoided and to give the update on the people involved.
The Accident
We were climbing the climb Ro Shampo at the Roadside crag in the Red River Gorge. Ro Shampo is a 5.12a, so a potential project for me but above the current limit of my climbing partner that day, Marcy, whose forte was traditional climbing. We had ran into some folks I knew who were working Ro Shampo and so we asked if we could join the crew.
I did one top-rope burn on Ro Shampo and thought it felt do-able but didn’t feel real confident leading it yet. I wanted to top-rope it one more time and Marcy decided she wanted to top-rope it as well, so our friend lead with our rope and the plan was for Marcy to do a burn before I did another burn.
The climb is really steep and as we started to pull the rope to a top rope, Marcy said that she would climb in the middle of the rope as she feared she couldn’t clip back into the draws after climbing because it was so steep and a hard climb for her. Her thought was that by climbing in the middle of the rope she could then clip in the trailing end of the rope, allowing the rope to be set up through the quickdraws for when I top-roped it. I had never seen someone climb in the middle of the rope on a one pitch sport route and so was confused with the mechanics of it, inquiring how it would work. She explained the aforementioned which made sense, so I put her on belay. She seemed confident with this system so I assumed that she had used such techniques in her trad climbing. When she got to the last bolt I was confused on how everything would work out at the top, so started talking to her again. On this climb there is a bolt right under the anchors, protecting one last dynamic move, and we were talking about her clipping the trailing end through just that bolt and leaving her lead top rope through the anchors. But then she said she was indirect and that she was ok, so I assumed she knew how to set it up so everything worked properly. She then said “take” and I did. And she fell, taking the 60 foot fall to the boulders below. It was horrific!
I looked up at the rope and I saw it going through the anchor. I looked at my device and everything was threaded correctly through my gri-gri, but my partner was laying on the ground bleeding profusely.
What happened is this system of climbing in the middle of the rope is exactly comparable to trailing a rope up a climb. At the anchors one usually goes indirect and drops the initial rope (to avoid confusion) and has the belayer go to the other rope (which the climber is already tied into). In this case, she had done the exact thing as trailing a rope, but when at the chains had clipped her line through the anchor draws, meaning the only thing between me and her was the draw keeping her indirect. However, she never said to take her off belay and switch side of the rope, so I didn’t. She must have forgotten to check to see if the rope was taut because if she had checked she would have seen it was not. Her system could have still worked if she hadn’t clipped through those anchors or if she had switched out only one of the draws with the trailing line or even put up more draws. I didn’t know what she was doing though because she was the climber at the chains and I was on the ground.
It can be confusing without drawing out the system we were using. Here is a graph from Rockclimbing.com that shows the set-up. When my climber clipped the trailing end through the anchors, the only thing between her and me was the draw keeping her indirect at the chains.
How to Avoid Such a Scenario
1) Keep it Simple – The main confusion on this day was the fact that the climber was climbing in the middle of the rope. Though it is the same as trailing a rope, it is much more confusing. In this scenario the climber was worried about being able to clip the rope back in for a top rope. We should have had her trail a rope or adjust the climbing rotation so a leader was one again before the top-roper.
2) If Unfamiliar with A Climber’s Technique, Don’t Belay – I was not familiar with the middle of the rope technique and so relied on my climber’s knowledge of the mechanics of the system. If a person doesn’t understand how the whole route is going to be done from climbing, clipping to cleaning, that person should not belay. Or the whole system should be explained prior to anyone climbing.
3) Always Check to Make Sure the Rope is Taut Before Coming Off Indirect – This is such a basic rule of climbing. Before ever unclipping oneself from the chains, one should check to make sure the rope is taut and the system is working properly. Only the climber knows what he/she has done at the chains and should check to make sure the system is still working with any changes that were made.
Update on People Involved
1) The Climber – Marcy is real broken with injuries including a broken back, hip, leg, wrist and a shattered pelvis. She has had a couple surgeries and will be in the hospital for a bit. Her spirits, however, are superb. In fact, we both think she is doing mentally better than I am. The last time I chatted with her she was hilarious, talking about how much fun we had climbing the day prior to the fall and how I should come hang out with her if I didn’t feel like climbing. Plus she has had her friends call me to get out climbing. Such a nice gesture, but I wasn’t ready to join them yet.
Marcy keeps insisting that I need to forget about the fall as she states that she made a mistake at the chains. Whew, easier said than done! I not only am still struggling with the image of the fall, but as the belayer I feel that I should have been talking to her more to ensure everything was being done properly.
2) The belayer – I was the belayer and am doing ok. I tried to sport climb two times after the accident and it was simply horrible, with me crying on route both days. It seems that my fear is in the system and its ability to work, even though I know the accident occurred from human error. I guess I get nervous because when she fell I remember looking at the system and everything looked correct, yet my friend was on the ground. It took me a couple minutes to realize what had happened. So, when climbing even though everything looks correct, I am nervous on route. My last route in the Red River Gorge was a 5.10c (what I would usually use for a warmup) that I was unable to finish because I was too scared of moving past the bolt.
I am currently in Boone, North Carolina bouldering. The bouldering here is superb and it feels nice to get back on the rock and actually have fun. Yet, I still can’t get that image of the fall out of my head and I think about it even when down climbing a boulder problem. And though it is fun to boulder, I still somewhat long to go home and hang up the climbing shoes for a bit.
3) There were three witnesses directly involved, a girl and a guy from Quebec and a guy from France. They are all doing well and back out climbing. I am in Boone with the guy from Quebec; the girl from Quebec is bouldering in Rock Town and the guy from France is still climbing in the Red River Gorge, but heading back to France shortly.
Last thoughts
One thing that really bothers me is how many similar stories I have heard! I have had at least 11 close friends (many of which are completely experienced climbers) tell me they had been in an accident where someone decks and I heard numerous more stories while at the Red (at least 10 more stories). The most amazing thing is I have yet to hear only one story that resulted from gear failure, instead human error usually being the cause.
Hope all you readers are well. Be safe and remember to double check everything.
