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Red River Gorge - Style/Training shizzle (Read 3472 times)

abarro81

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Red River Gorge - Style/Training shizzle
August 16, 2013, 03:14:18 pm
Right then peeps who've been there, any info on predominant style appreciated - hold types, route styles etc... Phrases/words I've heard thrown around sound like my bag - 'resistance', 'edge paddling' etc. Are we talking full on no-hard-move stamina shit or am I likely to have to actually pull hard as well as hang on for ever? Particularly interested in stuff like Southern Smoke, 50 words (have watched the vids obviously, so know the rough lowdown) and everything in the the madness cave, but keen to know as much as possible about the general style too...

Wood FT

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Don't worry Barros, judging from that clip of the kid on southern smoke you can be totally shit but get to the top...

Paul B

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does this mean you'll be campaigning for the removal of the pockets in preference for crimps?

Fultonius

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There's 7,500 results on google for "Red River Gorge" "Knee Bar" so I think you've done all the training you need. Go forth and downgrade my son!

Specific phrease I've read are:

"Mediocre knee bar"

"Crummy knee bar"

and even

"Super strong knee bar"

Sounds right up your street  ;)


Modified to say, there's even some chat about "5 knee bar beta". Kneebarvana!!

cheque

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Are we talking full on no-hard-move stamina shit...?

Pretty much, yes!  :2thumbsup: The cruxes of most routes are generally doing a surprisingly lowly-graded "boulder problem" when pumped to buggery from getting there.

Bear in mind I didn't climb anything as hard as the routes you're interested in though!

Although there's a big variety of holds, the predominant type is open-handed. Routes with crimpy cruxes are  more a case of "gets crimpy for a while" than total bonefests, even at the hardest grades as far as I could tell. There are also very few less-steep routes, (at least not sport routes) to the extent that "slabby" and "vertical" seem to have different meanings over there! Anything that's hard and not totally overhanging is generally held in a kind of awe and universally described as"more like something from the New".

Even though I went as I was tempted by the promise of steep, sustained climbing on big holds I was amazed at just how true this was but I was also unprepared for how front-on the climbing generally is. Being able to shake out and recover hanging from a jug without much help from body position tricks is definitely a major asset as there are plenty of routes without much other opportunity.

Basically if you like endurance climbing and you're already good at it you'll have a fucking blast. I loved it (going back for most of this October) and I was nowhere near fit enough!

abarro81

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Awesome, cheers for the knowledge. I'm also gonna be going for most of Oct - see you there :)

rjtrials

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Bob Marley routes have a hard start, long pinchy/open  handed middle sections then a hard move up high on much smaller holds.

The madness and Omaha are pumpy climbing on a 45 wall to a shit rest to a sustained headwall on uncut finger jugs.

If you can recover straight arm shaking on a steep wall, then close on small-ish holds, you will probably be fine.

tim palmer

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I didn't try anything harder than 8a+ when I was there for a few days but found that it was pure endurance, I think you will wallop stuff there, in typical north american fashion the grades are pretty soft.  The climbing is amazing, shame it is in kentucky. 

JohnM

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The climbing is amazing, shame it is in kentucky.

Has the area got nothing else going for it apart from the climbing?

SA Chris

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Chicken? Bourbon? Bluegrass music? :)

Some great hiking, rafting, fishing apparently. Depends what floats your boat.

abarro81

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This gets better and better - I freakin LOVE chicken..

tim palmer

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The climbing is amazing, shame it is in kentucky.

Has the area got nothing else going for it apart from the climbing?

To be fair it is the first time I have been to "real america" i.e. mid america/almost the south, but it felt very deprived in comparison to the other parts of the states I have visited

mikenty

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Are we talking full on no-hard-move stamina shit...?

Pretty much, yes!  :2thumbsup: The cruxes of most routes are generally doing a surprisingly lowly-graded "boulder problem" when pumped to buggery from getting there.

......... Being able to shake out and recover hanging from a jug without much help from body position tricks is definitely a major asset as there are plenty of routes without much other opportunity.


I've not been to Red River Gorge but from this description it sounds like a trip or 2 to the traverse at Craig y Longridge would see you right.

AndyR

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Are we talking full on no-hard-move stamina shit...?

Pretty much, yes!  :2thumbsup: The cruxes of most routes are generally doing a surprisingly lowly-graded "boulder problem" when pumped to buggery from getting there.

......... Being able to shake out and recover hanging from a jug without much help from body position tricks is definitely a major asset as there are plenty of routes without much other opportunity.


I've not been to Red River Gorge but from this description it sounds like a trip or 2 to the traverse at Craig y Longridge would see you right.
That's true - good training for the deprivation and rednecks...

 

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