Goofing Off at the Red

For my spring break, March 30^th – April 4^th, my buddy, Eric Monson, and I cruised on down to the Red River Gorge. We arrived Tuesday the 30^th of March around 5 o’clock. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to go to Drive by Craig. I hopped on the classic Ro-Shampo 5.12a. The next day, Wednesday, I headed on over to The Gallery. I warmed up on Mosaic 5.12c, a very cool route, and then went over to Calm like a Bomb 5.13b, which I on sighted. It was a tricky climb for me, just because the route followed a crack and that’s not really my style, but I was able to power through. After that, I worked on a 5.14 project. I really enjoyed being pushed to my limit on nearly every move. It really got me motivated to get stronger. Thursday, I went on over to Midnight Surf I warmed up on Cell Block Six 5.12c. This route was amazing, big moves to solid holds. I then went over to Tapeworm 5.12d, which also had big moves to solid holds. Finally, I was warm for Shiva 5.13b. The route starts off with chill 5.11 climbing to a killer lay down rest, which I enjoyed for a longtime. After the rest, though, comes the crux: a very hard boulder problem and dyno followed by 12 climbing. After I got some good beta from a local that stopped by, I made quick work of the route on my third go. On Friday, I headed on over to The Mother load, one of my favorite crags. I had my eyes set on The Madness 5.13c I had tried this route at the end of the day last year and loved it. I sent it on my first go. I then headed on over to my nemesis Golden Touch 5.13b, a short but super crimpy route. I finally laid the route to rest on my fourth go that day. I was very happy to be done with that route. The last day Saturday, I went to Drive by Crag. I really wanted to get on the very cool line Kaleidoscope 5.13c. I ended up flashing the route, and skipped the last clip making for a nice 25ft+ run out. After Kaleidoscope, I worked on my project Super Charger 5.13d/14a. This is probably my favorite route at the red, just big bouldery powerful moves on big openhanded pinches. I was able to get the route down to one fall. I had a super fun time at the Red climbing and hanging out with my friends at Miguel’s. I cannot wait to get down to the Red again.