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

Monthly Archives: July 2009

Gaping Similarities, not Petty Differences

Gaping Similarities, not Petty Differences

So in my last post, I mentioned that we made some new friends at Pies n Pints during our visit to the New last weekend.  We overheard the couple at the table next to ours talking about their day at the Bridge Buttress, another New River Gorge climbing area, so we decided to see what routes they had gotten on.  We ended up talking to them the rest of the time while we ate – Josh and Erin were their names, and they were from Johnson City, TN.  We compared notes on our activities from the day, discussed our plans…Read the rest of this entry →

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Endless Fun at the New

Endless Fun at the New

So what started out as a random assortment of climbing buddies at the New, ended up being just me and Steve.  Some folks bailed earlier in the week, one signed on AND bailed all on the day before, and others bailed after driving for an hour and deciding they were too tired to continue (not naming names though, Manbert…).  🙂 Anyway, we spent our first day at Endless Wall, which is in my opinion one of the most beautiful places in the gorge.  I realized that I had a few head issues to work through, but by the end of the day,…Read the rest of this entry →

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Gourmet Camping (aka Ode to Jetboil)

Gourmet Camping (aka Ode to Jetboil)

If you have ever been camping with me, you have heard me sing high praise  for the Jetboil system.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the Jetboil is NOT a communicable skin disease transmitted on airplanes, but rather, a portable, personal cooking system.  According to their website, the Jetboil is a “complete food and beverage multitool.” Steve and I received our Jetboils for Christmas in 2006 in anticipation of a backcountry canoe/hiking trip to the Everglades for New Year’s 07.  Since then, we have never been camping without it or without these sleeping bags!  For a long time…Read the rest of this entry →

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Risks and Consequences.

Risks and Consequences.

It has been a sad week in the world of climbing.  The climbing community suffered a loss of a legend this past weekend.  On Sunday, July 5th, John Bachar fell to his death while free soloing in Mammoth, California.  If you don’t know who he is, you can click on the link to find a quick bio, but this guy was one of the greatest climbers of all time, some might argue THE greatest.  This tragic event combined with my injury a couple of weeks ago in Utah brings to the forefront an issue that most climbers don’t like to…Read the rest of this entry →

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Maple Canyon and Closing Thoughts

Maple Canyon and Closing Thoughts

The climbing at Maple Canyon is probably the most unique climbing area I’ve ever been to.  The rock is a conglomerate embedded with pebbles and rocks of various sizes.  The routes are difficult to read from the ground, and require a lot of endurance to onsight, since you never know what kind of hold a cobble is going to be until you grab it, so you end up spending a lot of energy trying to find the right cobbles to use.  However, b/c of all the  cobbles, we discovered that Maple is also a place that rewards good footwork.  No matter…Read the rest of this entry →

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