Category Archives: Climbing

Posts about…you guessed it – climbing! Trip reports, anecdotes, and musings about my favorite recreational pasttime.

Birthday Bonanza at the New River Gorge!

Aug 25 2011

Its that time of year again where I get older and wiser, which in our family means we fly north to the New River Gorge to celebrate. In years past we’ve hit Summersville Lake (for the trip report on last year’s bash, click here), but this year we decided to stay in the gorge and climb away from the crowds. The weather was (for August), spectacular – temps below 90 with decent cloud cover, and the only rain was in quick passing showers on Sunday afternoon. Had we been able to lift off that smothering blanket of humidity, conditions…Read the rest of this entry →

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly…and a new Facebook Group.

Aug 15 2011

Our original weekend plans included a climbing trip to Boone, but unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans. With all of our family travels and such it had been almost a month since we’d gotten outdoors climbing, so we were definitely itching to get out. But because the forecast was so sketch, we ended up just staying in town and climbing locally at Hidden Wall. Considering the weather reports from friends in other parts of the state, it seems like it was the better choice, although conditions were still mediocre at best. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly… THE…Read the rest of this entry →

The New Never Gets Old

Jul 20 2011

Well its about time. We went to the New this past weekend and we had….wait for it….NO RAIN!!! The Lineberry Rain Curse is officially broken! Sure we’ve had a few sunny day trips here and there, but its literally been a year since we’ve roped up on a completely rain-free weekend. Conditions could not have been any better – low humidity, cloud cover, temps just barely hitting 80! And though I would never in a million years wish rainy conditions upon any of my climbing peeps, after hearing of two other crags that got dumped on (one with only a 10% chance of…Read the rest of this entry →

Over the River and Through the Woods…to Grandmother’s Boulders We Go!

Jul 06 2011

Slowly but surely I’ve been whittling away at my 2011 Hit List, and finally dragging my crash pad up to the Grandmother Boulders in Boone brings me one step closer to crossing off #7 from my list, which was about exploring new climbing areas. These quality boulders are sitting around 5000 feet or so, making for a welcome summer respite for NC climbers drowning in humidity at lower elevations across the state. There’s not guidebook of course, because thats the way NC bouldering rolls, so we were delighted that our friend Matt was up for showing us around. The temps were in the 70’s, and…Read the rest of this entry →

The Heresy Saga

Jun 23 2011

At some point I think most climbers develop what I like to think of as “Daydream Projects” – routes that for whatever reason, almost seem to call your name. Maybe its because the route is particularly aesthetic or has a famed notoriety associated with it. Perhaps the route speaks to you because you know it will push either your mental or physical abilities (or both!). Or maybe you keep obsessing over it because you’ve gotten on it so many times and keep falling off at the same dang spot. You have a connection to the route on a personal level. You rehearse the crux…Read the rest of this entry →

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