The Red River Gorge is the most well-known climbing area in the state of Kentucky. The Red River has cut down into the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, along what is known as the Pottsville Escarpment. The ridge tops are all fairly even in elevation (about 1,200') and the clifflines are for the most part contiguous and occur at the same elevations (1,000-1,200').
Cliffs can be very short and up to 250' high, but there are very few cliffs that even top 200'.
The rock is conglomerate sandstone. There is a band of limestone under the sandstone that is exposed in many places, but for the most part it is unconsolidated and not fit for climbing purposes.
There are over a hundred different areas, close to 2,000 developed routes, and many more hundreds of untapped potential routes.
You can spend a lifetime climbing here and never touch every route. The routes range in grade from 4th class to 5.14. There are about the same number of reported trad routes as there are sport, so saying the Red is a sport crag is unfair. The origins of climbing predate the birth of American sport climbing and there are still many people putting up new traditional routes.
Multi-pitch routes here are unique. A "pitch" in the RRG can range anywhere from 20 to 100 feet. The nature of the clifflines necessitates some ridiculously short pitches, while many routes were established when standard rope lengths were much shorter and standard belay stations have continued to be in odd places. Combine these factors with big ledges and sometimes long traverses, and you end up with 3-pitch routes that would be a single pitch route in some other state.
The best seasons are Fall through Spring, with Fall being the best, but hoards of people climb in the summer. I don't understand it, but then again, I am a climber of convenience, not of scheduled holidays and weekends.
The regions listed to the left are by drainage and not the traditional method which is somewhat confusing at times. This will make it easier if you are referring to a topographic map.
Be forewarned, the entire RRG area covers a lot of ground and it takes some time to learn all the areas if you have never visited the area.
Getting There
From Lexington, Kentucky take I-64 east to the exit for the Mountain Parkway, just past the second Winchester exit. Follow the MP for 33 miles to exit 33.
At the end of the ramp, turn right for Red River Outdoors (guide service/coffe shop) and Miguel's Pizza, and turn left for the Red River Gorge proper.
Rack
For sport climbing, 10-12 draws and a 60m rope will get you up a majority of climbs, but there are a few longer routes that require a 70m and 14+ draws.
A "standard" RRG trad rack varies depending on who you talk to, but I would recommend this:
1 Set of cams (Camalot sizes #.75-#4) 1 Set of Stoppers Either doubles of the cams or a set of bigger hexes 1 Set of TCUs or Aliens
You can add a set of tri-cams, but flexible-stem cams are usually fine anywhere you could place a tri-cam.
4-8 shoulder slings (24" runners)
1 or 2 cordelettes
For trad, a 60m rope will suffice in almost all situations.
A good climb with a technical crux down low, perhaps 2 bolts up, and then on pumpy pockets the rest of the way up with some big moves. Which feels harder to you depends on your skills set. The route was commonly done in flip-flops or hiking boots.The name of this climb, I believe to be a not-so-subtle euphemism... either that or there was some moss in a pocket in the early days. Regardless, I doubt the latter was the sole motivation behind the ro...[more]
By Chris Chaney From: Golden, Colorado Sep 29, 2006
For directions to individual areas and climbs there is a great online guide at: http://www.redriverclimbing.com/RRCGuideV2/ or an excellent printed guide written by Ray Ellington called "The Red River Gorge."
By Ladd Raine Administrator From: Plymouth, NH Apr 25, 2007
Red River Outdoors burnt down on Tuesday April 24th, 2007. Please everyone send your best thoughts their way. The owners and employees are all unhurt, however, they did lose their dog. Please note this if you are heading to the Red.
By Nick Stayner From: Tuolumne Meadows, CA Dec 10, 2007
I am going to start adding the southern region to MP.com. It will be a slow process but there are so many amazing routes there and MP.com is a great database that deserves to be updated. For complete route info for the RRG use the links to Ray Ellington's online guide.
Red River Gorge
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