Best RRG crags for rainy days 5.10-5.11

Hello Mountain Project family,

My wife and I will be heading to the Red for the first time this weekend. The weather forecast is looking a little touch and go so I was reaching out to see what you all think are the best crags to climb at in the rain with 5.10-5.11 climbing. Let the beta spray begin! I know no one want s to give up the secret spot, just hoping to get a few good suggestions. Thanks!!

Bruise Borthers @ Muir Valley, Chica Bonita's left side @PMRP, or look for overhanging walls with good sun cover so rain won't blow in on the wall.

Military Wall stays dry as well. I've also climbed at Drive-By on rainy days and some of the climbs at the Gallery stay dry too. 

The Infirmary in Miller Fork stays dry and has lots of .11s. 

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. Hopefully this will help us find some dry rock this weekend!!!! 

Bibliotek Wall stays completely dry as long as the rain is falling vertically and there is no wind to blow the rain back into the wall. It's stacked with great 10 and 11 routes. I've climbed there in the pouring rain.

Not to be a wet blanket but I went thru this drill last weekend at RRG. Basically anything that is "dry" (and that is a realtive term) is also gonna be like Coney Island on the 4th of July. We had people right up on us ridiculous moving our bags covering them. So if you like climbing elbow to elbow with someone have fun. Totally ruined it for me. I kept hearing "the RRG is still good when it rains" Baloney in my opinion.

The RRG is absolutely enormous. If you got stuck with crowds you were in the wrong spot. I climbed this weekend through all the rain storms and flash flood warnings and most of the time, we were climbing in total isolation other than the occasional passers by looking for dry routes.

Although, I will admit that if your profile is accurate, there is certainly much less 5.9 terrain that stays dry compared to slightly harder grades. Even a small jump to 5.10c/d opens up much more rainy day terrain.

Yes, Jon. I agree. Our guide stuck to Muir Valley wasn't the best guide in the world, so I have to agree with you Jon. More a inexperienced or lazy guide than anything else

John Conzone wrote:

Yes, Jon. I agree. Our guide stuck to Muir Valley wasn't the best guide in the world, so I have to agree with you Jon. More a inexperienced or lazy guide than anything else

I don't know that you can fault the guide for the fact that easier terrain at the RRG is not steep enough to stay dry in the rain.  

Josh Lipko wrote:

I don't know that you can fault the guide for the fact that easier terrain at the RRG is not steep enough to stay dry in the rain.  

Exactly Josh!

John your guide took you to one of the best possible walls that has easy routes and also stays dry. If you don't like climbing with large groups then get strong or go home

John,

The rain can put a damper on anyone's climbing experience, I wish you would have had better luck with the weather on your trip. 

Unfortnately options for 5.8 and under climbs are limited at the Red after heavy rain, you came after 2 days on nonstop rain, the few times a year this happens we do experience some seepage through the porous Corbin sandstone. Most people would agree Muir offers the most options for moderates in the rain, so that is why I took you and your girlfriend there. You can expect on wet spring Saturdays to have crowds at the best quality moderate routes that stay dry, it's probably a far cry from the more secluded North Carolina crags you may be used to. For many the crowds at the Red on high quality moderates are just a part of the game, generally we work around other parties very successfully on rainy days and our clients experience very little wait time waiting for routes. I took you to 3 of the only 4 dry crags in Muir Valley with routes within your grade range that were dry. I understand your frustration with the crowds at certain walls, but when I took you to a wall with 6 people at it you said it was still too crowded. After that we went to a wall with no people and you decided to not climb. Any of the guides working in the Red will tell you I am one of hardest working and most knowledgeable guides at the Red. I hope your experience with the Red is better next time. Cheers! 

Haha oh man! Good on you for a well written response doc. Pretty damn friendly to. I remember being a guide and being blamed for uncontrollable situations or people's own limitations. One reason I burned out of that gig. I don't have the tendency to be as nice or well spoken as some others though. Of course if I lived in Charlotte I'd probably be an asshole too. John you'll wanna stay away from gfather and anywhere in Linville except table rock the chimneys and maybe amphitheater. Routes are all crowded wet and hard everywhere else.

DrRockso wrote:

John,

The rain can put a damper on anyone's climbing experience, I wish you would have had better luck with the weather on your trip. 

Unfortnately options for 5.8 and under climbs are limited at the Red after heavy rain 

Top class response, I couldn't have said it better myself. And it has nothing to do with RRG... I can't think of ANYWHERE with any variety of 5.8 and easier sport climbs that stay dry in the rain. In fact, RRG is probably the single best crag in America for that specific requirement. I'm sorry your client wasn't realistic with his expectations.

Wow, so much civility in one thread. I can't handle it.

 What do you guys think about chopping all the bolts that can be lead on gear in the red and using those bolts to fix the run outs on North Carolina's bolted trad lines?

That should fix it.

Ryan, I am not sure about bolts in NC and stuff haven't been around enough. I just busted my right tibia Saturday in two places (non displaced thank goodness) climbing top rope on Davids Castle middle route. How I fell 20 feet while on top rope is a mystery to me.

Anyway I was taught that if you make a mistake stand up and admit it like a man and take your medicine. This is one of those cases. Can never be too much civility in this world.

Hope you found good rock. We climbed all day sat and sun staying dry.  The hardest part was trying to find dry enough rock, many times you would be going good only to hit damp to wet sections...made for some spicy leads.

John let's see how this fits and for this and your other forum..

If you run into an asshole in the morning, well you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole. Quote Raylan Givens

You might be one of the more condescending assholes who's new to climbing. 

And in the words of Arlow Givens, "You don't know sheit!"

BigCountry wrote:

John let's see how this fits and for this and your other forum..

If you run into an asshole in the morning, well you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole. Quote Raylan Givens

You might be one of the more condescending assholes who's new to climbing. 

And in the words of Arlow Givens, "You don't know sheit!"

+1

Am I supposed to be angry, or reply in kind? Naw. 

Yup, I don't know shit about climbing 5 months is nothing. Yup, should have kept my mouth shut. But I at least admit that, and apologized which is more than most "assholes" do. What do I know? I paid a lot of money and got to climb twice. Shit happens excuse me if I was a little pissed. No, I'm not gonna apologize for that. You would be too. Not the kids fault now I see, and I said what I had to say to him. 

I've been called an asshole (and a lot of other things) before and this is probably not the last time either. We all have our moments Big and Cole. You mention my other "forum" where I broke my leg. And in the end it was my fault. So please, do better than asshole that one doesn't even ding me anymore. I love how people talk big on the net. You know I'm actually I hell of a nice guy, and if you had said that to me in person (even though if you met me you never would) I would have given you same response. You're right, sometimes I am an asshole, and apologized and asked to buy you a beer.

So hopefully the climbing elite feel better now.