Towering sandstone cliffs and hundreds of established routes that vary in difficulty have made Red River Gorge one of the world's top sport climbing destinations. "It's good rock, with lots of overhangs and steep walls," said Ray Ellington, author of Red River Gorge Rock Climbs, now in its second edition. "Many of the routes are rated moderate to difficult (classified 5.10 to 5.13), so they're within the ability of the average climber."
Ellington, 36, a computer network administrator, was born in Cincinnati but has lived in Lexington for the past nine years.
"Lexington is a good city to live in if you're a climber," Ellington said. "When you get off work, you can go climbing in the afternoons."
With Red River Gorge National Geological Area and other areas of Daniel Boone National Forest about an hour's drive east of Lexington, the opportunities are nearly limitless.
Ellington said the first climbing in the Gorge was probably done in the 1950s. Crack climbing got really big in the 1980s and sport climbing gained popularity in the 1990s.
Today the number of routes for each style of climbing are about evenly divided, with more than 1,800 established routes and many more under development.
"In crack climbing, climbers follow a crack in a wall, putting in their own protection as they climb," Ellington said. "The sport routes offer permanent, bolted protection, and are typically 60 feet long, or shorter."
In both types of climbing the climber wears a harness and is attached to the rope. As the climber ascends, the rope is clipped to the protection in the wall. A second climber on the ground belays the climber on the rock, feeding rope as the climber ascends, and anchoring the climber should a fall occur.
"Crack climbers put spring-loaded metal cams in the cracks in the rock as they climb and remove them when they descend," Ellington said. "The sport routes have expandable bolts placed in holes drilled in the rock. In sport climbing people can push their athletic ability farther because they don't have to be concerned as much with the danger element."
In the early days, most of the climbing was done on public land, but in recent years individuals and groups have bought up property to develop climbing areas.
The largest privately owned tract open to climbing is the Pendegrass-Murray Recreational Preserve, 700 acres in Lee County, off Ky. 11. The area was purchased by the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition, a non-profit group of local climbers founded in 1997. The area has about 300 established routes.
Many of the walls now being actively climbed in the Gorge are away from the visitor points of interest, the hiking trails and scenic overlooks.
In some cases, climbers build and maintain foot trails to these remote walls, tucked away in steep side hollows.
The roadless portion of Red River Gorge, the Clifty Wilderness, "has some awesome crack climbing," Ellington said. "Some of the routes are 220 feet long."
But special regulations apply in many areas of the national forest. For example, U.S. Forest Service rules prohibit the construction of permanent, bolted sport routes in the wilderness.
"This is a leave no traces area," Ellington said.
Red River Gorge climbing got some international exposure last fall when the climbing gear company Petzl brought some of the world's best climbers to the Gorge for a week.
"For every route that was climbed, Petzl donated funds to the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition," Ellington said. "That money was used to help us pay the mortgage, and other expenses for the Pendegrass-Murray Recreational Preserve."
After that trip, praise for the high quality of climbing in the Gorge was plastered all over international climbing websites.
"It still amazes me that you can go to a wall in the Gorge almost any weekend and hear a foreign language being spoken," Ellington said.
Red River Gorge climbing
Interested in learning more about the recreation and culture of rock climbing in Red River Gorge? Here's a start:
www.redriverclimbing.com
Local climber and book author Ray Ellington offers an online version of his climbing guide on this website which also includes a slide show of climbing photographs, thousands of articles posted by climbers, and a local weather report for the Gorge.
www.rrgcc.com
The website for the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition, created in 1997 to protect, promote and ensure responsible climbing. Get news and upcoming events in the local climbing community, join or donate to the non-profit organization, view a gallery of climbing photographs and learn about the Red River Gorge.
Miguel's Pizza, on Ky. 11, in Slade, Ky., is the hangout for climbers. After a day on the rocks, climbers converge at Miguel's to socialize, chow down and bed down for the night in their campground. Climbing gear is also sold at the restaurant, which has wireless Internet access.
