Rocktoberfest 2009
Via the super duo : Alli Rainey and Kevin Wilkinson
A nearly 30-hour drive across the country landed me in the Red River Gorge just in time to be a part of Rocktoberfest 2009, thanks to prAna and Petzl helping to get me there. Rocktoberfest (in case you don’t know) is an annual event that’s put together by the Red River Gorge Climbers’ Coalition (RRGCC; http://rrgcc.org) to raise money for the preservation of climbing access here in the Red River Gorge, or “the Red,” of Kentucky, one of North America’s premier rock climbing destinations.
The Red features literally a couple thousand sport and traditional rock climbs on some of the most beautiful, quality sandstone to be found anywhere, which is why it’s known worldwide as a top climbing spot. No other place has rock quite like the Red, and in such vast quantities and with such mind-boggling yet featured steepness. Pockets, crimps, and slopers abound (not to mention terrific crack climbs for the trad-minded), as well as such a great plentitude of footholds that it’s not unusual for climbers to struggle with selecting which foothold to use quickly enough to avoid pumping out and falling off.
Hiking in to the climbing clinic
Obviously, preservation of access to this fantastic climbing Mecca is of key interest to the climbing community at large, and this is where the RRGCC steps in. A key part of the RRGCC’s endeavors is the annual Rocktoberfest event, in which climbers from around the country and the world convene for a three-day event on the second weekend in October to celebrate their love of all things rock climbing while raising money for the cause.
Climbers milling about the tent on night one of Rocktoberfest
This year’s event included two nights of a climber carnival hosted by Red River Outdoors (www.redriveroutdoors.com), complete with a circus tent, emceeing by the one-and-only Timmy O’Neill, vendor tents, slacklines, and a variety of competitions including a cool crate-stacking competition in which people attempted to stack a teetering column of milk crates without toppling them, all the while climbing the column as they stacked (a harness hooked to a crane ensured that each tower toppled resulted in the competitor being lowered slowly back to the ground). Climbing movies, plenty of beer (thanks to Adam Avery and Avery Brewing Company), and great deejaying rounded out each evening’s festivities.
For those interested, Saturday included a climbing competition revolving around how many bolts each competitor clipped in the course of the climbing day at Sore Heel Hollow. I think the winner in the guys’ competition clipped something in the range of 500+ bolts, completing 27 pitches of climbing. Talk about sore skin, not to mention muscles!
The climbing clinic at The Gallery
Sunday, climbing clinics were the name of the game. A bunch of pro climbers convened to teach Rocktoberfest attendees on a variety of climbing skills, including prAna athlete Katie Brown, who flew in for 48 hours to teach an Intro to Trad clinic in her old stomping grounds. I taught a full clinic on Learning to Lead at Your Limit along with prAna athlete Kevin Wilkinson. The participants were awesome as were the volunteer and climbing guide who helped out. We had people who’d just started climbing along with seasoned, experienced climbers, which made it a challenge to make the instruction relevant to everyone, but by breaking up the group to address specific issues, it worked out well. I was impressed by the interest and intelligent questions of the group, as well as their willingness to try out new climbing techniques and methods.
A climber on The Motherlode, one of the Red’s premier sport climbing crags
The last I heard, nearly $20,000 had been raised throughout the weekend, though that’s not the final tally (check the RRGCC Web site for the latest info). It’s always so impressive to see what the greater community of rock climbers can accomplish when they come together to work toward a shared goal—in this case, the preservation of climbing access to one of the world’s finest climbing locales for both current and future generations.
In a society that’s battling a severe obesity epidemic—with a whopping two-thirds of American adults overweight and one-third obese, along with 15-20 percent of younger people being overweight (according to CDC statistics, see www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm) —it seems more imperative than ever that we as a society strive to encourage everyone to get involved in regular physical activity of some sort. By preserving access to such a gem as the Red River Gorge, we as a community make it easier for more people to get involved and stay involved in rock climbing, thereby discovering or rediscovering a love for physical activity and fitness and possibly even saving lives. Kudos to the RRGCC for organizing such a successful event that supports such a worthy cause.
Tags: Alli Rainey, Kevin Wilkinson, prana athletes, Rock Climbing, Rocktoberfest, RRGCC;
