Rocktoberfest and The Heffalump

Lets see... here we are again and I can't even tell you what the date of my last post was... 3 weeks ago? I dunno. Who cares. Since there are 4829473892384 climber blogs out there, I'm sure I'm hardly missed. Fact is, I'd rather read Sonnie Trotter and Joe Kinder's blogs than write my own. Ha.
First off... The Heffalump. Now, when this route used to have an attitude, it was called "Elephant Man", a steep bouldery 13b up the center of the main wall at the extra sharp and angry Darkside wall in Red River Gorge. I tried it 7 times in the spring... but just wasn't ready. Maybe it was mental. On 3rd try this fall... once the temps got back to heading toward crisp... I clipped the chains. I can't say it wasn't a fight, but it sure felt good. It can no longer burden me with its bad attitude, so I've renamed it, in my own thoughts, "The Heffalump".
On to Rocktoberfest. I was slated to emcee this event, which was a long time coming. Last year the RRG hosted the Petzl Roctrip, which was, for all intents and purposes, the first REALLY big event we had pulled off. This event, however, didn't have the benefit of help from the Roctrip. This was all RRGCC. Yes, there were glitches. Yes, it could have been bigger. All in all though, it turned out to be a great event, with some great people. Tommy Caldwell, Daniel Woods, Justen Sjong, Emily Harrington (who knew she was built like that... if you get a chance, watch her walk away, you won't be disappointed!), Micah Dash, Cedar Wright, Whitney Boland, and Sonnie Trotter all came out to teach clinics, socialize, enjoy the party, and crush some of the Red's amazing sandstone. I had a particularly nice conversation with Sonnie about alot of things other than climbing. Its nice to chat with somebody who is just layin in the cut, enjoying what life has given him. Sonnie is for real... an extra psyched, extra nice guy. Check out his blog... its well written and entertaining. www.sonnietrotter.com

I gotta put that guy in a song for something other than his prowess with the climber ladies... haha!

So whats next? Started work on Paradise Lost, a SWEET 13b arete in Red River at Purgatory. I've been on it 3 times, and I'm falling off the top. We'll see how that goes.


My friend Justin Riddell on Paradise Lost, 13b. Photo by Scott James.