lonegreeneagle
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I will be taking my wife to meet her sister next summer in Kentucky. I chose the Mammoth cave and/or Daniel Boone National forest areas. It's midway and has activities for me to do with the kids while they get acquainted.
Are there any good climbing areas for beginners near mammoth Cave? I know there are canoeing/kayaking and camping. Any suggestions will save me a ton of money and headaches!
Thank You
Van |
marks
 Cred: 8199 (Admin) Joined: Mar 05 |
| Posted: November 7th, 2009 Edited: November 7th, 2009 | Quote, Reply |
Hey Van,
Heck ya there is! Red River Gorge. Awesome sport & trad climbing. Also camp at Miguel's (yes it's a pizza place but behind it is a climbers mecca).
http://www.redriverclimbing.com has some resources. There are also guide books for the area etc.
Thanks,
Mark |
pengshi
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It's a tough choice. Mammoth Cave is the largest cave system in the world, so it's definitely worth visiting. But the Red River Gorge area is much better for rock climbing. They are about 3 hours apart, so unfortunately you can't drop your family off at the cave and go climb. :)
The good news is, there are a lot of tourist attractions near the Red River Gorge, too. So if I were you, I would go there. The area has a lot of arches and hiking trails, and thousands of climbing routes.
Miguel's is only two bucks a night. You basically camp in his back yard. It's essentially a hippie camp, so kind like camp 4, so it might not be the best choice if you have a family or want a shower. Still, they have amazing pizza and you should at least go there one night just to experience the food and atmosphere.
I was there a few weeks ago. Here are some photos from that trip.
http://picasaweb.google.com/spikeehair/RedriverClimbingPreview?feat=directlink
Here's a review for Miguel's Pizza.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/miguels-pizza-and-rock-climbing-shop-slade
Here's a link to the guide book. But if you want to support the Red River Gorge Climbing Coalition, you can buy it from Miguel's. They donate part of the sales to RRGCC.
http://www.amazon.com/Red-River-Gorge-Rock-Climbs/dp/0979264413/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257610617&sr=8-2
It's one of the best guide books for climbing. It has your standard route ratings, and info like how far is the hike to the wall, when does the sun hit the wall, does it have an overhang so it's safe to climb in the rain.
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lonegreeneagle
| Posted: November 8th, 2009 Edited: November 8th, 2009 | Quote, Reply |
Nice to find a sight where an old fart can get an answer!
THANK YOU
Thank You very much |
