red river gorge climbers' coalition

As posted by Rick Weber, owner of Muir Valley, on redriverclimbing.com:

Last weekend made it clear that the approach road to Muir Valley needs to be rebuilt from scratch to keep careful drivers (the majority) from being terrorized by reckless [people]. The neighbors, and many of our visitors are justifiably angry. The neighbor to the south, a few weeks ago, while riding his horse, was struck by a speeding car catapulting over one of the blind hills. Fortunately it was a glancing blow with only minor injury.

Out of concern for our visitors’ and neighbors’ safety, we have no choice but to close the road Friday morning, May 30, 2008 and bring in heavy excavation equipment to do a major rebuild. Muir Valley will be closed indefinitely until construction is finished. The two blind hills will be removed, the road will be re-shaped and crowned, culverts will be installed and ditches dug.

Weather conditions and other concerns with utilities may postpone this work, but at this moment it is a “go.” We will post an update here if anything changes.

During construction, Muir Valley developers and others with vehicle permits may use the north entrance at Rogers to gain access to the maintenance/emergency road along the Valley floor. If you do not have an up-to-date permit and a 4-wheel drive vehicle, do NOT use this entrance. You will be towed. Jim Taylor’s AMGA training will proceed as scheduled.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.

Rick

For more information about Muir Valley, visit the Friends of Muir Valley and MuirValley.com.

Today we’re rolling out a new look for the RRGCC – a completely revamped rrgcc.org.

A few of the new things we hope you’ll appreciate:

• Comment on announcements. In the spirit of community, submit your feedback to announcements and events.
• Email articles. See an article you think your friend should know about? Click the envelop at the bottom of the article.
• RSS Feeds. Want to be up on the latest from the RRGCC about access, events, or the deals with our partners? Just subscribe to our RSS Feed (also linked in the upper right of the page).
• Mailing list signup. Not into RSS Feeds? Sign up for the mailing list to get pertinent emails about events and access.
• Calendar of Events. Check out the new calendar that will give you glance at what’s coming up and recent activity on the site.
• More yet to come..

So check it out, subscribe to the feeds, and stay up to date.. and, when you get a chance, support us and our sponsors to help with the 2009 PMRP payment.

Thanks and climb on..

Until supplies last, Phillip Galls and Keen are hosting a fundraiser for the RRGCC. If you purchase a pair of Keen shoes at Phillip Galls, $20 of your purchase will go to the RRGCC. This applies only to select colors so hurry in before they sell out! Please see a store specialist for details.

This fundraiser is on top of a grant recently given in April by Phillip Galls and Patagonia that reeled in $1125 for the RRGCC. This grant was also given to the RRGCC in 2007 and was nominated by Benchmark Outfitters in Cincinnati. Phillip Galls is an outdoor outfitter recently acquired by Benchmark Outfitters in Cincinnati.

This event occurred April 18-20, 2008 and is kept here for reference. If you’re looking for current and upcoming events, please click here.

The RRGCC’s Red River Reunion 2008 event will be held on April 18th & 19th, 2008 to celebrate the coming of spring and the return of climbers to Red River Gorge, Kentucky for the 2008 climbing season. Friday evening April 18th, Brian Solano will be showing his latest film, Spray at Miguel’s (check the trailer and more information at spraymovie.com. During the day on Saturday, April 19th, there will be two competitions: an outdoor climbing competition at Torrent Falls (open for competition participants only) and a trash scavenging competition in Red River Gorge, supported by the Access Fund. The festivities will culminate Saturday night at Miguel’s with a bluegrass band and a multi-media presentation by Jason Kehl from Cryptochild and David Chancellor from SoIll, sponsored by Phillip Galls of Lexington. Winners of the climbing comp will enjoy plenty of schwag and even a little cash in hand. Prizes for the trash comp will be schwag and the privilege to climb at Torrent on Sunday.

We look forward to seeing you there! After all, what could be better: bluegrass music, friends, climbing pics and videos, and a chance to support climbing in the Red!

There will be more to know.. Stay tuned for more details..

If you can’t make it, please consider supporting the RRGCC and the community’s efforts by making a donation. Hope to see you another time..

By joining forces with Petzl (http://en.petzl.com/petzl/Accueil), the RRGCC’s Rocktoberfest fundraiser and climber’s festival, raised over $32,000 towards the purchase of the Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve (PMRP). The event’s fundraising power was bolstered by a $10,000 matching grant from the Petzl Foundation, providing an added incentive for the nearly 1,000 climbers who attended the event to pitch in for climbing and recreation access in the Red River Gorge area. In the end this level of fundraising not only secured the Coalition’s 2008 PMRP mortgage payment of $29,400, but also gave a head start on the 2009 payment. Mortgage payments for the PMRP property must be made every July through 2013 before the RRGCC will own the land outright.

This unprecedented event and level of fundraising by climbers to preserve access made national headlines. This year’s Rocktoberfest’s philanthropy efforts piqued the interest of NPR’s “It’s Only A Game” radio program and a segment covering the event was featured on the nationally broadcast radio program on October 27th (http://www.onlyagame.org/shows/2007/10/20071027.asp). Globally, the event generated buzz on 8a (http://www.8a.nu,) a widely trafficked sport-climbing website that spotlights the Red River Gorge as one of the top ten climbing destinations in the world.

The Petzl RocTrip, now in its sixth year, has proven successful in bringing the international climbing community together in celebration of the sport, from New York’s Shawangunks, Squamish, British Columbia, Kalymnos, Greece, and Millau in the south of France. Over 35 high profile sponsored climbing athletes including Chris Sharma, Emily Harrington, Tony Lamiche and local prodigy Katie Brown attended this year’s RocTrip. Open to climbers of all ability levels, the 2007 Petzl RocTrip / Rocktoberfest engaged climbers in a festival of competitions, clinics, and celebration while raising funds and awareness for access issues locally and nationally. “We owe the success of this event to the local community – the volunteers, the RRGCC Board, area businesses, and the one thousand plus people who came out and put dollars down in support of the Pendergrass-Murray Preserve,” said John Evans, Marketing Director for Petzl North America. “I highly recommend other outdoor companies include this outstanding grass-roots event in their outreach programs for 2008. I guarantee Petzl will be back to support this great cause.”

The RRGCC sincerely thanks all of the sponsors of Rocktoberfest 2007, which in addition to Petzl included: Miguel’s Pizza, Prana, Avery Brewing Company, Keen Footwear, La Sportiva, Rock and Ice Magazine, Red River Outdoors, Sterling Ropes, Smart Wool, Solid Rock Climbers for Christ, Paradox Sports, Five Ten, Red Bull, The Warrior’s Way, RockQuest Climbing Center and The Access Fund.

From mountaingear.com/uclimb

What is UCLIMB?
UClimb is a fun event dedicated to bringing people across the country closer to the outdoors. Learn to climb in a comfortable small-group setting with other amateur climbers. Professional instructors will guide you through the basics of climbing, safety and conservation. This weekend adventure is an ideal introduction to the world of rock climbing.
Registration Details
All UClimb packages include professional climbing instruction, camping for Friday and Saturday, dinner on Saturday, and Sunday breakfast.

Participants at the 2007 UClimb in the Red River Gorge

Register for the “Weekend with Gear” package and we’ll provide the basic equipment you’ll need to get up on the rock – a package valued at almost $300, but yours to keep for $130 (included in the registration price).

For those who want to enjoy the scenery and join in the fun without climbing, we have a “Festival Attendee” package available.

For more information, go to Mountain Gear UClimb Online.

We’ll be celebrating our 8th Annual Rocktoberfest in the RRG and raising money for the Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve. Stay tuned for more details.