Red River Gorge 2014

MEA weekend meant my Annual Lady's Climbing Trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky!  It was two and a half days of climbing, laughing, falling, swearing, happiness, snacks, stick clips, mud, turkey sticks, worn-down skin, and awesomeness.
I'm not going to tell you, I'm going to just show you!

A 14-hour car ride was much better in Emily's van, plus talking and coffee!

We started at the Land Before Time wall.  Emily warming up!

Pizza at Miguel's is a must for any RRG climbing trip.  It always tastes better after a long day of trying hard!

Emily trying The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, 5.11c, on the Bibliotek wall.

Me also trying Prufrock.  Right around this moment, I was wishing I had actually trained for endurance before this trip... :)

Happy ladies!  Emily, myself, and Zay excited to be trying hard outside in gorgeous fall Kentucky weather!

Emily and I having a moment... :)

Zay leading one of her first 5.10c climbs outdoors, pushing her boundaries!  Woowoo!!

I wanted to climb all of the things... 

We also ran in to my high school acquaintance Bobby on Saturday!  He and his two friends tagged along as we worked some fun stuff together.  Here, we're getting an epic high-five in before he jumps on a route!

One of my favorite climbs of the trip was Mona Lisa Overdrive, a 5.11b that has a hueco big enough to climb in to half way up the climb!

It's great- you can try hard on the tough stuff below, then hang out for as long as you need to completely recover before jumping out and finishing strong!

By the time we walked out at twilight on Saturday evening, my fingers were trashed, my arms and back were incredibly sore, I had fresh bruises spotting my shins, and I had a perma-grin that isn't going away anytime soon.

This trip only reiterated what I discovered last year: while climbing with guys is fun and great in its own right, climbing with women motivates me to be that much better, more encouraging, and continue to push my limits as much as humanly possible.  I was so lucky to have two amazing partners, and on the drive back, we were already discussing when we could go back down!
It was a fantastic break from life and responsibilities.
I'll update on the incredibly successful trip knitting in my next post...