Save the DATE! Hallowe'en weekend Trail Daze: Reed's Creek

Make your plans now to join the Potomac Highlands Anchor Replacement/Upgrade Program (PHAR/UP) on Hallowe'en weekend, Friday, October 31st through Sunday, November 2nd, 2014, a weekend of community, trail work, clean-up and climbing.

Limit 20 people, so sign up now!

Depending on the weather, PHAR/UP will reserve a Smoke Hole campsite, or two cabins at Thorn Springs 4-H Camp just south of Franklin, for the use of our volunteers. We will be supplying hot grub and cold refreshments while handing out Smoke Hole T-shirts, Owlfeather jewelry and other prizes to those who attend.

We'll also raffle off a new guidebook, to be delivered to your door when they come back from the publisher in December.

Respond in the comments section of this post or email wvmgray@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Congratulations, Tyler Hall and Josh Light!

Yesterday, while walking around looking for hard climbers on steep lines and enjoying just showing yet another person around wonderland, we bumped into a couple of climbers who were wandering around, looking for the crags.

They climbed out of their cars with huge grins, and the first words I heard were "Are you Mike Gray?"

Infamous...

We spent the next hour and a half wandering around the Entrance Walls and Reed's Creek, talking about a lot of things and planning on hooking up this morning.

Today, celebrating my wife Cindy's birthday with a few hours of climbing, we were fortunate enough to witness something precious and rare: a first recorded ascent, a trad line done ground up on-sight by two young climbers on their first visit to a "secret" crag. 

The young lions were already up and cranking when we arrived.

The crack that climbs out of the cave at the end of Reed's Creek was climbed early this morning in a single push by our new friends Tyler Hall, who crushed the onsight and Josh Light, who powered through and cleaned the line; two up-and-coming hard men currently paying their dues to careers and dealing with the NoVA groove, who broke away for the weekend to discover some of our new rock. Whether done in the past or not (and evidence said "not"), the line was done in classic fashion today.

Pointed at an unknown, they jumped on it and sent in fine style, running out the final two hidden headwalls of 5.8 climbing with no gear in about 45 feet. The combination of rock color and a refreshing dip of peach snuff at the top produced the name "Bring me Something Peachy".  

Proud effort by a couple of genuinely nice guys.

Josh (L) and Tyler (R), fresh down from a first known ascent and a series of exploratory climbs, ready to just clip some bolts and relax for the afternoon, while Gracie searches for another great napping spot.

Watch for more from these two in the future... 

Call it a hunch.

In The Beginning

March 2nd, 2007: The Punishers begin construction of the current high-speed trail to replace the eroded otter slide everyone was using to reach the cliffs of Franklin. 

At that point, the crag had existed for just over 17 years, about as long as another popular idea, the Access Fund, which, despite the grassroots, working-class image sold to the public, was actually a spin-off of the American Alpine Club, an international organization with a vast web of contacts and resources.

After years of reading press releases and watching as work seemed to go on at every other crag in the nation, two local climbers who were not members of the club had finally had enough.  Tools were gathered, food stores and supplies laid in, and two guys who actually are working class folks took time off from their carpentry jobs, stocked up on PowRBars and gels, tuna and pasta, then gave up a month of weekends to build trail for a climbing community comprised, for the most part, of Access Fund members who apparently hadn't noticed or cared to acknowledge the need for action.

Working from Friday nights through Monday mornings for most of the month of March, we laid in rails, stacked stone, and did what two people could to shore up a game trail and address the impact of hundreds of feet. 

We often climbed at night, by headlamp, so we could work during the day, although Fisher could crank off a hard line or three and then build trail all day, coffee by his side, before grabbing a snack and a nap and sending again in the twilight.

Mike Fisher takes a break from building trail to enjoy a rare moment of daylight climbing on Potential Energy.

The Master, in his element.

B.P.- Before the arrival of the Punishers, this is what the trail to "Raised by Sasquatch" looked like.

The base of Castaways, possibly the most popular and obviously the most impacted climb at Franklin.  Despite three different groups covering the adjacent area with mulch, side rails, plants, even marking tape, climbers have reduced the belay area and trail to this state once again...

Although we built in steps and rails, mulched and planted, there is almost no sign of our efforts today.

We did what we could: built the trails, made friends with the landowners, supported the little store at the end of the road, put up quality routes and replaced substandard gear.

Now, the torch passes to the next generation.

But this is how it was, in the beginning.

Adios, Brian McCray... and Thank You

From the dark recesses of the Cave on Seneca's South End, to the Via Ferrata in Nelson Gap, to the resoling and phenomenal routing he did in New River Gorge, on to the rock and adventures of the West, "Flyin'" Brian McCray left his mark on climbing and climbers across the nation and the globe.

This past weekend, for reasons that were his own, Brian chose to end his life.

I did not know Brian well- we were not close buddies and did not climb together (mainly because I am no superhero, and thus am incapable of hanging upside down on crimpers and heel-hooking for an entire day) or hang out.

But Brian touched everyone around him, in conversations at the foot of the crags, on the front porch, or encountered at random in the New.  We had, on more than one occasion, passed the time chatting about everything from dogs at the crags to the best rope bag to all the places we'd ever stolen a shower while on the road.

He was a climbing ambassador, a genuinely great person, and a bright soul to his friends and acquaintances.

Our lives and days will be a bit darker, without his quirky humor and laughter.

Public and Private property on North Fork Mountain, in Germany Valley and in Smoke Hole Canyon

Courtesy of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy  and the hard-working researchers, trail builders and route setters here at the headquarters of PHAR/UP, the Potomac Highland Anchor Replacement/Upgrade Program:

North Fork/Smoke Hole/Germany Valley property boundary maps, absolutely free!

And, from MyTopo.com, more of the same.

Climb, hike, and camp like a responsible outdoor enthusiast, respect private property and always practice Leave No Trace; even if the latter is actually impossible here in the real world, the first two are fairly simple, even for rock climbers.

Thanks for helping us preserve access in the Highlands!

PHAR/UP is a not-for-profit idea, created out of 30+ years of experience at crags across America and a deep involvement with climbing development in the West Virginia Highlands region. No membership fees, no big corporate sponsors, just local climbers working hard every day to bring you better climbs, trails, and beta.

My Silver Lining

After a long week of framing and construction on the banks of the Shenandoah with my friend and long-time climbing partner Mike Fisher, I rendezvoused with Miss Pink Pants, aka my wife Cindy, in Harrisonburg, Virginia on Friday, to visit with some friends and enjoy what is normally a solitary two-hour ride home, together, instead.  We sipped cold ones and shot some photos and would through the Alleghenies.  

Saturday was errands and chores, running and then not much else, save hiding from the heat and humidity and recuperating. recharging the batteries for a bit of red pointing on Sunday.

We lit out with fishing gear and ropes and racks early Sunday morning, and were at the wall before morning services let out.  A little water, a little stretching, and it was a done deal.

My Silver Lining, 5.7+, 5 bolts, chain and quick link anchors, 45 feet.
Darkside, Long Branch, Smoke Hole Canyon

Down at the car we grubbed, then headed for the Entrance Walls, where I did trailwork; cutting clear a fallen log while Cindy reduced the number of trout in the South Branch of the Potomac.

Later, we toasted the new line and a great day over cold brews and home-made chicken alfredo pizza.

Self-publishing- Adventures in Literature

As most of you who regularly read this blog know, I have been putting together a guidebook to Smoke Hole Canyon, Reed's Creek, Franklin, and the surrounding region for about four years, now.

After many trials and a lot of help and advice from the good folks at KDaniels Publishing, I have decided to publish and distribute the guide on my own, with a local publisher, and without all the ad space that seems to fill so many guidebooks these days.

Turns out, it ain't cheap; after two decades of putting up routes and, in the process, donating several thousand dollars worth of hardware and equipment to the climbing community, it seems that it will cost about half again as much to tell the climbing community about the routes I put up.

That's life.

I'm putting together a Kickstarter project to generate the funds to simply print and distribute this guide, and intend to have it up and running soon.

Proceeds from the guide above and beyond the costs of publication and distribution will go directly toward organizing trail and clean-up days at Franklin, Reed's, and other crags in the region.  The book's sales will also support upgrade of substandard gear like un-welded cold shuts and allow us to replace twenty-year-old protection and anchor bolts, something I have been doing, primarily out of my own limited funds, for the last six years.

And, finally, the guide will fund development of new climbs, at new crags, for all of us, and for the next generation of climbers.

Stay tuned for further developments.  

(You can also email me wvmgray@gmail.com for more details or to donate to the project privately.)

Old Friends

There are places that are near and dear to the beat of my heart; places a bit wilder, often much more extreme and demanding, but places which reward every extra ounce of determined effort and required fortitude with a sense of wonder that transcends simple place and experience.

One of them, for me, is and has always been West Virginia, that is no secret.  

Here, despite an annual flood of tourists and fair weather extremists, there are still far more places to be alone than to join in with a crowd, and adventures a-plenty for anyone who doesn't need a guidebook or a nanny to protect them from their own folly; someone who can accept run-out climbing, varying rock quality, bugs and rain and sparse gear as part of the game of discovery and exploration; talents that used to define the required price of admission to the discipline we call 'climbing' in this part of the world.

Some things change, some never do.

You learn to live with it.

When you can introduce old friends and new to some of the best lines you've ever created, in a setting that combines magnitude with tiny details and dramatic light, it is an opportunity not to be missed, one of the things that makes the in-between hours and days survivable.  

My friend Brian came to our corner of the mountains from Colorado by way of the steep walls of the Red River Gorge, his mission: to check out the Nelson Rocks via ferrata with friends Dan and Lisa, crank at Franklin Gorge on some old favorites and finish his visit with all new lines in another lost corner of this amazing state.

Powered by a dinner of stir-fried chicken and vegetables washed down with copious quantities of beer, awakened by strong coffee and chipotle-sauced breakfast burritos, our heroes were led to their challenge by the curmudgeon and his lovely wife as rain speckled our windshields on Earth Day.

Brian D contemplates the overhanging walls along the North Fork.

Muscles and the Tall Man; Lisa racks up for an on-sight ascent of Rock of Ages, as showers begin to fall.

Spring along the North Fork

Dan, clipping in from hallelujah jugs at the end of Rock of Ages.

The powerful climbers of Colorado danced and yanked their way up the 5.9s and 10s that I pointed them towards, then broke briefly to snack and hydrate before Brian and Lisa took turns thrashing themselves on the huge roof of the Leviathan project.

The Curmudgeon, working on the Leviathan, back in the day.

Alas, the beast proved too much for even these heroes, fatigued as they were by Nelson's via ferrata, an afternoon that was no walk in the park at nearby Franklin Gorge, and the steep ascents of the morning.  Neither Brian's massive ape index or Lisa's equestrian-hardened muscle could reduce the depth of the roof or increase the size of the holds that followed, and eventually a cease-fire was called, the gear retrieved, and our fallen heroes lowered.

My lovely wife Cindy, who spent the morning reducing the number of trout and bass in the nearby river, now climbed up through the boulder field to join us, and we finished on Mike Fisher's fine line "Broken Angels".  I noted that some kind soul had taken it upon themselves to scratch an admonishment into the cliff that this line was run-out.

Yes, it, a touch.

The current in the river is deep and swift and the trail is exceedingly slippery.

There are poisonous snakes in the leaves and armed lunatics in the forest for a large portion of the year.  

The mosquitoes carry disease.

Traffic on the road is dangerous.

You can choke on peanuts.

Not everyone needs their hands held in life, and denying others the right to enjoy a cliff without your self-entitled scratchings and graffito at the base is far more egregious a failing than putting bolts more than a body length apart over thirty feet off the ground.

We shared a laugh or three in this vein, shook our heads at the pervasive nature of the nanny mentality and got back to the climb, which is excellent, as the cloudy skies rolled and cleared by turns, rain fell in brief showers and finally a determined downpour, and good times were had by all.

We parted at the cars after Sierra Nevadas and a "Brost!", with hugs and grins and well-wishes.

We Went Climbing

70 degrees, sunshine, a few light breezes, a NASCAR race on TV, and of all places to be, we were out in the woods!

Hard to believe, right?

A few shots of the fun we had, while you were all down at the New River or elsewhere, sharing lines and parking and campgrounds with 10,000 of your closest friends.

Cindy Gray goes after the start of "Winterharvest"

Some old guy, on his own line, cruisin'

Ryan Eubank, man of steel, holding onto absolutely nothing at all, while carrying a four-pound hammer.  Some people say he's a superhero in his spare time.  Colonel Nick Fury and the rest of the Avengers declined to comment.

Cory, working the tiered roofs of "Apophus", another great Mike Fisher line.

One Minute Trail Workshop