New River Gorge, WV

We left for the New Friday afternoon with a car full of new acquaintances, plus Ben bumming a ride home to West Virginia. Settled on a good mix of Tallest Man on Earth, Colin Meloy, and Justin Townes Earle on the ride to the campsite. Folk yea.

Saturday morning was a chilly start down at the Endless Wall and Beauty Mountain. Matt Golub killed a 5.9 trad lead up Supercrack while Matt Barnes and Gabe had fun on their first proper rappels.

On Sunday, we took advantage of artificially low water levels at Whippoorwill, an area closed to climbers most of the year. Arrived early and watched a crowd of fellow climbers & friends fill the walls. Matt Golub & Scott taught Gabe & I how to lead belay and lead sport climb on some solid jugs before departing. Everyone is excited to get back down to the New again this fall.

-M. Barnes

New River Gorge, WV

Saturday:

Woke up at 7am on Saturday, drove to Bubba City. 30min hike.

Ames Wall left side
“Smoking Crack” 5.8 sport lead 40ft, 4 bolts, bolt anchor
“Czech Vacation” 5.8 sport lead 50ft, 4 bolts, bolt anchor

Head Wall left side
“Hubba Bubba” 5.9 4 star sport lead, 60 ft, 5 bolts, bolt anchor

Head Wall right side
“So freakin fun” 5.10d sport lead
“Skinhead Grin” 5.11b sport lead, 60ft 5 bolts, bolt anchor

30 min hike

Beer Wall
“Cerveza Verde” 5.9 sport lead, 50ft 5 bolts, bolt anchor
“St Pauli girl” 5.10c sport lead, 50ft 5 bolts, bolt anchor

Light drizzle. 20min hike back to car. Pies & Pints at fayettevill, WV for dinner. Fantastic climbing area with lots of variety and choices, definitely worth a trip back!

-B. Fang

Sunday:

It rained overnight, so we went to Bridge Buttress which dries pretty quickly. Some of the climbs were still moist, but we climbed Chockstone, Angel's Arrete, and Zag. Stopped by Waterstone on the way out to try on shoes.

-F. Duvallet

New River Gorge, WV

We rose early Saturday and were rewarded by being the first group at Beer Wall in Bubba City, a popular sport crag with moderate routes. Nate got in his first sport lead ("Near Beer", 5.6), which Cecile led as well. Nate continued adding leads on the classic chimney "Daisy Cutter" (5.7), and "Cerveza Verde" (5.9). Mukund impressively led the sandbagged "Beer Wench" (5.8), which has a high crux before the first bolt! We also tackled some challenging face and roof climbs, including "St Pauli Girl" (5.10b), "Bubbaweiser" (5.10d), and "Celebration Ale" (5.11a).

On Sunday morning, we packed up camp and drove up to Whippoorwhill. Before the sun hit the rocks, we enjoyed cool weather on "Aimee's Jugs" (5.6), "Wendy's Jugs" (5.7), "Gimme a Clown" (5.9), "Straight Outta Lockmont" (5.9), and "Latch Key Kids" (5.10a). By the end of our trip, our whole group was comfortable and confident cleaning anchors, rappelling, lead belaying, and lead climbing!

-M. Golub

Upper Allegheny River

On June 8-9, Abhik Bhawal and Mike Jehn organized an overnight canoeing trip on the upper Allegheny River (Allegheny National Forest) beginning in Warren, PA, with canoe rentals by Allegheny Outfitters. Since most of our participants lacked experience with canoeing, we chose to do the Allegheny Outfitters -- Wildwood trip, which allowed us to stay overnight on an island and to do a significant amount of canoeing without overwhelming the newcomers. There were 8 people in total with 2 people per canoe. We traveled around 16 miles in total, passing by scenic natural areas as well as industrial sites and quiet communities.

Locating an island camping spot proved to be a bit challenging since the first several desirable sites were already occupied. However, we succeeded in finding an excellent campsite with plenty of daylight left to set up tents, get a fire going, cut some wood, prepare dinner, and relax before nightfall. (Luckily Mike brought a sharp folding saw with him to cut a large fallen tree bough for firewood; very little wood was available otherwise since previous campers had foraged most of it.) Our group enjoyed spaghetti with sauce and bread for dinner; s'mores for snacking; and a breakfast of oatmeal, eggs and sausage (plus tortillas and cheese) the next day.

Overall it was a fantastic trip. The weather couldn't have been better--sunny with occasional clouds and not a drop of rain. We encountered wildlife ranging from white swans and Mallard ducks (with lots of ducklings) to Blue Herons, turtles basking on the shore, and snakes (which Mike Jehn was compelled to catch and share with everyone!). The river water was pretty cold but a few people jumped in for a quick swim on Sunday afternoon.

-A. Bhawal, M. Jehn

Red River Gorge, KY

After closing the 2012 climbing season at the Red River Gorge last November, another intrepid group of CMU Explorers headed down to open the 2013 season right back up again. Despite frigid overnight temperatures, a lack of firewood at the Land of the Arches campground, and a steady Sunday drizzle, the day time weather was warm enough for several full days of climbing.

Brian, Erica, and Felix---along with a merry band from the Explorers Club of Pittsburgh---got the party started Friday at Wall of Denial. Everyone enjoyed the hand crack on Strick 9, but Felix particularly enjoyed a gnarly off-width crack that truly doesn't deserve a name. A wonderful day, topped by pizza at Miguel's and an exciting chat with local law enforcement.

Cecile, Hugh, and Justin arrived Friday evening, and the group started Saturday at The Gallery, but moved across the valley to the What About Bob well when the hordes of sport climbers in gold and neon pink tights arrived. On rainy Sunday, a wise strategic decision by team leadership took the group to the Stadium in Muir Valley, whose aspect and large roofs kept everybody dry and on the rock until it was time for the long drive home.

-B. Kent