Pure endurance climbing and fitness is hard to come by in the New River. Usually routes consist of hard boulder problems between stances or rests, which makes it a little more difficult to built pure endurance. So, with the Red River Gorge being so close it has become customary to make the drive and spend a few weeks at the red.

Normally, I come to the Red with the intentions to climb pitches and practice on- sighting, rarely do I spend time in the Red projecting. My time here has been spent just working on building climbing fitness and endurance to prepare for projects at home.

I have been able to meet up and climb with friends from the Northeast which has been really nice. It is more enjoyable for me to climb with others and have the same climbing/ resting schedule.

Rest days at the Red are best spent by going to Lexington and getting some work done on the computer or visiting local sites like the Reptile Zoo in Slade. There are thousands of the worlds most venomous and rare snakes on display in Tupperware containers in storage sheds like you would find at Lowes.