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My wife and I are planning on heading down to Red River Gorge to check it out. Neither of us has been there before but we live in Louisville. We wont be climbing, She's never done it and I want to get her into the gym to get some experience first, and I'm still healing from a broken foot, (can hike now, just not climb) so we're just wanting to get down there and look around some. I have no experience leading and was wondering if any of you guys that know the area knew if any of the climbs are accessible by hiking to the top to set a top rope? Want to take a peek at those. Remember both of us are fairly new to climbing (I did several 5.9's at Smith Rock in Oregon a few months ago, the only outdoor climbing i've done) so no crazy difficult climbs please.

For the most part, none of the cliffs have an area accessible for toprope. If you are new outdoor climbing, it would be best to hire a guide to show you the ropes. Check out redriveroutdoors.com, I hear they do a great job. If that is not for you, try to meet some people at the gym to bring you out.

Practice wall in Muir Valley.

I only know of one climb at Muir Valley that could safely be setup as a toprope, without lead climbing first. The anchors for all the others are over the edge of the cliff line. It would be possible, but not safe. I can't see driving from Louisville for that, get a guide or some experienced friends.

a few people have messaged me offering to join up out there some time... whenever my schedule is somewhat normal (i work out west with a variable schedule, usually only home for a week or less sometimes) I'll take them up on that. Still probably going to head down there this weekend, for the fun of a road trip and to look around. For future reference, anything outdoor that's worth it closer to Louisville?

as was mentioned earlier, practice wall at muir has several short easier routs that can be top roped, you do have to solo a 5.0 crack but if you can still climb a ladder you should be ok, plus there will likely be people there that would gladly help out

Sounds like you and your wife are pretty green. Get a guide if you can not verify the experience of someone who may be taking you out. The education and experience from a pro will be well worth it.

While the short crack route along Practice Wall is not difficult, I wouldn't recommend soloing it to gain access to the anchors of the nearby routes (I'm assuming krampus was implying "Kate's First Trad Lead") if you are a novice climber. A fall from 20 feet can still cause serious injury or worse, and it would require you to get up on the ledge, reach down and set up an anchor, then either rap off that anchor (from above, which can be an awkward position if you aren't experienced) or down-climb (which, again, if you are new to climbing, isn't as easy as it sounds).

Plus, I believe soloing is not allowed at Muir Valley, and it would suck to get kicked out of one of the best climbing areas for beginners simply because you didn't want to wait for someone with experience to help you out!

mike_a_lafontaine wrote:While the short crack route along Practice Wall is not difficult, I wouldn't recommend soloing it to gain access to the anchors of the nearby routes (I'm assuming krampus was implying "Kate's First Trad Lead") if you are a novice climber.

or you could just walk down the trail about 50' to access the ledge sans any sort of effort.

no effort > soloing.

Thanks for the suggestions. Ill keep an eye out on practice wall when i go to scope it out on sunday. When I'm comfortable letting my wife belay or get some friends to go, I'll probably just get someone to lead it for me.

I know novice scares most people. Let me add in im competent with rope work and have had quite a bit of formal instructions in gyms on cleaning routes, and rapped in the military for a solid 8 years before i got into the climbing. Also a person that minimizes risks before taking it. And I'm someone that understands the impact a novice risk taker could potentially have on the community. Believe me I'm not that guy. Again, Appreciate the input.