Linville Gorge

   Saturday I spent the day at Linville Gorge climbing with Eddie Medina, Robert Hutchins, and Tim Fisher.  If you don't know who these men are then I suggest you stop climbing... just kidding.

Eddie Medina wondering when he going to get his afternoon siesta.

Pick up any guide book to North Carolina and you're bound to stumble onto Tim's name and the many First Ascents he has contributed and is still contributing through out the southeast.  Robert is currently putting up First Ascents like it's his job with Tim.  Eddie Medina is heavily involved with the Carolina Climbers Coalition and is always working with state parks in order to keep a working relationship with park rangers and climbers.

  Climbing Freddy Krueger.

Their style of climbing is very aesthetic to me because the routes they put up (ground up) are very much the movement quality that I enjoy, full body climbing involving different disciplines of our art. Crack climbing techniques, stemming, mantling, overhung pump-fests, 'Fisher Footwork', side pulls, and smearing, are only a few of the styles that any given route will have. Most climbers would be hard pressed to find all these styles in ONE route at most 'face climbing styled' climbing gyms.

Robert Hutchins shakes off on Sneak Preview in Linville Gorge.

It's safe to assume that we all had a stellar day. It went something like this -   

Eddie almost red-pointed his project Sleeper (5.10+) falling only on the boulder style crux near the top-out.  I'm confident he will send on his next go, seeing as he had the rest of the climb 'dialed' like a phone call.

   

Robert and Tim warmed-up on Lactic Bubble Bath (5.11), continued onto Sneak Preview (5.11+), crushed Pump on Demand (5.12) and finished up on Freddie Crouger (5.11).  These fellas make climbing look easy with there efficient footwork, dialed gear placements, and all around smart, smooth, climbing styles.

   The ever so limber Tim 'Footwork' Fisher.

This was my third trip to their playground so I started my day by onsighting a unique climb which started on an exposed arete, topped out to a crack with awesome stemming, continued to a hole which I was convinced I was being sandbagged because I was told to climb through it, leading to a traverse onto an exposed slopey ledge that finished on a second arete.  

The climb was named Guillotine (5.9+) because the 'hole' you climb through is a piece of razor sharp rock 'stemming' on the walls looking like it could tumble off at any moment.  I was assured that they had tried trundling it (knocking it down) to no avail. If you fell on it, it would surely chop off whatever body part made contact with it.

Robert Hutchins snakes his way up Sneak Preview at Linville Gorge.

After finishing my next climb, Sleeper (5.10+), a route I onsighted on my previous trip,  I decided I'd try and redpoint the closes thing to resemble a sport route out there. You must understand that these men do not throw bolts up on anything that can be protected with traditional climbing gear. So having a route that only takes one or two pieces (I vetoed the second piece) is almost unheard of with Tim and Robert. 

On my first attempt I botched the sequence near the middle of the climb and had to figure out my beta.  I let Eddie top rope it and watched Tim make the first section of Pump on Demand his bitch... I mean look easy. I am proud to say that on my second attempt, on this trip (top roped on both previous trips),  I got Freddy Krueger (5.11) clean! I finished my Saturday by top-roping and cleaning Pump on Demand with only one fall/take.

Tim Fisher enjoys the view on Pump on Demand and Eddie Medina cleans the anchors on Freddy Krueger.

I don't know very many sports where you can read a book about men who seem like rock stars (pun intended) and then one day suddenly meet them.  Not only meet them but climb with them and find that these legends of North Carolina ground up ethic are in Tim's words, "...just people like you Eddy." 

I feel like I am a lucky man to be able to climb with people that push me both physically and mentally. I am truly proud to say that these three men are people I look up to and can call friends.  And to think that this was only Saturday!

Wait until I tell you about Sunday!

Tim, isn't that taking a 'comfortable belay stance' a bit past the line?