A Murder of Crows
FA 5/4/2025
Thanks Shadow for bolting this and letting me climb it. I reached out to him having never met before. He was super gracious and encouraged me to send it, even as I admitted I had already kinda scooped it out.
I first tried the route with
@jessiejbriggs on belay in Feb 2024. I couldn’t do the crux, it was heinously dirty down low, lots of small rocks still breaking, and I felt an omnipresent sense of impending doom. I immediately pulled my draws. Still, it was intriguing with some cool moves and the allure of a first ascent was enticing.
I came back in April on a whim with
@k_rohlman . I’ve had more than my fair share of success this season and had nothing to loose. After an hour or two of scrubbing, I had a climbable route, moves done and gear hanging. But my core was wrecked for a days from brushing in crazy positions while hanging on a rope.
Two more days of suboptimal conditions was enough to get it done. Big thanks to Kyle for bringing the Graveyard stoke. Gotta get back out there when it’s actually decent so you can finish The Funeral.
The route opens with some easy climbing but immediately turns up to 11 when you take a small, stacked two finger pocket and delicately work to gain a fat sloper. The same two fingers have to slot into a pocket just before the anchor at the redpoint crux. Of course I punted on that move before sending.
Another maybe 13b maybe 13c. I’m really fit and confident right now, and it started raining during my ascent. Could be C, but the no hands drops it to B for me. Just a proposal. If you’re looking for a lovely hang, no crowds, can overlook some “dust on the bottle”, go check out Graveyard and A Murder of Crows.
On to the next!
#redrivergorge #rrg #climbing #rockclimbing #sportclimbing #kentucky #rrgcc #millerfork #graveyard
![“Here’s the beta. Come on out and do it.”The White Elephant [5.13c] I’m honored to claim the FA of the last plum line at The Ivory Tower. Big respect to @dustonian2.0 for the bolts and the vision . I even skipped the last bolt on the send (that has been subsequently added), some say to respect Dustin’s vision, others say because I was pumped out of my mind. Big thanks @matt_looby for bringing the stoke The route features a thin and complex sequence from bolts two to five, then hero jugs, followed by a wild finish run culminating with a hero pull to the anchor jug. An amazing route that will likely always be overshadowed by its ultra classic neighbors, it is actually a drier start than Astrodog and No Stick and not at all the swamp that it looks like. Also not height dependent which is nice. Hard to tell 13b or c grade wise. I’m taking the up. Nice soft C for you if you’re into that. I’d love it if you called it soft, but first you got to come on out it and do it.#rrg #redrivergorge #climbing #sportclimbing #rockclimbing @muirvalley #ivorytower #kentucky](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6757606057275710693038_0_657a978da42741d606896b6b25256741.jpg?o=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&h=38152dad15df2856513a0db0bf8e0bc4)
