I had my first introduction to 5.9 handcracks yesterday at the New River Gorge. It was fantastic. I fell a lot. But eventually scratched my way up after hangdoging. I managed to escape with only a few scabs on my hands and wrists from the hand jams, but it was great.

I met up with Mike and friends at the New River Gorge for a day of climbing (he’s still there climbing). We spent most of Saturday at Junkyard, climbing a mix of moderate routes (on toprope for the most part). There were a couple classic routes, ranging from 5.6 to 5.10b. And, the best part.. there were very few people, even though it was Memorial Day weekend!

After spending most of the day at Junkyard, we headed over towards “Endless Wall” for some sport climbing. It was a bit more crowded, but we managed to find some short sport climbs to do. We started getting hungry around 430 and opted to beat the rush and head to Pies and Pints for pizza, before it got busy.

Mike and I split the “Cuban Pork Pie” which included pulled pork, pineapple, carmelized onions, feta cheese and jalapenos. It was delicious. And, we had a pitcher of the local brew to wash it down. So, no complaints.

Not finished yet, upon returning to our campsite, we hiked a bit further down the road to run some laps on a 5.10b just down the hill. We wrapped things up as the sun set behind the rim of the gorge.

I had a great day getting back on rock. I’m hoping for more this summer… I’ve uploaded a bunch of pictures from the day to my flickr page:

New River Gorge – (24 May 2008) on Flickr