Don't go to the Zoo!

We were psyched to climb at one of the Red’s most storied crags, Zoo Wall, where in the 80s’ sport climbing legends like John and Pat Bachar put up test pieces like Zoolander (5.14d) and classic 4-star climbs like Hippocrite (5.12a) – none of which we’ll ever be strong enough to get on - and where there’s plenty of moderate routes for the likes of us to play on.

We had no trouble parking at the trailhead, which should have made us suspicious.  Even midweek, the parking lots and roadside pull offs around the popular crags  are crowded with sprinter vans and SUVs plastered with national park stickers. 

 We hopscotched across a shallow brook, where a flock of white ducks floated happily in the dappled shade of the green and yellow canopy. We soon found ourselves tramping up and down the hollow on poorly maintained trails, fording streams and clambering over fallen trees. We consulted the OnX app which confirmed we were on the right path, and finally, after 30 or 40 minutes, we emerged from a tangle of mountain laurel and oak trees and beheld a beautiful natural arch,  and above it, soaring to the height of the treetops, a wall of vertical sandstone covered in enticing nooks and crannies.

But between us and the rock stood a sign, curved on top in the style of a historical marker, stating in a polite seraph font: No Climbing on Rocks or Cliffs.

How did we not know? And there we were trespassing unknowingly, jeopardizing access for everyone.  

We had seen a couple No Trespassing signs, but they were  a little off the trail, so we thought they were marking the perimeter of designated climbing area. 

In our defense, the guidebook I'd downloaded said nothing about the closure. I could have sworn I'd cross-referenced the approach information with Mountain Project,  a user generated online guide that's usually up-to-date. I brought up the page on my phone, and sure enough, it clearly stated that the sector was closed indefinitely as of January 2025.

 The best excuse I can come up with, other than we’re both suffering from early onset dementia, is that we’d mostly been using the route finder feature on Mountain Project, searching the Red River Gorge area for routes in our grade. The results were filtered by crag in a list format which did not include the closure notice.

Predictably, the closure was another chapter in the same old story that’s unfolding across the country. The private landowner had become fed up with climbers camping illegally, leaving trash, and the erosion caused by constant foot traffic.

Most climbers love and respect the rock, but as climbing gains popularity, it's growing harder to maintain the integrity of our crags, and our sport. Even responsible climbers, by our sheer numbers, can have a negative impact, add some entitled assholes, and 

Obviously there’s no perfect solution, but climbing associations like the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition (RRGCC) are working hard to balance the needs of the environment, private landowners, and the community, which benefits not just economically, but physically/spiritually/emotional,  I believe, from the primal connection climbing engenders with the outdoors. There’s no perfect solution, of course, but just across the street at Roadside Crag, the RRGCC has negotiated a creative compromise. This will be our next stop, but for now we get the hell out so we don’t jeopardize future access for everyone!