“Are you a good belayer?” Lynn Hill asks a quietly thrilled climber as she ties into his rope to ascend Psycho Wrangler (5.12a) at the New River Gorge area’s Cotton Top crag. Hill is here courtesy of one of her sponsors, Patagonia, to give a clinic at the New River Rendezvous. Everyone at the crag has stopped whatever they were doing to come over and watch one of the greatest rock climbers ever do her thing. She onsights the route with less effort than it took me to schlep my climbing gear and camera to the base of the crag.
Truth is, I didn’t feel like attending the Vous – a rock climbers gathering and fundraiser for the New River Alliance of Climbers – to take photos after a long work week and predicted rain. We did have a bit of rain (Cotton Top is still wet) but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the climbers who came here to climb, compete, eat, drink, arm wrestle, hang out, and see friends both old and new. At this moment, I couldn’t be happier to be here.
A lucky Vous goer gets to belay Lynn Hill.
Bill Chouinard shows that it’s all about balance.
Dyno comp action
Women’s arm wrestling
Nose, meet crash pad. Crash pad, nose.
Joe the juggler.
All photos by Mary Reed. To view more of Mary’s photos from Rendezvous X, click here.
Mary Reed’s book, Hiking West Virginia, 2nd edition (FalconGuides) can be preordered at http://www.falcon.com/books/
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