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Gear Loop

Red River Gorge

Sport climbing near Slade, Kentucky, USA. The rope and quickdraws to bring, and the send-temps forecast.

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What to bring

Bring a 70 m rope. It lowers off 96% of the 2,251 sport pitches listed here. A 60 m does 88%.

12 quickdraws cover 90% of pitches. The longest needs 18.

What each rope covers

  • 50 m63%
  • 60 m88%
  • 70 m96%
  • 80 m99%
Median
18 m
Most common
15 m
Longest pitch
55 m

A 70 m is more than enough for almost every route. An 80 m is overkill. Bring a rope bag for the sand.

Source: ukclimbing.com

Route data from theCrag contributors (CC BY-NC-SA), collected 2026-09. Single-pitch sport routes only. theCrag

Conditions

Rope & draws

Bring

70m

60 m works for most routes

Draws

12

Your 70 m covers 96% of pitches

Median
18 m
Most common
15 m
Longest pitch
55 m

Draws: Covers 90% · longest needs 18

A 70 m is more than enough for almost every route. An 80 m is overkill. Bring a rope bag for the sand.

Your 70 m lowers off 96% of pitches here (up to ~30 m). Check the topo for longer ones and knot the end.
Routes on theCrag (opens in a new tab)

Check a specific route

Rope length

Route height (ground to anchor)

30m

Rope reaches

10 m of rope to spare.

Needed 60 mRope 70 m

Longest route or pitch

35 m

Comfortably ~30 m

  • •Knot the belayer’s end.
  • •Watch the middle mark.
  • •Topo heights are estimates.
  • •Traverses and roofs use extra rope.

Longest pitches at Red River Gorge

  1. Indiana Jones5.12a55 m6 bolts
  2. Leftomaniac5.11b49 m7 bolts
  3. Sunday Red5.11b49 m6 bolts
  4. BCL5.11b49 m5 bolts
  5. Practical Reality5.11a49 m5 bolts

Rope by wall

The shortest rope that lowers off 90% of a wall's pitches (80 m where none does), and the share it covers.

WallRopeLongest
Southern Region884 pitches70 mcovers 96%49 m
Miller Fork Recreational Preserve504 pitches70 mcovers 97%49 m
Muir Valley295 pitches70 mcovers 95%37 m
Natural Bridge Region179 pitches70 mcovers 97%46 m
Cathedral Rock Domain155 pitches50 mcovers 99%21 m
Gray's Branch Region55 pitches60 mcovers 93%31 m
Cliffview Recreational Preserve44 pitches60 mcovers 91%49 m
Lower Gorge Region33 pitches60 mcovers 94%43 m
Ash Branch32 pitches60 mcovers 94%55 m
Eastern Gorge Region28 pitches80 mcovers 100%31 m
Cave Fork Recreational Preserve (CFRP)23 pitches60 mcovers 91%49 m
Northern Gorge Region10 pitches60 mcovers 100%24 m

Route data from theCrag contributors (CC BY-NC-SA), collected 2026-09. Single-pitch sport routes only. theCrag

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