PMRP Beta

PMRP Beta

The PMRP offers year-round climbing thanks to dozens of clifflines that face nearly every direction and steepness that caters to all tastes. The hardest decision of the day often isn't whether to go for the redpoint or not but rather which crags to hit that day.

With the PMRP as large as it is and being broken up into two main swaths of land, getting to know the terminology is, to say the least, helpful.

The northern section (see the PMRP Maps page for a more detailed look) is called the Coal Bank Hollow. It has the Far Side, Dark Side, Solar Collector, and Gold Coast.

The southern and larger portion of the PMRP is Bald Rock Hollow. Bald Rock has Drive-By, Chica Bonita, and Bob Marley Crags as well as the Sore Heel Hollar. Sore Heel is further broken up into several walls: the Gallery, Volunteer Wall, Left Field, Playground, Shady Grove, Bronaugh Wall, Purgatory, North 40, Shire, Rival Wall, Courtesy Wall, and What About Bob Wall.

All in all, it's over 350 sport, trad, and mixed routes ranging from 5.5 to 5.14c. And that's just the beginning. Routes are in a constant state of development with much of the PMRP yet to be fully realized.

Below is a brief description of each wall. Click on the route name for a more detailed description and a list of routes from Ray Ellington's Online Guidebook.

Coal Bank Hollow
Far Side	Routes range from pumpy 5.10 to powerful 5.13s. Usually pretty shade and overhung enought to stay dry. Don't miss Papa Loves Jugs for a local favorite.
Dark Side	Several RRG test-piece routes with a more than a half dozen classic 5.13 routes. Also has several classic 5.12 routes. This wall is a site to see and is famously intimitading: the first thing you'll see when you arive is a huge wave of a wall with thousands of iron pockets. Dry and cool, this wall is sure to pique a your interest and have you begging for more.
Solar Collector	Like its name suggests, this wall definitely sees strong morning sun and is a good start to a cold day. Usually, though, the sun disappears over the cliffs in the afternoon and is still comfortable in the heat of the summer. Several routes from hard 5.10d to 5.12c. In a light rain, you'll be dry but if it starts to pour, expect the water to run down the top of the wall and get your anchor jugs wet.
Gold Coast	This might be one of the most picturesque walls in the country. Streaked bright orange, gold, and black, this wall will catch your eye and test your power. Gently overhung with holds just big enough, this wall harbors several hard 5.13 routes and a couple 5.14, not to mention a few lines waiting for their FA. Gold Coast sees afternoon sun and usually stays dry is almost any condition.

Bald Rock Fork
Drive-By Crag	Routes from pumpy 5.10 to powerful 5.13s and The Nothing, a 14a. See morning shade and afternoon sun. When it's raining, several of the routes stay dry except for the anchors.
Bob Marley Crag	A beautiful wall with that will open your eyes to pocketed roof climbing. Most of the routes here are 5.11 of above with several routes above 5.12 and even an open project or two. The roof area stays cool and very dry.
Chica Bonita	A relatively new wall with all of the climbs established in 2005 or after. A bit of a hike to get here but it's well worth it: high quality trad climbing as well as very technical faces. Most of the routes here don't stay dry and, since it avoid the sun most of the day, it's a pretty good summer option.
Sore Heel Hollar	With more than a dozen crags all within a short walk of each other, it's hard to capture the essence of all of them in a single web page. A visitor could spend weeks in this region alone visiting each of the destinations. More than a hundred climbs are in this hollar and vary from casual as cake sport routes to adventure trad to test-pieces of the east. Essentially a full service destination, there's a crag for every desire: overhung and dry, cool and technical, pumpfests and bouldery puzzles, it's bound to be here. For a more complete description of each crag, click on the link that will take you to the Southern Region of Ray Ellington's Online Guide. Crags in the Sore Heel Hollar are: Curbside The Gallery Volunteer Wall Private Playground Shady Grove Bronaugh Wall Purgatory North 40 The Shire Rival Wall Courtesy Wall What About Bob Wall

In February 2004 the RRGCC obtained a Temporary Restraining Order that prevents Charmane from towing climbers’ cars from the PMRP. In the interest of respecting Charmane’s right to access their oil wells, the RRGCC has established designated parking areas on the PMRP. When visiting the PMRP you are asked to please follow posted signs, park in designated parking areas, and not block or interfere with Charmane’s right to access their oil wells.

To Coal Bank Hollow:
From Ray Ellington's Guidebook:
From the Junior Williamson Rest Area, drive south (toward Miguel's) on KY 11. You will pass Roadside and Torrent on the way. Turn right on Fixer Rd and make your first left. Take that road for 3.5 miles (making sure not to turn left where the road seems to want to take you) until you see a black oil tank on your left with a face painted on it. Make a right at the oil tank and then take the second right. Drive down a hill and park just to the right of a steep road that branches left. The main parking area is located here near the RRGCC kiosk.
To Bald Rock Fork:
From Ray Ellington's Guidebook:
Drive about 14 miles south on KY 11 (toward Miguel's) from the Junior Williamson Rest Area toward Beattyville. Turn right on KY 498. Drive 1.2 miles to a sharp right curve. Just beyond this curve take a sharp right on an unmarked gravel road. Follow the gravel road 0.8 miles straight through an intersection, past some houses with dogs, down a steep hill, alongside a small cliff on your left, to a clearing at the bottom. Park on your right in the Motherlode parking area or continue by turning right on the first gravel road .3 miles past the Motherlode parking area. There is a Sore Heel Parking, sign located at the turn off pointing the way. Follow the gravel road up the hill past a row of large bright blue storage tanks, make a sharp right-hand turn (.2 mile after turn off), follow the main gravel road for another mile before following the road down a short hill to the new parking area at the bottom of the hill on the right. Look for new trailhead signs pointing to the climbing areas along a (freshly cleared) dirt road leading up a hill from the parking area