As a climber, this is so cool to see! I'm so glad that climbers seem to be working effectively with conservationists. I've heard about the white-haired golden rod, but I was never quite sure what it was. Now I know which plants to be extra careful around! (And indeed, my forearms absolutely feel like they are gonna explode on typical RRG routes lmao.)
I actually have several photos of the exact rock at 2:29! Found it randomly while climbing there in the early 2000s. -- Ooo, found it in my photos; November 2002. Sadly, that was before I had an SLR, so the photos are decent, but they're just 1600x1200 from a Nikon point-and-shoot. Tons of beautiful rock in that area -- both visually beautiful and for climbing. I always said those perfect little finger-sized ledges you find on holds at a climbing gym don't exist in real life, but with these lines of ore, they really do exist naturally at RRG! Anyway, I like how most of the climbing community is more than happy to work with efforts to protect and preserve nature while also sharing the land and finding ways to climb (and hike and camp) with minimal environmental impact.
@@courtclimbs I recognized the big arch at 0:50, too, but I wasn't too surprised at that since it's a big tourist attraction. Still awesome to see, though. Which parts did you recognize?
@@KickingStuff I'm glad others recognize it, too! Gorgeous, isn't it? If I ever get back to visit that area again, I'll definitely have to stop by to get some better photos with a newer, better camera.
Where I live, a botonist apparently discovered a unique species of Thornless Hawthorn tree. I don't even know if it has a name, but we do have tons of Hawthorns here, most of them are thornless &, unlike what I've been told about Haw fruit, the fruit is perfectly edible. It's not bad-- like a sour apple, but with a dry apricot-like aftertaste, which isn't for me, but it's a far cry from people claiming that Haws always taste like they're already rotting.
Is this part of the main driftless zone or is it its own refugia. Their is a rare plant in Utah that lives on cliffs that I have head climbers and conservationists work together to protect.
I'm from Kentucky and I appreciate the rock climbing guy from Ohio enjoying and looking out for RRG! However, I wish him and the other buckeyes driving in Kentucky would not drive so slowly in the fast lane on the interstates/highways/parkways here.
Yes, that is generally true. But we worked closely with the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition to be able to film on the private properties they own and manage. The RRGCC is a great organization and their properties are stunning! I'd highly recommend checking them out if you have a chance - rrgcc.org/
@@courtclimbs Red River Gorge has lots of different landowner, each with their own rules. Natural Bridge State Park requires a permit for drones. Cliftly Wilferness section of The Geological Area literally would require an act of Congress to permit a drone. Most of these shots were on private property, owned either by Graining Fork, or RRGCC. Both of those groups require permission to fly drones.
@@dclrdclr There are sizeable caves in the RRG area as well. Both areas have sandstone cap rock and limestone underneath (called karst topography), which is what is typically required for caves to form.
Hopefully a professional organization like PBS coordinated with the climbers and got their permission. As long as you know about it ahead of time and have given them the ok, it's not a problem. Of course, if someone _doesn't_ get the climber's approval beforehand, it's annoying, distracting, and dangerous. And if you're publishing it publicly, especially if it's focused at all on one climber who can be identified, then you may also face model release issues just like with any other kind of photography.
@@SolaceEasy They provide a more fluid and visually stunning overview of landscapes. Bam. Reason one. You can say there are many more cons that outweigh the pros of using drones to film in the wild. But that doesn't mean the positives don't exist at all.
@@Dan-Black Hi Dan, thanks for messaging about this. It's a good point. And we worked very closely with the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition (rrgcc.org/). All the climbers we filmed knew that we were going to be filming and consented to being filmed. And we worked hard to do everything safely.
@@MichaelWernerMedia thank you. There are too many people who view these as toys instead and refuse to acknowledge that being assaulted by a drone while climbing destroys the environment and adds unnecesary risk.
Sometimes, The only way to protect habitats and species is to keep people out, especially those tourist outdoors enthusiasts who don’t understand and only care about having fun in the great outdoors, ignorance is a killer of things you love without knowing what your doing, the unintended consequences of our collective actions, like climate change…
as a indigenous person, the erasure and ignorance of native stewardship in these videos is hard to watch. always environmentally conscious yet wont speak on colonization, imperialism, stolen land and capitalism.
04:42 -- climbers being propped up narratively as if theyve more claim to these sites than other newcomers. then start talking like being in these locations since the 1990's makes you better than people who came afterwards. rock climbers are the new indians.
land back. de colonize. dismantle capitalism. or keep working in non-profits, charitys and begging the world for any thing other than climate catastrophe. site seeing and tourism on stolen land before acknowledging or striking up treatys is embarrassing. keep acting like logging and other resource extraction is imminent and unstoppable and normal. in my culture, most people are "rare species advocates" to the point the species hadnt become rare to begin with. "remove the threats" to the ecosystem? you live by those threats and rely on them as a amxrican citizen. how much we can achieve when we work together? personally speaking, id rather the invader simply leave.
@@mikaameesh leave and go where? Europe isn't big enough, Asia won't want em. I feel pity for your kind. I live in Europe and I'm starting to understand your ancestors. People who are not native to Europe are coming in great numbers and are going to replace us. Yet when I try to say they don't belong in Europe my own kind will call me racist and wrong. It's a real shame.
Climbers have purchased around 1700 acres of the Red River Gorge area. Yes, conservation would be most advanced if no one entered these areas, but these areas were hardly untouched when the first climbers arrived. Muir Valley climbing area literally was an illegal dump, and climbers hauled out 72 dump trucks worth of abandoned mattresses and dish washers. The PMRP climbing area was the largest oil field in the US in WW1. If these areas were not protected by conservation easements for recreation, they would be logged, drilled, and developed into cabins. If you know a source of funds that can assist in protecting them further, I'm all ears. Sincerely, an RRG climber.
