Adam Taylor Climber Profile
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Adam Taylor is a climber from Greenville, South Carolina, who went to college at Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. He grew up mostly climbing trad at local areas like Rumbling Bald and Looking Glass in North Carolina, and his main accomplishments are in the Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky (which is also great for hiking and camping). He was one of the most accomplished local climbers for that area at the time and lived in Lexington, Kentucky.
His priority shifted to sport climbing and developing new routes, and he made headlines several times between 2009 and 2011. He proposed what may have been the South’s toughest route at the time, but since then he hasn’t been very active in the online climbing community – his 8a.nu profile doesn’t have any data or logged climbs since 2009. Even so, his old logbook still offers a snapshot of his climbing from that era.
Table Of Contents
Stats:
Started Climbing: 1997 Favorite Area: Red River Gorge
Notable Climbs
Southern Smoke Direct at the Bob Marley Crag – 2011
In November of 2011, Adam claimed the first ascent of Southern Smoke Direct, which he proposed as the South’s first 5.15. The route had straightened out Southern Smoke (5.14c) as much as possible and added in a hard boulder problem (V13/14) that had a more direct start into the meat of the route. Adam Taylor proposed the route as 9a+/5.15a, but Adam Ondra, who flashed it in 2012, suggested 9a/5.14d.
Not long after this, Taylor would also climb The Tube (5.14a), which is one of the more popular routes in the Red.
Second Ascent of Pure Imagination – 2011
Located at the Chocolate Factory in Red River Gorge in Kentucky, Pure Imagination was bolted by Kenny Barker, first climbed by Jonathan Siegrist, and was originally called the Honeycomb Project. It was estimated to be 5.14d but has since then been downgraded to 5.14c. In April 2011, Adam claimed the second ascent, and at the time he was reportedly the only person to have sent both of the Red River Gorge’s routes then graded 5.14d.
Golden Ticket (5.14d) – 2009
In the fall of 2009, Adam first made climbing news with his ascent of Golden Ticket, one of the hardest routes at the Red. It was originally bolted by Kenny Barker and has been attempted by legends like Chris Sharma. Grade opinions have varied between 5.14c and 5.14d; Adam Ondra, who onsighted it in 2012, suggested high-end 5.14c.
Here’s a video from Adam’s YouTube of him climbing a project in Red River Gorge.
References
- 8a.nu
- Blue Ridge Outdoors
- Mountain Project
- Climbing-history.org
Sources
- Daniel Boone National Forest: Recreation, USDA Forest Service
- Adam Ondra, Sport Climbing Superstar, Climbing