Over two decades after two iconic crags at Kentucky's Red River Gorge closed to climbing, they will finally reopen in a few months. The saga started in April 2004, when Charmane Oil, the company that owned the land surrounding Oil Crack and Arena crags, told climbers they weren't welcome on the property. "No Trespassing" and "No Climbing" signs soon appeared along the clifflines. In extreme earnest, local climbers started building relationships to try to win back the land. They knew they were playing the long game, but they didn't realize they were in for a 22-year struggle.
Back in 2004, when the Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition (RRGCC) made their first land acquisition in the Red, the coalition was actually under the impression that they were purchasing the land where Oil Crack and Arena sit. Their 700-acre purchase became the Pendergrass-Murray Recreational Preserve (PMRP), which today includes 623 routes.
After the sale, however, the RRGCC realized that Charmane Oil had been working behind the scenes to buy up separate shares owned by some of the heirs to the property, unbeknownst to the RRGCC or to the Pendergrass family sellers. In the end, Oil Crack and Arena didn’t become part of the PMRP.
So how did this climbing coalition eventually get its crags back? Long-term relationship building, according to former RRGCC president Paul Vidal. After the cliffs closed, Vidal started slowly laying the groundwork for negotiations. By 2013, Vidal began personally connecting with the current oil company that owned the land. Within three years, he negotiated a lease agreement for the cliffs, but it ultimately fell through.
A few years after that, in 2019, RRGCC board member Jereme Ransick picked up the torch. But seemingly endless curveballs derailed RRGCC's best efforts. Tara Taylor, RRGCC marketing director, explains that the primary challenge was the tumultuous nature of the oil industry, from frequent changes in ownership to bankruptcies. Then, last year, a woman named Lori Morel bought the oil company, which owned the land around Oil Crack and Arena. Under her leadership, the tone of the two-decade-long conversation began to shift.
"Without her desire to keep up these conversations and her open-mindedness, it wouldn't have happened," Taylor says of Morel. Ultimately, as Taylor puts it, Morel and RRGCC wanted to be good neighbors and respectful of each other's interests in the land.
Oil Crack and Arena trace their roots back to around 1998, when a handful of local legends began busily bolting dozens of new lines, ranging from 5.8 to 5.14c. The late John Bronaugh was responsible for the lion's share of the crags' development--and was also instrumental in forming the RRGCC. Dave Hume put up some of the harder routes around Oil Crack. The late Terry Kindred also played a role in establishing these long-closed crags, and Blake Bowling put up a few routes as well.
Among the 44 routes at Oil Crack, several highly rated classics have remained officially closed for decades, including the trad line Greased Lightning (5.11a) and the bolted Skeletor (5.14c). Oil Crack may take its name from the literal oil seeping from the wall and the old oil deposits in the ground. But it might also take its name from Oil Crack Route, a 5.13d that sits alongside a cluster of 5.14s. "It's a very Kentucky experience," Taylor laughs.
With 39 routes, neighboring Arena is known for its wall of five-star 5.10s. "I was super blown away by the 5.10 wall at Arena," Taylor says. She had a chance to climb what she says what rumors dub "the best 5.10 in the Red': Opening Act (5.10d). "You do this really fun jug-hauling to the layback, then you have this blind sloper pull--and your bolt's way down there," she says of the route. All in all, Arena offers 13 5.10 routes, as well as everything from 5.8s to techy 5.13s.
Unlike the massive Ashland acquisition last year, this isn't a call for developers to go in and tap endless potential. Taylor says that the king lines on these crags are already bolted. There may be a few unclimbed routes between the established lines, but given the sensitivity around access, developers should work carefully with the RRGCC if they want to add any bolts to the mix.
In April 2026, after decades of negotiations and failed attempts, the RRGCC signed a renewable three-year lease agreement with Morel and her company, KYTX Oil and Gas. The agreement allows climbers to access the 130 acres where Oil Crack and Arena are located--on a few conditions.
Currently, the RRGCC is projecting a fall opening date. The grassroots organization hopes to have the crags open by their annual Rocktober festival, which will take place from October 11 to 13, 2026.
Whether it's spending years fundraising to purchase a tract of land or putting in endless hours negotiating with landowners, climbers are showing the power of persistence in regaining access to the crags they love. Oil Crack and Arena is a powerful case in point.
This wouldn't have happened, Taylor explains, without the dedication of a local climbing organization, and the climbers rallying behind it. She says that this win really belongs to the broader climbing community for supporting the coalition for so long.
This access win underscores the importance of climbers playing the long game. Another recent long-term victory unfolded a few months ago in North Carolina. Following a 32-year fight, Joey Henson and Jeffrey Scott at last won back the right to boulder at their beloved Howard Knob blocs. It was a win Scott described as unlikely as "pigs flying in the sky."
Correction, May 4, 10:58 a.m.: This story originally stated that Arena’s wall of 5.10s has 13 5.10 routes. That specific wall offers five 5.10s, while the Arena crag has 13 5.10s in total. The story also previously stated that Lori Morel’s gas company was “Keblo Energy, LLC”; her company is called KYTX Oil and Gas.
Info via Maya Silver - Climbing
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