New River Rendezvous

Last weekend I joined a 1000 of my closest friends in Fayetteville, WV for the 9th annual New River Rendezvous.  The 'Vous is the New River Alliance of Climber's largest fundraising event, taking place every year in May at the Burnwood Pavilion.  I've always heard the event is a great time but I'd never made it up until this year and I had a blast.  The event starts off low key with the campground opening on Thursday.  People slowly filtered in, setting up tents and getting into the swing of things.  The weather on Thursday was a little nasty with cooler temps and some rain but the forecast for the weekend looked great.

Scene from Friday Morning.  For some reason I love this picture.

On Friday we headed to a slightly soggy Cirque.  The New has been inundated with rain this Spring which, coupled with some condensation/rock sweating issues, led to some seepage and slimy holds.  I had a mostly chill day, sampling some new routes and hanging with friends.  This was a common theme throughout the Rendezvous as I got to reconnect and hang out with lots of friends that I hadn't seen in a long time.  We headed back to Burnwood in the early evening in anticipation of the Desertapalooza.  Desertapalooza is a crazy feast of sweets donated by local businesses, sponsors, or made by climbers.

Desertapalooza before the masses descended.

As my sweet tooth has been well documented, I was definitely not going to miss this.  I wasn't disappointed with all manner of cakes, cookies, and treats available, everything being delicious. 

The beer also started flowing that night with four different varietals donated by the Bridge Brew Works.  Everything was incredibly orderly and well run, a testament to the planning and organizational skills of the dedicated volunteers who put this thing on.

Tenting in the Field

Vanland

Random artsy picture.  The New sho' is purdy.

On Saturday we headed to the Meadows.  One of my goals for the trip was to try a route called The Project at Area 51.  We made the drive out there only to find most of the routes there wet at the top.  We decided that it wasn't worth it and headed to the First and Second Buttress areas of the Meadow River.  I had been worried that many of the crags would be crowded during the festival but we saw only a few other people on any given day so crowds certainly weren't an issue.  We had a fun day at the Meadows but had to deal with a little heat in the afternoon (the heat, the heat!) as the area bakes in the sun. 

We headed back to Burnwood for dinner, graciously provided by Patagonia, and more free Bridge Works beer.  After dinner the dyno comp and the sumo pad wrestling were both fun to watch but the real star of the evening was still to come.  Around 10P the jamtronica band FreekBass took the stage and kicked the party up to a nice, respectable level.  There was lots of dancing, drinking, and good vibes all around as the band tore it up.  I'm not sure how late they played, I headed to bed at 1A, but they were still going strong when I turned into a pumpkin.  Pictures tell a thousand words so....

FreekBass

Party On, Contest Winners (*Futurma Reference)

Artistic Attempt

The Energy Was Still High at 1A

Edgardo Mugging

The Alabama Crew

On Sunday I head a short day at the Cirque before heading home to the girls with a smile on my face.   Overall I was amazed at how well run the Rendezvous was and how much fun I had.  I'm looking forward to going back with Theresa next year and hope to see you there!