It should come as no big surprise to anyone that things have been going down in Kentucky's sandstone Mecca, the Red River Gorge, lately. Or to be more accurate, people have got up things; hard things.

Fresh from her ascent of Southern Smoke, 8c+, Ashima Shiraishi spent the next day at the Purgatory where she repeated another 8c+, Mike Doyle's Lucifer. As if not remarkable enough as it is, she did this in rather appalling conditions, as in a slight drizzle. Not bad for an 11 year old girl, I'd say.

The French speaking tourists have also been doing well.

Cédric Lachat and Mike Fusilier both repeated Southern Smoke, and Cédric also did its left hand neighbor, 50 Words For Pump, 8c+. Mike now wants to move on to his project, Pure Imagination, 9a.

Florence Pinet flashed Last of the Bohicans, 8b, while Melissa Le Nevé did Transworld Depravity8b+. She also worked out the moves of 50 words ... and now wants to try that more seriously.

Sources: and Deadpoint magazine