Red River Gorge, Kentucky, local Adam Taylor climbs The Tube (5.14). Taylor has climbed the Red's hardest routes, including his recent first ascent of the direct start to Southern Smoke, which he thinks could be 5.15a. (The original route is 5.14c.) This would make not only the Red's hardest route, but the hardest line in the Southeast. Says Taylor about the grade: "It depends on style, and it's hard to grade." Will it stand? "Maybe, I'm not sure," he says. "I don't really care." Read more about his Southern Smoke ascent here.
