Brooke Raboutou, Dru Mack Send Southern Smoke (5.14c) at the RRG
Brooke Raboutou, 14, and Dru Mack, 21, sent Southern Smoke (5.14c) on Saturday at the Red River Gorge, Kentucky.
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Brooke Raboutou, 14, and Dru Mack, 21, sent Southern Smoke (5.14c) on Saturday at the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, adding to their
growing repertoire of difficult ascents.
“This is a beautiful line and I had so much fun climbing it!” Raboutou wrote on Instagram after her climb. “I am so glad to have been there for [Dru Mack’s]
impressive send!”
The route, bolted eight years ago by Joe Kinder, climbs 90 feet through 10 bolts at the Bob Marley Crag, home to range of 5.7 to 5.14 climbing.
For Raboutou, the send follows her ascent of Thug Life (5.13d) at the Red last week, where she clipped the chains and then unclipped them
to take a victory whip.
Raboutou broke the 5.14 threshold in 2012 and she became the youngest American and youngest female to climb 5.14a after her ascent of God’s Own Stone, also
in the Red. She later made the youngest 5.14b ascent at age 11 on Welcome to Tijuana in Rodellar, Spain.
Mack is a Red River Gorge aficionado, well known in the local climbing scene. Over the past three years he has swept up ascents on Omaha Beach, Transworld Depravity, and
God’s Own Stone – all 5.14a’s.
Sending Southern Smoke ends Mack’s yearlong effort on the route and puts the first 5.14c (skipping 5.14b, according to DPM) on his growing ticklist.
“With over a year of effort I’m incredibly excited to do my hardest climb to date,” Mack wrote on Instagram. “It’s crazy how much a silly rock climb
can teach you about life and yourself.”
Follow Brooke Raboutou and Dru Mack on Instagram.
Watch Dru Mack send Southern Smoke (5.14c):