About West Virginia:
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It's wild, it's wonderful... and it's almost 90% forest; cut with rivers, dotted with lakes and ponds, crossed by winding roads that almost always lead to stellar rock. Wander for as little or as long as you like among boulders, walls, lost crags and classic cliffs, in a state where the pace is just a little bit slower. Check out the local crafts and foods that define the southern experience. West Virginia is a place of wonder, and it's all out there waiting to be discovered by YOU. Are you a Traditionalist? Check out Seneca Rocks, soaring over 300 feet into the blue West Virginia sky. Once home of the hardest 5.9's on the East Coast, Seneca is still a place to learn the ropes of leading on trad gear, meet some of the best folks on the East Coast, and find out the difference between saying you can climb 5.10 and knowing that you can. Love sport climbing but just can't kick that crack habit? The re is a cure for your pain, and its name isNew River Gorge. Originally one of the destination crags of the East Coast for its cracks, NRG eventually became world famous for the sheer number of incredible sport and trad climbs accessible by the novice or the expert-level climber. Push your boundaries or just spend a fun day in or out of the sun pulling classic moves on bulletproof stone. (Please take time to add your contributions to our ongoing reorganization of the New River Gorge region. And to all the foks who have already added so much new beta- YOU ROCK!) Just want to clip bolts, enjoy the day, and maybe jump in a cold, clear river, afterwards? Got a new crash pad and no spotter? Then try Franklin Gorge, home of over 75 sport routes from 5.7 to 5.13+, and two, count 'em, TWO boulder caves with problems up to the V10 range. The scene is casual, the setting incredible, and climbs challenging and safe. Got a sweet tooth or a thirst to satisfy? Kemper's Store, just East of the entrance, has some of the coldest beer in WVA, and the Kempers have been selling it to climbers for over a decade. Those are just three of the many areas in WVA. Around every bend, off every side road, there is so much rock still undiscovered, unclimbed, or unrepeated. Trad or sport dog, crash pad junkie or top rope monkey, there's something for you in West (smile when you say it) Virginia... DB manager's note: Remember that not everything you find to climb in West Virginia needs to be listed on the Internet, or bolted into submission, or immediately spewed into nationwide fame as a destination crag. This is one of the last bastions of adventure on the east coast; a place where the forest reclaims anything not repeatedly trampled by hundreds of feet and pawed at by thousands of hands, where the same remote crags are "discovered" again and again, by passing generations of enthusiastic newcomers, where little exists in the way of recorded beta concerning the incredible number of routes and hard climbers that have been created here. You are not the first. You will not be the last. Tread lightly, think twice, respect the locals, and listen to the advice of the climbers who have been here for decades... you are enjoying the access they have worked long and hard to establish and maintain. Preserve the adventure for the next generation. Climb on. Michael Gray, Ronin |
