Trail News & Issues What is a 5.13 Climber? By ARNOUT HYDE JR.
Understanding Rock Climbing West Virginia offers some of the
finest rock climbing in the eastern United States. The stunning
sandstone conglomerate cliffs of the New River Gorge in Fayette
County yield hundreds of routes of all degrees of difficulty.
Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County provides multi-pitch climbing
on a Tuscacora sandstone fin. The U.S. military used Seneca
Rocks during World War II to train troops in mountaineering
before the invasion of Italy. Climbing in Pairs Usually,
climbers making roped ascents of rock routes climb in pairs. One
person "leads" the climb by climbing first and placing
"protection," or "clipping" already fixed bolts. While the
leader is climbing, his or her partner manages the rope that the
leader has tied onto his/her own or partner's harness via a
piece of equipment called a "belay device." If the leader falls,
the "belayer" uses the belay device to stop the rope from
running and thereby catches the leader's fa