New River Rock, Vol. 2

The New River Gorge of West Virginia is one of the most dramatic canyons in the East. It’s famous for its whitewater rafting, the BASE-jumping extravaganza of “Bridge Day,” and, of course, its world-class rock climbing. New River Gorge climbing is a unique combination of excellent, historic trad and equally excellent, historic sport. Unlike its main “rival” crag, Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, the New holds equal allure for both trad and sport climbers. No surprise to the tradsters: the Nuttall Sandstone is harder than granite and riddled with excellent cracks of all sizes. Fair enough, say the sportsters, but the bolted climbing is some of the best and most varied anywhere! The specialty of the house is technical climbing that will test your ingenuity, footwork, and finger strength, but there are plenty of massively overhanging sectors for those who just want to grab big holds and pull. There is so much climbing in the New that we’ve had to split it into two volumes, each with a lifetime’s worth of routes to explore.

Volume 2 – Meadow River, Summersville Lake & Gauley River (3rd edition)
This volume documents the climbing north of the main gorge of the New, with over 1400 routes on the crags along the Meadow and Gauley rivers and surrounding Summersville Lake. Many of the crags here are close to fine swimming holes, making them favorites for summer climbing. The Coliseum at the Lake is arguably the most sought-after hardperson’s crag in the entire region, and as of 2021 now boasts the hardest sport climb in the East. Just a short stroll away is Orange Oswald, likely the most popular 5.10 sport crag in the New. And the steep, psychedelic rock of the Meadow must be seen to be believed. Endless climbing! (But of course, you won’t want to miss the fantastic crags of the main gorge — see New River Rock Volume 1.)

Areas covered:
Meadow South Side (currently closed to climbing)
Lower Meadow
Upper Meadow
Summersville Lake main area
Whippoorwill
Long Point
Gauley Crag
Carnifex Ferry

• 3rd (and latest) edition
• up-to-date beta on over 1400 routes
• 328 full-color pages
• detailed history
• camping and apres-climb stuff
• $1 per book sale goes straight to the local climber’s org, New River Alliance of Climbers.

New River Rock Volume 2, 3rd edition
2021 Wolverine Publishing
By Mike Williams
328 pages
978193839402

Note: We request that all climbers temporarily avoid the South Side Crags. We hope that in the future we can get these areas reopened and actually improve the climbing experience there. We thank you in advance for honoring this request.