Climbing in the New River Gorge

This past weekend my mother and I got the amazing opportunity to climb in the New River Gorge with some family friends from the gym.

The first climbing day – Saturday – we went to a couple crags right by Summersville Lake. Specifically, Narcissus Cave and Orange Oswald wall. The second climbing day we went to the Butcher’s Branch area. 

This trip was my first time sport climbing in the New River Gorge. I was extremely eager to learn the ropes (pun intended) and learn how to lead climb outdoors. It is a rewarding and refreshing feeling to be ten feet above my last piece of protection and fussing with gear. 

The feeling of climbing on New River rock is now my favorite thing about climbing. The rock is cool, comfortable, and intricately shaped. Unlike holds in a climbing in a gym, one handhold can contain multiple angles and multiple edges, creating a much more interesting climb! One of the largest challenges on this trip was confronting my fear of falling on lead. For my readers who do not know, the New River Gorge has many routes that have sparse protection, creating the possibility of a large, scary, but usually safe, fall. Multiple times, I was put in scary situations where the best, safest option was to continue climbing in scary terrain with large falls. Overcoming my fear of a large fall and continuing to climbing, however, was another extremely rewarding aspect of climbing outdoors.

All of the challenges and beauty that came with my first proper climbing trip to the New River Gorge in West Virginia made this trip unforgettable. Climbing outdoors felt the purist – it is the purist. No blasting music, no gym bros, just me and the rock. It will have to happen again soon!


Location: Alexandria, VA, USA

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