I had high hopes for this trip to Seneca Rocks with George... The last time I climbed with George was our ice climbing trip to the Adirondacks. I always enjoy spending time with him, and I had heard that Seneca Rocks was nothing short of amazing for trad climbing. I wasn't disappointed.
Friday was a driving day, as it usually is for my road trips. It took my roughly 9 hours to get down to West Virginia on Friday and I met up with George in the early evening. We set up camp, lit a fire, and had a few beers while catching up and plotting our adventure for Saturday. The plan: gain the south summit (the only summit east of the Mississippi that requires technical climbing).
It rained Friday night, but we ventured out Saturday morning anyway, and were pleased to find the rock was dry. We started up Skyline Traverse, and before long the sun came out. It turned into a very hot day very quickly.
My main climbing goal for this summer was to start leading trad. I had mentioned this to George previously, and I climbed a little slower than I usually do so I could study his gear placements on the first two pitches of Skyline. When he hit the second belay George said "So, do you want to lead the next pitch?". I hummed and hawed a bit; I wasn't sure I was ready. Through the second pitch of Skyline there's a fair bit of exposure - I was wrestling with that in my mind; I wasn't sure I was ready to actually lead a pitch. George reassured me that the third pitch was 5.2ish climbing, and there were a bunch of natural anchor options at the top. So... I led it. My first trad lead ever.
With Skyline Traverse done, we found ourselves on Broadway Ledge and we set out to find the start of Up and Coming (5.4). George got back on lead, and linkend it up with A Christian Delight. It was a fun climb, but we were slightly off-route from our plan to gain the south summit. There was a party of five in front of us, so we hung out on the ridge for a while, before downclimbing about 20 feet and linking up Old Ladies Route for half a pitch. We were back on track.
The second to last pitch of Old Ladies Route is this really cool easily protectable traverse, starting down at a couple hundred feet of open space. Can you say exposure? This was the most exposure I've had to deal with to date - I managed to maintain my composure and not freak out. I was pleased with myself for this. I made it across, and we scampered up the final pitch of Old Ladies Route to the summit ledge. 7 pitches down, a short scramble remaining and we were there!
For the scramble, I asked George for a belay. My nerves were getting to me, and although the scramble itself wasn't bad, I knew there was a 700 foot drop straight down the other side, and I was a bit nervous. Not terrified, but definitely a bit nervous. It turns out I didn't need it, and I wouldn't bother to rope up for that scramble again, but I was still glad I did for this climb. We made it, we were on the south summit! Now, just to get down...
The normal route down for a party of two is 3 rappels. That same group of five was in front of us though, and we got sick of waiting so George started chatting with another pair of climbers in front of us. He figured we could do the whole thing as a single rappel if we joined our ropes. The other guys didn't think we could make it but they liked the idea of sharing ropes, so we did a short rappel to a lower ledge, and then did the rest as a single rap. We probably could have made the whole thing in a single rap, but we would have needed rope stretch to actually set our feet on the ground. I was happy to do it as two rappels.
Safely on the ground, we packed up and hiked out heading in town for some well-deserved pizza at the Front Porch and beer. The pizza was delicious, though I'm told it only tastes that good after climbing. Overall, it as incredible day for me. That's the most I've climbed in a day, and probably the most fun I've had outdoor climbing. I loved having the objective of gaining the summit as opposed to cragging... I still have a strong desire to take on more alpine adventures.
Saturday night brought more rain. We ventured out anyway with the hope of finding some dry rock, but it was not to be. The rain picked up more as we approached the base, and when we checked it out, everything was soaked. So that was it... we talked it over and decided to bail since the weather didn't appear to be letting up at all. Saturday's climbing was so awesome that I didn't feel too bad for losing out on Sunday climbing. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. Until next time...
This weekend was intense, crazy fun trad climbing, and an awesome view from the summit. In total, I drove 1600+km, climbed 7 technical pitches plus a scramble, gained the south summit at
Seneca Rocks, and did my first ever trad lead. I have to say... Seneca Rocks rocks. I will be back. For sure.
Here's George's account of the weekend.
