The New River Gorge is on the Map for Bouldering

The Power Plant Boulders at the New River Gorge are a freakish combination of Linville and the British Virgin Islands... If you were to take the good parts of little Rock City and Rocktown and put them on a beach and add unlimited projects on steroids you would be about halfway there... Well not really but what we saw there was very promising to say the least.


The Power Plant Boulders are seen off in the distance on the left side of the river.

Nate and i busted out of town on Friday to meet up with Jordan and Zoe from Louder Than 11 to shoot some video in West Virginia. Matt Stark hooked up some crucial beta and when we asked about projects he had this to say:

"Oh man, honestly there are so many there that you are likely going to be running around like a chicken with your head cut off."

We did just that.

After crossing a river via a railroad trestle, "Stand By Me" style, and following some very active RR tracks for a mile or so you get spit out in paradise. The Power Plant Boulders are right by the waters edge and are tall and proud and there are projects everywhere. Matt also said that pretty much anything we did harder than V7 was gonna be new. I dont think we got on a problem easier than V7...

We spent the majority of the day working a project near at the lower end of the boulder field on a boulder called the Rubic's Bloc. There is a testpiece that goes right up the center of the 25 foot boulder to a slopey lip and scary mantle. Huge moves and a thrilling jump start... Perfection. We will send next trip.

Up stream from the Rubic's Bloc is a mega load of tall proud boulders. The project that is pictured below is one of the sickest things i have seen in years. a low roof on good holds lets you gain a massive just slot and then up and left is a bald arete with little to no holds on it. Double digits for sure and incredible. It needs to be cold for a lot of these jems and it was 90 and sunny this weekend so...


Jordan under the Super Proj

I went to look at a line that Nate found back in a cave and it turned out to be really fun and kind of hard. I was able to send after quite a bit of work and snatched up a first ascent in the process. I called it Limelight (V9) and here is a picture of Nate standing under it.


Nate and Limelight (V9)

The line climbs through a series of sidepulls in a dihedral to a massive move gaining a good hold then busts out right over Nates head to a slopey an kind of hard topout. Jordan has footage and that will be coming soon.

I finished off the day with a potential first ascent of a 20+ foot highball slab facing the river on a huge patio. I called it the Transvestite Slab (V7) due to some very suspicious spray paint found at the base...

There is a very promising looking cliff at the boulders as well and I'm sure it has never been climbed on.



Sunday we went to Hawksnest to shoot some green screen shots and play on the tiny boulders at the base of the dam. After spending the previous day at the Power Plant it was funny climbing on such small blocs.

I am really sunburned

and I have a lot of bug bites

and the poison ivy will probably set in tomorrow...

I am happy.


Nate playing on the bridge...


100 feet up...




The Squeal (V10)

On a side note Dead Point Magazine quoted me in an article about Daniel Woods murdering hard boulders at Lilly. Its always nice to know that people read your blog. Thanks Matt and nice job Daniel. That thing is hard.

This is the last week I will have to do anything school related so... yeah.

Jon G.