Nelson Rocks for Sale
I climbed a few routes there about 1 1/2 years ago. I agree with dmw, they weren't classics, just ok. One of them was two pitches which was fun because up top we got to watch someone on the other side aiding a popular difficult route. The rock quality is probably the same as seneca (i.e. wear a brain bucket).
I disagree. Nelson Rocks is awesome. If you are not awestruck when you see the big looming towers from the gap, you are frickin' brain-dead. Yeah, it's no el Cap, but this is the east coast. There are some hyperclassic multipitch routes there. I really hope it gets opened to climbing again. I wish the Feds or Access Fund would pony up, and make climbing access permanent.
Here is an accident report from the Dayton grotto of the NSS newsletter (damn cavers):
Harrisonburg Accident
Lauren McKay
A Winchester woman is dead after a mountain climbing accident.
West Virginia State Police say Amanda Joy Crawford was climbing at the Nelson Rocks Preserve in Pendleton County.
Police report Crawford was using the proper safety equipment, but unhooked one of her lines to go around a tree.
That's when she mis-stepped and fell almost 150 feet
. She was pronounced dead at the scene 
.
The type of mountain climbing Crawford was doing is rare in the United States. It's a system that is said to be safe for
people who have no prior climbing training
. It's called Via Feratta. According to the Nelson Rocks Preserve Website, Via Ferrata
is a type of mountain climbing route with a safety system permanently installed. Although this type of climbing trail is rare,
some local rock climbers we spoke with say any type of mountain climbing can be dangerous
.
John Fontana has just recently started rock climbing. He says he likes to boulder because he feels safer. "Because I'm
closer to the ground, I don't go up as high, my life isn't in the hands of a rope, it's in my abilities and I can just fall off the rock
whenever I want onto my little pad," he says .
Fontana says he climbs for the mental challenge of having to work out a problem with his mind and physically having to
get past it
. He says others, however, climb for the adrenaline rush. "A challenge of, I just want to see if I can do this, I just want
to see if I can make it to the top; they just test their limits and they just kind of get an adrenaline rush off of that," he says.
We spoke with an Eastern Mennonite University professor who is familiar with Via Ferrata. He says this type of climbing
is designed to prevent any accidents. The route Crawford was climbing was only the second of its kind in the United States.
This was printed in October 2006. I would say yes, I'll bet Stu is selling the property because of the accident(s) that happen there. There were climbing accidents that caused Stu to restrict the climbing. Now a via feratta accident, and it's time to get out.
Harrisonburg Accident
Lauren McKay
A Winchester woman is dead after a mountain climbing accident.
West Virginia State Police say Amanda Joy Crawford was climbing at the Nelson Rocks Preserve in Pendleton County.
Police report Crawford was using the proper safety equipment, but unhooked one of her lines to go around a tree.
That's when she mis-stepped and fell almost 150 feet
. She was pronounced dead at the scene .The type of mountain climbing Crawford was doing is rare in the United States. It's a system that is said to be safe for
people who have no prior climbing training
. It's called Via Feratta. According to the Nelson Rocks Preserve Website, Via Ferratais a type of mountain climbing route with a safety system permanently installed. Although this type of climbing trail is rare,
some local rock climbers we spoke with say any type of mountain climbing can be dangerous
.John Fontana has just recently started rock climbing. He says he likes to boulder because he feels safer. "Because I'm
closer to the ground, I don't go up as high, my life isn't in the hands of a rope, it's in my abilities and I can just fall off the rock
whenever I want onto my little pad," he says
.Fontana says he climbs for the mental challenge of having to work out a problem with his mind and physically having to
get past it
. He says others, however, climb for the adrenaline rush. "A challenge of, I just want to see if I can do this, I just wantto see if I can make it to the top; they just test their limits and they just kind of get an adrenaline rush off of that," he says.
We spoke with an Eastern Mennonite University professor who is familiar with Via Ferrata. He says this type of climbing
is designed to prevent any accidents. The route Crawford was climbing was only the second of its kind in the United States.
This was printed in October 2006. I would say yes, I'll bet Stu is selling the property because of the accident(s) that happen there. There were climbing accidents that caused Stu to restrict the climbing. Now a via feratta accident, and it's time to get out.