West Virginia · Rock climbing · Seneca Rocks

North Peak - West Face

North Peak - West Face in West Virginia has 27 climbing routes with 18 difficulty grades.

27 routes
5.1 – 5.12c
Trad · Sport · Mixed

Is North Peak - West Face open right now?

Closure in the area

There's a closure order in Monongahela National Forest. It doesn't name North Peak - West Face, so check the source for the area it covers.

As of · Source: USFS · Monongahela National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit North Peak - West Face

Best months: April–November. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

  1. Jan

    43° / 22°

    8 wet

  2. Feb

    47° / 23°

    7 wet

  3. Mar

    55° / 30°

    10 wet

  4. Apr

    67° / 38°

    11 wet

  5. May

    74° / 48°

    12 wet

  6. Jun

    81° / 55°

    10 wet

  7. Jul

    84° / 59°

    10 wet

  8. Aug

    83° / 58°

    10 wet

  9. Sep

    77° / 51°

    8 wet

  10. Oct

    68° / 41°

    7 wet

  11. Nov

    56° / 32°

    8 wet

  12. Dec

    46° / 25°

    9 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Franklin 2 Ne, WV, 11.4 mi away at 1,900 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

North Peak - West Face is a climbing area in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, within the Potomac Ranger District. The Forest Service manages the land, and the area sits among a cluster of other climbing and hiking destinations, with North Peak - East Face and Lower Slabs about 0.1 mile away and the Pipeline Trail also at roughly 0.1 mile. The climbing here is centered on the west face of North Peak, with 27 routes on record. Most are trad routes, and the grade range runs from 5.1 up to 5.12c, with a median of 5.10c. A few stand out: Northway is a 5.1 trad, and Bray To The Lord is a 5.12a trad with a first ascent by Ed Begoon and Howard Clark in 1992. Bray No More, a 5.12c mixed route, is also among the hardest. For timing, the most comfortable months are typically September and October, when typical highs run in the upper 60s to low 70s and wet days are fewer than in late spring and early summer. Those figures are averages from a nearby weather station in Franklin, about 11 miles away. Seneca Rocks Trail is about 0.3 mile off, and Seneca Shadows campground is roughly 1.5 miles away. Seneca Creek, a paddling spot, and Jess Judy campground are both within about 8 miles.

Routes (27)

Northway5.1Pine Tree TraverseFA: Sally Chamberlin/Eleanor Tatge (1946)5.1West Face to Gunsight Notch5.1Inherent ContradictionsFA: Howard Doyle / Eric Janoscrat5.10-Silent But DeadlyFA: Howard Doyle, Lotus Steele5.10+Madmen OnlyFA: Livingstone & Craig - 19665.10aAmberFA: Howard Doyle, Stan Switala 19935.10bMalevolenceFA: Prothro & Rollins - 19745.10cPsycho WarfareFA: Eric Janoscrat, Howard Clark 19925.10cNegative FeedbackFA: Jack Beatty / Lieth Wain (1979)5.11Hooked on a Feeling5.11+Princess SnowbirdFA: Tom Cecil, Eric Anderson5.11bPsycho KillerFA: Beatty & Karr - 19815.11bSnickersFA: Jim Marshall, Peter More5.11bThunderboltsFA: Kenny Parker, Bill Moore, Kevin Parker 19875.11dStuck in TimeFA: Will Alford, 20195.12-Bray To The LordFA: Ed Begoon, Howard Clark 19925.12aThat's RealityFA: Ed Begoon, Mike Artz, Kenny Parker 19885.12aThe BellFA: Cal Swoager5.12aBansai5.12bBray No MoreFA: Eddie Begoon 19925.12cNo Dally AlleyFA: John Christian / Ed Worrell / Bil Hemphill (1954)5.3Kauffman's RibFA: Kauffman and party, 19555.4One Stop5.4Up FrontFA: June Lehman / Linda Harris (1971)5.4Mistaken Identity5.5CircumflexFA: Dennis Grabnegger, and R. Neil Arsenault5.9

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive

North Peak - East FacePhoto: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

North Peak - East Face

~0 min drive

North Peak - East Face in West Virginia has 30 climbing routes.

34D WallPhoto: drsmith7383, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

34D Wall

~19 min drive

34D Wall in West Virginia has 10 climbing routes ranging across 9 difficulty grades.

Nelson RocksPhoto: drsmith7383, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Nelson Rocks

~19 min drive

Nelson Rocks in West Virginia has 6 climbing routes across 5 grades, featuring mixed, sport, and trad styles.

Crescendo WallPhoto: drsmith7383, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Crescendo Wall

~19 min drive

Crescendo Wall in West Virginia has 7 climbing routes with mixed and trad styles.

Spruce Knob boulderingPhoto: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Spruce Knob bouldering

~22 min drive

14 bouldering routes in West Virginia spread across 6 difficulty grades.

Southwest CornerPhoto: MonongahelaNF, Public Domain Mark (via Flickr)

Southwest Corner

~0 min drive

Southwest Corner in West Virginia has 15 climbing routes across 9 grades.

Lower Slabs

~0 min drive

Lower Slabs in West Virginia has 33 climbing routes across 14 grades.

Lower Broadway

~0 min drive

Lower Broadway in West Virginia has 9 routes across 6 grades, mixed and trad climbing.

South Peak West Face (Main Area)

~0 min drive

South Peak West Face (Main Area) in West Virginia has 83 routes.

Upper Broadway

~0 min drive

Upper Broadway in West Virginia has 41 climbing routes with 21 difficulty grades.