Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County provides multi-pitch climbing on a Tuscacora sandstone fin. The U.S. military used Seneca Rocks during World War II to train troops in mountaineering before the invasion of Italy. Climbing in Pairs Usually, climbers making roped ascents of rock routes climb in pairs. All climbing routes receive a number from 5.0 to 5.14d to describe their difficulty. The number after the decimal point denotes the approximate difficulty, with .0 being the easiest of routes and .14d being the most difficult.
Ratings are, of course, subjective, but provide a general guideline to a route's challenge level.
The climber then clips the rope to the pieces of protection so that the gear will assist in arresting a fall if he or she should slip. When toproping, the climber does not need to place any gear while climbing. Toproping is a very safe way to learn to climb. Copyright 2000 by Wonderful West Virginia magazine and the WV Division of Natural Resources. Used with permission.