This is the roof crack and wide chimney that extend the sport climb Almost Heaven to the top of the cliff. Climb Almost Heaven, and continue past the anchors to a stance below the roof. Climb out the roof crack, pulling the roof into a corner and wide chimney. Continue up the chimney to top out.

Closer to Heaven

New Clear Potato Meltdown

The Shining

Searching for Sanctuary

Damn the Lieback, Full Stem Ahead!

Half & Half

J-Tree Route

Almost Heaven

I Smell Arete

Moon Child Posse

Shang

Pettifogger

Hair Raiser

Hidden Pleasures

White Lightning

Ride 'em Cowboy

Thunderstruck

Jane Fonda’s Total Body Workout

Dining at the Altar

This one's a good warm-up for Thunder Struck. The crux is at the beginning, so stick clip the first bolt. It's a very hard 10b. When I climb it, I always put the stick back in the bush to the right of the route.

This is a great line that would benefit from a little more traffic.  A trad climbers sport route.  Climb the large broken rock to gain the left slanting overhanging wide crack.  Good hand jams deep in the crack to reach the high first bolt.  Use the crack to gain the steep face and then figure out the sequence to get you through the corner.  Face moves on dirty rock to the shuts.  As of 7/07, there is a large dead tree looming above the final portion, it doesn't affect the climbing, but you will notice it!

Lean across the gap between boulder and wall and grab a crazy chunk of rock sticking off the wall. Climb to a roof and pull onto the face and a beautiful crack.  Continue up the last three quarters of the route jamming in the crack.  Is there still a fixed nut in the alcove at the top?

Climb a flake that angles left to parallel finger cracks (direct start from under the parallel cracks is 5.9+ and has an old fixed nut on it). Climb those to a ledge. Head up a flaring crack with solid hand jams in the back. Follow this crack to the top. Good route with fun moves and variation.

Climb the wide crack under a massive roof.

The crux is the bolted portion up top, the top stays VERY mossy and dirty. The crack crumbled as I climbed this, I knocked off a large piece of stone that my belayer dodged. This is a route worth avoiding.

In a left-facing dihedral climb a crack on the right wall to a large vegetated ledge. Then head up the slightly overhung dihedral. The upper dihedral can be wet and dirty, making it much harder than the rating suggests. An adventure trad route for sure!

Fun moderate climbing to a small roof bulge with a tricky and deceptive crux move guarding the chains. Good warm up for the 12s, and worth doing in its own right.

This is a fantastic line!  There are many sections that stop you and make you think about which way to go.  The climbing starts to get harder at the overhang.  Just when you think that may have been the crux, thin face moves make it apparent that you've reached the crux.  Great moves!

5.11 face climbing over some interesting features leads to a hollow flake (fragile rock!) below a small roof. Struggle through a difficult/awkward sequence to gain a decent rail and easier climbing to the anchors.

Rated 5.12c in the Williams guide, though a fair bit more difficult than the similarly graded Pettifogger.

Typical New River lock off, push down, reach up, high step face climbing to a rest under the roof and a full value crux to the clipping holds at the shuts. Great climbing.

Start on the first two bolts of White Lightning before stepping left into an obvious crack/seam with spaced fingerlocks.  Sequential and pumpy 5.11+ climbing with just enough gear takes you to a pumpy "rest" at which you can build a nest of TCU's and get ready for the bouldery crux– big moves with precise feet through crimps and sloping pockets.  Above the crux, move left to easier climbing through flakes and blocks, with one final awkward move to an always-dirty jug and fun tree-root mantel at the very top of the cliff.

Amazing stone and movement. Flowing chill climbing leads up to a short but hard crux. Grab some small holds and smear on some poor feet until you reach the slot. Great shake at the big horizontal then make some long and exciting moves to the top.

The technical crux is lower, within the first 4 bolts. The slab moves following the fourth bolt smothered in lichen may give you a bit of trouble. Mike Williams guidebook describes the climb as being "covered in a green dust, virtually not climbable in its current state." While this is definitely an exaggeration the green dust does add difficulty and detract from the quality.

The New River Gorge Rock Climbs (Wolverine Publishing) guidebook says: "Begin by climbing the leaning flake to gain the face. The moves above are thought-provoking, powerful, and technical. Everything you're looking for in a world class route." Easy climbing leads up through the first three bolts, followed by a thin crack. Climbing thin edges leads up to a traverse and a dyno, with a crux at the top. This route is an extremely aesthetic line that is worth entering into 5.12 climbing for.

Like Jane Fonda herself, this forgotten beauty deserves far more attention than it gets. Your full body workout begins right off the ground with an intense strength and cardio segment requiring a mixed bag of hand stacks, face holds, knee locks, and arm bars through 25 feet of proper off-width crack (physical crux). Fight through it and you’ll be rewarded with a brief cool-down phase through the easy slab/chimney/corner system. Then all too soon you must confront the final imposing roof system (mental crux?). This is your final sprint to the finish. Stem, jam, contort, and feel the burn through another 20 feet of deceptively solid rock all the way to the top!

If you still need more inspiration, check out this web gem from 1982:

Jane Fonda's Total Body Workout

(true fans, feel free to flag your favorite moments in the comments below)

Technical face climbing with a few long moves between horizontals to a fun roof at the end.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in 5. White Wall