Best moderates: West Virginia or North Carolina?

So, my girlfriend and I are thinking of heading east in October on a much needed climbing vacation. Neither of us have been to either WV or NC and I'm curious as to what state has the best moderate cragging. The New River Gorge is on the list as is Looking Glass and the Linville Gorge, but I'm open to any and all suggestions from those in the know. Thanks!

Not a fair comparison since I still have yet to climb much at the New, BUT... I would have to assume NC is better but the routes more spread out. More variety for sure. Many single pitch moderates at Rumbling Bald. Steep moderates at Moores (mostly 2 pitch). Many multi pitch at linville (up to 5 pitches). Many multi pitch slab at Looking Glass. Pretty much amazing moderates at every crag. Shiprock, Stone, yada yada yada. I would assume many of the Moderates at the New are really fun but less variety and most if not all single pitch (which maybe is exactly what you are looking for).

The New is really good for 5.10 trad and up and 5.12 sport and up. Not that there isn't other grades, but not a plethora of high quality below those grades. Due to the slabby nature of a lot of N.C. cliffs, there are way more moderates. Most of the moderates in N.C. are of the multipitch variety. So two ropes and extra gear can often be necessary. The quartzite in the Linville Gorge area will be most similar to the New, but sharper, bigger features, and less vertical cracks. The granite is very unique to the area. You could easily spend a couple of days at the south side of Looking Glass and not get bored. Don't forget bridge weekend is in October at the New.

For NC , Looking Glass is cool as is Moores wall. If you're looking for runout slab routes then nothing beats Stone Mountain. Hard sport at Hawksbill, and trad/sport at Table rock and the Amphitheater.....both in Linville. In WV, New River gorge is great, but if you want two destinations that are close together in WV, then nothing beats a few days of trad at Seneca Rocks and then cruising over to Franklin for single pitch sport climbing at Franklin rocks.

Do yourself a favor; if you're coming to West Virginia, skip Franklin's access issues (privately-owned), trash, pot-holed high-clearance gauntlet of a driveway, draped top-ropes and worn-down trails and come climb better rock in Smoke Hole Canyon, instead.

wvmgray.wix.com/smokeholeca…

rockclimbing.com/routes/Nor…

Routes from 5.6 to 5.13+, sport lines as well as single and multi-pitch trad (sorry, no front porch, but no lines, either),five minute approaches and swimming holes galore, fishing biking, hiking, and access to the fantasdtic views of the cliffs overlooking Germany Valley and Seneca from the North Fork Trail. Four campgrounds (two of them NFS- Big Bend and Jess Judy) and a few hundred thousand acres of National Forest, fifteen minutes to Franklin, half an hour to Petersburg, just under three hours from Dulles.

Drop me a email wvmgray@gmail.com for more info.

(edited cuz I found out it takes an hour less to get here from Dulles with the new Corridor H/Route 50 approach.)

Awesome feedback. It's very much appreciated. I really love to explore semi-obscure or "unpopular" crags. It's not that I'm anti-social, just anti "scene", so I really would love to check out some of the places mentioned that I've never heard of.

That said, there's the prospect of checking out destination crags that have garnered excellent reputations over the years and I'm keen on checking those out, too. Seneca, for example. Or Moore's Wall. We're probably going to fly and I'm curious as to what crag has the easiest access to a major airport and has cheap accommodations like cabins and such. I guess what I'm asking is what provides the most bang for the buck within the scope of what's already been mentioned.

Seneca is awesome, and well worth the trip; great rock, great climbs, and a gorgeous setting.

Charlotte is the best place to fly into for N.C. climbing. It is about 1.5-3 hours from everything in the state on your list. It is a US Air hub, so direct flights should be easy. The south face and nose of LG can often be a "scene" as well as Table Rock. Camping is the best option. There are so many free spots in the forest at both areas. I've always found a spot to throw a tent even on busy weekends.

october is a great month. don't really know what 'moderate' means, as it is subjective. search a route out at laurel knob that you think suits you, and invest the effort. you won't be disappointed.

Jake Jones wrote: I agree with the second part of this, but not the first. In fact, I would say that the NRG quite possibly has the most concentrated variety for any area, and certainly on par with any others in the east. Within 30 minutes walking distance at Endless Wall for instance, you have both gear and bolt protected lines of varying grades from 5.14 to 5.4. (although I will say that the lower end stuff is mostly gear-protected). You have slab, crack, offwidth, technical faces, overhanging jug hauls, overhanging crimp fests, layback corners, and many routes that have a mixture of required techniques. If you want bullet-hard rock in a beautiful setting with volume and variety in a relatively convenient proximity, the NRG is hard to beat. Now, if single pitch shit n' git isn't your thing, and you want to get your feet off the ground a bit, then of course, NC is tough to beat.

Agree with this assessment. 3000+ routes at the New. Enough moderates in Mikey's guide book to keep you busy for 2 weeks or more on easy access, single pitch sandstone. Avoid Sandstonia and Orange Oswald on the weekend, though. NC has beautiful multi-pitch moderate, adventure routes in Linville Gorge, Looking Glass and Laurel Knob. Check out routes like Maginot Line, Groover, the Nose, Sundial Crack, and maybe even Sensemelia Sunset.