North Fork Mountain, WV

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/121908383/north-fork-mountain-headwall

Has this area seen much development? I've seen quite a few pictures browsing through hiking trip reports and there seems to be a ton of rock!

Is the climbing good but mostly undocumented? Are the rocks a bit loose/chossy (could possibly be, but hard to tell from some pics)?

It is so obvious, that I’m  sure that a fair number of folks have climbed up there over the years.I know that the late Paul Duval climbed a number of routes up there during annual trips to the Seneca area in the late 70s/early 80s. I recall the climbing that we did on the main cliff to have been fairly non-descript,though  there well can be better routes on the crag. I remember that the notorious Ken Nichols and I did a good route on the valley face of a prominent pinnacle in front of the main face, finishing over an overhang.

The most development has happened on the north and south ends (aka closest to road access.) The north end has a bunch of sport routes and there is a guide book Tom Cecil and Stephen Hyndman authored. Almost Alpine is on NF Mtn- a 7000ft long traverse. Chimney Top has some climbing also. The entire outcrop is about 23 miles long- so there's essentially a Gunks style area-same rock as Seneca and its cousin up in the Gunks, but unlike Seneca and like the Gunks it is horizontally bedded. Some really hardy folks that like backpacking/ bushwhacking as much as climbing are out there getting after it. Lol

I think it is safe to say that during a hike on the NF Mtn trail, several miles from an access point, one could rappel off and find something worthwhile. It is really awesome up there, and the views of the River Knob fins, Spruce Knob, and the Dollys Sods are top notch.

The Wills Mountain Anticline is the underlying geologic structure that made the whole valley, and learning about it makes the scene from the top even that much more impressive too me.

Almost Alpine - The Greatest Climbing Film Ever Made

Thanks for sharing all! I spent a day driving around and doing a bit of climbing in the satellite areas around Seneca this past December and am interested in exploring some of the lesser climbed rock in the area. There seems to be so much rock around there!  

Kyle Mills wrote:

The most development has happened on the north and south ends (aka closest to road access.) The north end has a bunch of sport routes and there is a guide book Tom Cecil and Stephen Hyndman authored. Almost Alpine is on NF Mtn- a 7000ft long traverse. Chimney Top has some climbing also. The entire outcrop is about 23 miles long- so there's essentially a Gunks style area-same rock as Seneca and its cousin up in the Gunks, but unlike Seneca and like the Gunks it is horizontally bedded. Some really hardy folks that like backpacking/ bushwhacking as much as climbing are out there getting after it. Lol

I think it is safe to say that during a hike on the NF Mtn trail, several miles from an access point, one could rappel off and find something worthwhile. It is really awesome up there, and the views of the River Knob fins, Spruce Knob, and the Dollys Sods are top notch.

The Wills Mountain Anticline is the underlying geologic structure that made the whole valley, and learning about it makes the scene from the top even that much more impressive too me.

Is the guidebook in print or available as an e book?

Yes it has seen just needs more traffic, access work and route development.  There was a digital guide book floating around by only accessible on an apple platform and seems to have disappeared. I’ll continue to add sections and routes as I learn more about the headwall layout.     Also, Clear Creek (across from NFM) has developed sport/trad routes.