The Art of Rock Climbing: "Summit or Grave!" (Part I)

Reaching the Infamous knive edge summit of Seneca Rocks (day one and two). Just shy of two thousand feet above sea level, and climbing of nine hundred feet of vertical rock . . . "the quartzite in West Virginia is approximately 250 feet thick (summitting to about one to five feet thick) and is located primarily on exposed ridges as caprock or exposed crages. The rock is formed from sand grains deposited approximately 440 million years ago, in an extensive sheet at the edge of an ancient ocean" (Barnes 29). Ian and I are here where once "Indians (Algonquin, Tuscarora, and Seneca Tribes) must have had thousands of years of very facinating experiences" (Barnes13). This is a surreal experience to say the least. "In 1943-1944, the U.S. Army used Seneca to train mountain troops for action in the Apennines. The 10th Mountain Division held a two-week training camp and taught such useful mountaineering tactics as aid climbing using silent signals and muffled piton hammers. The skill learned by these men were actually used in combat when the 10th division launched an attack on an exposed Italian ridge, achieving total surprise. Although most have disappeared over the past three decades, decayed ring and angle pitons from their training activities still pepper various routes at Seneca and elsewhere along the North Fork Valley. During their stay the army drove 75,000 pitons into the cliffs of Seneca, Champe, and Nelson rocks" (Barnes 20). The Art of Rock Climbing. Seneca Rock, West Virginia. Traditional Rock Climbing. Rock Climbing Summits.

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Entertainment

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• Rock
• Climbing.
• Seneca
• Rock.
• Traditional

[rat970]

thats really cool