Illinois native finds a home and a job on W.Va.'s cliffs

FAYETTEVILLE - On the day Julie Jones first tried rock climbing,her world turned on end. The horizontal trappings of her flatlandupbringing disappeared, replaced by a vertical wonderland of graniteand sandstone.

Ten years later, her world remains rooted in up-and-down. Thecliffs of Southern West Virginia's New River Gorge double as heroffice and her playground. Jones, 30, is one of those rareindividuals whose hobby also happens to be her profession.

She's a climbing guide.

"It's a good job," she says. "It keeps me outdoors, doingsomething that I really love. And the people are a lot of fun towork with."

At first glance, Jones, who stands 5-10 in her …