New and/or Gauley this Weekend for Experienced Boaters

Doug Lipton · Post by **Doug Lipton** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:11 pm

With the New Gorge at 7 feet, the scheduled "first timers" trip is not looking too good:-(. So, are there any experienced boaters that want to run it anyway? I'm open to the New on Saturday and Sunday or the Gauley on Sunday. I need to know by Thursday afternoon if anyone else is interested. This trip would be for experienced boaters with bomb proof rolls only.

gshel · Post by **gshel** » Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:23 pm

I'm a boater with a slightly less-than-bomb-proof roll and I've never boated the New but would love to. What level would be a good level for me to run it? Thanks.

Doug Lipton · Post by **Doug Lipton** » Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:05 am

I'm probably pretty close to the last person who should be advising others as to the best level for a first trip on the New Gorge. I'm a brace and roll paddler so for me the higher water level means bigger waves and less rocks to hit

. I found a video on youtube of the New at 6 ft. You can view it at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBf9ysBgjy0‎ . There will be a lot of big waves and cross current to deal with and being able to stay upright and/or roll is essential to avoiding long swims.

slo2rol · Post by **slo2rol** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 4:37 pm

gshel wrote:I'm a boater with a slightly less-than-bomb-proof roll and I've never boated the New but would love to. What level would be a good level for me to run it? Thanks.

If this is a troll... good one! But I tend to err on the side of safety, so I'll bite:

I'd definitely recommend making your first run of the New River Gorge at something less than 7 feet (like between -1 and +2 ft) given a less than bomb-proof roll. At seven feet, the river is wide, there are big holes to avoid, and swimming could be long, tiring, and present a real risk of flush drowning.

As the AW page states "If you do not have big water paddling skills then stay off above 6ft."

No worries - keep boating and building the necessary skills and you'll be there before you know it. There's no hurry because the NRG will be here a lot longer than any of us!