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Often known as the Beast of the East, the Gauley River in southern West Virginia offers some of the best whitewater action in the world. The Gauley may be a challenging, technical river, but it doesn’t have to be your Mission: Impossible. Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It Want to make your own […]
Abbie is the youngest member of the team bringing that sense of awe for whitewater we can all relate to. She came to the area for a restaurant job and ended up joining the river guide training class. In her own words, Abbie Clasgen: I got a job working in the restaurants for a rafting […]
While working as a full time emergency room nurse and river guiding, Jo-Beth has dedicated the last 4 years to building and supporting the Sweets of the East women’s raft race team. Her enthusiasm is contagious. Learn more about Jo-Beth in this interview. How did you get into rafting: I got into rafting while I […]
Every great team needs an exceptional captain and the Sweets of the East have the best, Margaret Cadmus, who is dedicated to building a strong team. Margaret focuses on the goals of the team as a whole and builds on the strengths of each member. The communication improves with each practice as do the laughs […]
Team member Sarah Merritt I grew up in Asheville, NC and have been boating since I was about 7 or 8 years old in duckies, rafts and kayaks. I started guiding as soon as I turned 18 on rivers in TN and NC, mainly on the Pigeon. I kayaked the Upper Gauley for the first […]
Thousands of people come to West Virginia for world class whitewater rafting every year. The New River and Gauley River offer a variety of sections to suit any type of paddler, new and old. As the sport of river running has grown in the mountain state over the last 50 years, it has also been evolving […]
The Sweets of the East team may be new to Melanie, but the team members go way back. Jo-Beth, Sarah, and Margaret have all worked together as river guides. Heck, Margaret did her “check-out” run with Melanie years ago. They now come back together to achieve race goals and have energetic younger members to mentor, […]
Getting started in whitewater I got into rafting when I was 8 years old. My family went on a commercial trip through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado. Our guide was a super rad chick, who I thought was definitely a superhero. After almost swimming (my dad caught me by the PFD) I went swimming voluntarily, and […]
World-class whitewater rafting, climbing, fishing, cuisine — Fayette County, WV, is standout among small outdoor areas for many reasons. “Our claim to fame is whitewater rafting,” said Bobby Bower of Pro River Outfitters. “You can come see the New River 4-5 different times, and see a completely different environment each time with the change of […]
Did you know that in the mid 1990s there were around 15 whitewater rafting companies in southern West Virginia? Did you also know that at that same time, close to 250,000 people were coming here to raft on our southern WV rivers? Rafting has been a huge draw for this area for a long time […]