Oak Hill, WV (WOAY) – Guide training is underway at ACE Adventure Resort, where a class of roughly 25 trainees is working toward the responsibility of taking guests from around the world down the New and Gauley Rivers. ACE alone guided approximately 30,000 guests down both rivers last year.
Eight-year guide and trainer Annalee Decker says the New River demands its own preparation regardless of a guide’s prior experience.
“The really special thing about the New River is no matter the water level, it’s going to feel like an entirely new experience, but because it’s an entirely new experience, there’s going to be things sneaking up on the new guides that they just don’t expect at all.”
Trainees spend their first weeks drilling the river, memorizing every rapid and hazard before guests ever step into their boat. For Andra Key, who guided Montana’s Clark Fork River last season, that means adjusting to bigger, wider water and preparing for every possible scenario before entering a rapid.
“Every time we go into a rapid, it’s like, okay, so what happens if something goes wrong?” Key said. “And then most of the time nothing will go wrong. But you always talk about it before you go in.”
For Connor Barnes, who has no prior guiding experience, the challenge is pulling all the technical demands together at once.
“Keeping the boat straight is not that hard when you’re doing it by itself, but keeping the boat straight and also issuing all your paddle commands and doing everything you have to do all at the same time has been getting a little more challenging,” Barnes said.
When trainees reach their checkout run, Decker says she is not looking for river mastery.
“I don’t care about those perfect lines,” Decker said. “What I care about is that communication. If they understand how to actually do a good forward stroke, a good backstroke, your safety commands, you’re going to have a lot better time. And as long as they’re working together as a team and they trust you because you taught them well and you took control, then even if you screw up and have a little bit more of a creative line in some of our bigger rapids, you’re going to better be able to find that line again because they’re on the same page as you.”
Once guides are cleared and on the water with guests, safety is built into the structure of every trip. A trip leader stays at the front of the group, carrying a med kit and radio. A sweep boat follows at the back, stocked with ropes, pulleys, and carabiners for more complex rescue situations.
“You’re not out there alone,” Decker said. “You never want to be out there alone. You’re always looking out for one another.”
