by Sam Powell

I headed to Summersville, West Virginia, the sport climber’s Disneyland, to get some beta on boating, give my back a break, and leave the trad rack in the car. Summersville is located 20 miles north of the ever popular New River Gorge. It’s host to enough classic sport climbs to keep any sport enthusiast’s draws jingling for years. Summersville is also the home to acres of green lake that are irresistible during the summer months. Cliffs tower out of the water, lending spectacular views and some of the best deep water soloing in the country. Since I can only swim so far before being overcome by laziness, some other mode of transportation seemed needed. So I tagged along with some Lynchburg sport climbers who had plans for renting a motor boat to tool around the lake in search of secret crags.

The night before, I had many unanswered questions about the boating experience, like, would they really let anyone-even me-drive a large-powered watercraft with little to no experience? Apparently yes, as long as you have a valid driver’s license and minimum age of 21, or 25 for some outfitters. Rental services also require a walkthrough before you take the boat out to make sure you know your steering wheel from your propeller, and they also require an inspection afterward to make sure you weren’t playing bumper boats with the locals. Major credit card numbers and such need to be left, in case the boat “accidentally” sinks or sustains any other damages due to pilot error. No grills and no pets seem to be standard rules as well, although for the ever resourceful climber, these rules can be loosely interpreted as no large grills and no more than four pets. To my chagrin, none of the boat rental agencies allowed alcohol of any sort on their crafts either.

All the rules and regulations were starting to worry me a little, because without three of my favorite things, I wouldn’t have much to do all day but sit around and enjoy the ride. The cost of this adventure was my last question. Most boats range from $150 to $185 for a half day, and $300 bucks for a full day. That doesn’t include gas, which ranges from $20-40, depending on how lost you get. You can fit up to ten people on most boats, so you can bring the whole crew out with you to split the cost.

Our full-day rental was set to start at 7:30 am, but a late night partying delayed our morning by a few hours. After smuggling my illegal aliens (i.e. dogs) aboard the boat, we sampled a few of the sparse but classic cracks in the area. Everyone seemed amazingly under-whelmed by the whole boating experience, so we climbed most of the morning and afternoon, and finished the day with some deep water soloing in between the Coliseum Wall and the Pirates Cove. On the ride back, rumors of secret crags and glimpses of peaceful campsites were enough to pique our interest again and send us inevitably back to Summersville.

So, if you decide to undertake a Summersville Lake adventure, show up early and bring lots of friends. One thing’s for sure: whatever choice you make and whatever you do, at the end of the day, you’ll likely end up in the water. Because after all’s said and done, that’s where the road ends in Summersville.

Sam Powell can be reached at samatcvilleguides@earthlink.net.