New, West Virginia, US
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15. New River Dries: Hawks Nest Dam to Gauley Bridge
| Usual Difficulty |
III-IV(V) (for normal flows) |
| Length |
6 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
18 fpm |
Drys put-in wave
Drys put-in wavePhoto by Brian Rahall taken 11.22.03 @ 17.4 feet - huge
Gauge Information
| Name |
Range |
Difficulty |
Updated |
Level |
River Description
The Dries is a surfers paradise although at high waterlevels you will have to catch some of the
waves on the fly. About 2/3 of the way down the river you will find a long class III+ rapid that
ends in a big pool. At the bottom of the pool are several huge boulders. This is Landslide rapid.
There are 5-6 slots between the boulders. The cleanest slots are the 2nd and 3rd from the right.
The leftmost slots have a potential for pinning and should be avoided.
Putin: Just above or below the Cotton Hill bridge on Rt. 16.
Takeout: Along Rts. 16 & 60 above Gauley Bridge. Perhaps the best spot to take out is on
river right by the bigs rocks just below the railroad bridge. There is a short path from the top of
the rocks to the road with parking for a few cars. There is additional parking a bit upstream and
across the road by a nice waterfall.
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2004-10-23 15:26:19
Editors
User Comments
that is loopable and can def throw ends. Little sticky but hey thats half the fun. Edit
myself and the usual suspects had an awesome time surfing the New River Dries.<br>
<br>
I love living 10 mins away from the dries ....and the parking lot at the waves has a feeling about
it....sort of what I imagine the parking lot for "pipeline" is to surfers. Everyone is
just so amped to be paddling the best whitewater in the US, and we love sharing it with each other.
So much so that, Scott Lindgren and Tanya Shuman flew in from Cali when they heard the waves would
be in for a few days. So, myself, Clay Wright, Shane Groves, Bryan Kirk, Jimmy Blakeney, Chris
Gratgmans, Little Dave, BJ & Katie Johnson, Tanya Shuman, Anna Levesque, and a few others had a
great time surfin it up, and shooting some film....<br>
The usual waves that show up on river right at about 40-55,000 cfs were the bomb as usual, but we
were also able to surf a huge, building and crashing 15-20' 'er in the middle of the river. This
thing was abso-friggin-lutely HUGE, and so were some of the moves being thrown. Big pan-ams,
flipturns and helixes were the main course on the endless freestyle menu, and lots of footy was
shot. Look for updates soon on www.prokayaker.tv (Jimmy Blakeney's site) as well for some of the
best shots on Scott Lindgren's new flick "Burning Time".<br>
If you haven't had the chance to surf some huge waves, the dries is where it's at. Look for levels
for the New at Thurmond to be 28,000 cfs-38,000 cfs for the wide middle wave, 40,000-60,000 for the
waves on river right.<br>
Also, the Bigwheel was incredible! So smooth, and FAST! Definatly my favorite boat, and Shane has
already been making it better from what I hear!<br>
It's late, and I'm goin surfin in the AM, so until the next report.....<br>
<br>
Brian J<br>