Students face level-five rapids on river in West Virginia

Foreign Exchange Student Zilla Olsen never thought she would go on her first whitewater rafting trip after only a month and a half in the United States.

But the self-proclaimed “city girl” from Copenhagen, Denmark, found herself on a nine-person raft stuck between two rocks Friday afternoon on the Gauley River in Summersville, West Virginia.

“I was so scared – it all happened so fast and I had to get pulled out of the raft onto one of the rocks,” said Olsen, a freshman. “The guide was able to get it through the rocks and then everyone had to jump back into the raft from the rock.”

Olsen and more than 50 CMU High Adventure Club students traveled Thursday from Mount Pleasant to Summersville for the Gauley River Festival.

The three-day annual event attracted more than 5,000 rafters from around the world, said Middleville senior Pat Konarska, High Adventure Club president.

“I met people from Ireland, New Zealand and Australia,” said Troy freshman Jon Hypnar.

The five-hour journey down the river covered 13 miles and included level-five rapids.

“The scale is out of six, so these were pretty intense rapids,” Hypnar said.

Each raft held eight students and one guide who was familiar with the river and had previous experience whitewater rafting. Students volunteered for two to four hours at the festival to help American Whitewater, a nonprofit organization that works to conserve and restore whitewater resources, Konarska said.

Hypnar said he sold Gauley Fest T-shirts, while others helped with parking and checking in rafters.

A group of about thirty students also went rock climbing Saturday, an outing led by Andrew Yasso, High Adventure Club vice president.

“We brought our own equipment, and we’ve had experience doing it before,” the Rochester Hills junior said.

Yasso said the club is open to anyone who is on a minimal budget and wants to have fun outdoors.

“We try to organize trips that are affordable for college students and can be done by people at all experience levels,” Yasso said.

The trip was Rachel Matich’s first time whitewater rafting.

“I was nervous, but everyone was great and I am so thankful that I went because it was one of the best experiences of my life,” the Waterford senior said. “I am going to keep going and continue to do more outdoor experiences.”

The group is planning more trips this semester, including a paddling trip on the Au Sable River and a backpacking trip through the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising, Konarska said.

“We also want to plan a day to go skydiving in the Mount Pleasant area on Central/Western weekend,” Yasso said.

Next semester the High Adventure Club is planning a skiing and snowboarding trip and an ice-climbing trip to the Michigan Ice Festival in Munising, Konarska said.

For more information on the High Adventure Club, e-mail cmuhighadventureclub@gmail.com or search “High Adventure Club @ CMU” on Facebook.com.

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