FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- Heading into the maw of the spring whitewater season on the New River, things are getting wild for the whitewater industry as company mergers have been as plentiful as dandelions.
Just a couple weeks after Adventure Mountain River, Class VI River Runners and The Rivermen announced a merger, we checked in with long-time rafting company manager and co-owner of Class VI River Runners, Jeff Proctor, who runs Class VI with his brother Doug, and childhood friend, Dave Arnold.
Eddying out on the rim of the Gorge behind the Runners' famous restaurant, Smokey's On the Gorge (which has been featured on the Food Network), Proctor talked about the upcoming season and the merger, which calls for the three companies' operations to be completely integrated by 2009, with coordination of activities starting now.
Adventure Mountain River and Class VI will integrate all operations at the Class VI base camp on Ames Heights Road this season while The Rivermen will continue to operate out if its present base camp just south of the New River Gorge Bridge.
One major change will be the introduction of a family-and youth-oriented outdoor recreation facility for whitewater rafting and other outdoor activities. That center will be alcohol-free and provide a base for the organization's family, youth and group activities.
An Eagle Scout who grew up in Cincinnati, Proctor said the evolution of making a more family-friendly resort is a natural.
"It has always been a conflict in our industry as we've accommodated everything from the bachelor party to the family and the church group," Proctor said. "In the campground, no matter how hard you tried to segregate the different groups, there is always the potential for conflict. We don't get a lot of complaints, but it will be an enhancement of the product."
Proctor said the mergers are all happening as whitewater companies are responding to an industry on the decline following its peak in the mid-1990s.
In 1995, about 220,000 rafters went down the New and Gauley Rivers.
Last year, that number was down to about 170,000.
"There has been a drop off and part of that has been as the boomers have gotten older, and the kids are not quite old enough to raft," Proctor said. "The X Generation is still playing on computers and text messaging themselves. Now we do have the boomer kids, the echo boom, that are starting to come rafting with us, but somehow we are missing the component of that age 24 to 30 group. Class VI is not really strong in that age set so we drew the conclusion that the market is starting to shrink, and we are all at a point as revenues go down, either we need to cut expenses or create new revenue. Our thought was to look at trying to merge, which we are merging with Adventure Mountain River (formerly known as Mountain River Tours), and The Rivermen."
Proctor said in years past, Class VI, like some of the other larger outfitters in the Gorge, have bought folded outfitters out of bankruptcy, but that has always been a struggle with little gain.
"With the downturn in the industry, there are a lot of businesses that have seen a steady decrease in their numbers from 20 to 60 percent," Proctor said.
"With a Chapter 11, there's no money to market, and they languish in Chapter 11 for a year or two, continue the spiral down, and by the time the bank pulls the plug, there's dilapidated buses and rafts that aren't worth fixing or using, and there's a customer list not updated or managed. Staff has dropped out or moved onto other rafting companies, and consequently you're only really buying river capacity. So the end result is now the industry is down overall about 20 percent, and each outfitter has -- I wouldn't say excess capacity -- but are at a place in time where they're not running into needing extra capacity. We probably hit our capacity on five to 10 days a year."
While the number of rafters is going down, the rafting companies, including Class VI, have been developing a treasure trove of other adventure and family-geared sports to keep those rafters in the Gorge for longer vacations, spending more money and diversifying the economy and the experience.
When the Class VI, Adventure Mountain River, and The Rivermen merger was announced in March, new company head Paul Buechler, a long-time whitewater rafting guide at Class VI and former vice president at McJunkin Redman, said the new group will add activities such as paintball, hiking, ropes courses and a swimming pool in the new year.
"One of our goals is to turn the whitewater vacation from a one day or come on Friday, raft Saturday and leave Sunday experience to a week-long vacation that would be similar to when you go to the beach with lots of different activities," Proctor said.
Class VI is also adding some of Adventure Mountain River's unique trips such as the Guys and Gals Overnight, as well as oar-powered trips, something Proctor thinks is cool since he and Arnold started using oars when they first began guiding whitewater in West Virginia in the 1970s.
One of the changes at Class VI will be office expansions as well as increased lodging options.
"We're in the process of developing a master land plan to accommodate bringing Mountain River Tours here," Proctor said. "We're doing an office expansion to accommodate the office staff here. We're anticipating building an additional check-in/video facility that will probably also have a bar."
Lodging will increase with hopes to build four more cabins at the Cabins At The Gorge development, located across the road from Class VI.
Those will most likely include some duplex options.
Also being built will be 30 to 50 Sportsman's Cabins, a stripped-down rustic cabin with no shower facilities, as well as some three-season cabins as well with showers and bathroom facilities.
Proctor said all of the additions are part of Class VI's continued commitment to listening to customers and making changes for the better.
"I think the good part is that we continue to listen to the guests," Proctor said. "Back in 1995, we listened to the guests and built a tile showerhouse that was more upscale than a state park or a local campground. Then in 2000 we built the restaurant Smokey's On the Gorge, that again catered to the higher end. We added on the Cabins On The Gorge, and we keep listening to the clients that keep getting older along with the owners."
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