Staying busy at The Summit

GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — The Boys Scouts who are attending the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Fayette County are finding plenty to do.

“It’s amazing,” said Boy Scout Evan Strot from near Waco, Texas of the number of available activities.

At the Summit Bechtel Reserve, there are more than 36 miles of mountain biking courses, 13 acres of sport shooting, almost six miles of zip lines and, what Scout officials said, is the largest man-made outdoor climbing facility in the world.

Eldorado Climbing Walls Builder Kenny Straight, who helped construct the facility in one year and seven days, told MetroNews it’s exciting to finally see the Scouts and Venturers climbing at The Summit Center and elsewhere on the property.

“To see all the kids, especially up top, that place is slammed.  There’s so many children up top it’s really cool,” he said.  It’s one of the many Summit activities designed to be accessible for all.

“This kid who can’t see a thing, he’s absolutely blind and he’s jumping off of a wall attached to a rope and a kid yesterday, he had a prosthetic leg and he just would not let the wall beat him,” said Straight.

“He was just pep talking himself up the wall.  It was great.”

Boy Scout Joe Greenwell from southern Indiana was doing some climbing Thursday.  “They give you three things that you can do: rappelling, climbing and bouldering and, on the other one about two miles (away), it’s unlimited, so you can stay there for hours,” he said.

In addition to climbing, Scouts can also find a lot to do in the water.

Scout Nebiyou Minassie from Ethiopia traveled 23 hours total to get to West Virginia with one activity in mind.  “Whitewater rafting,” Minassie said when asked what he wanted to do the most.

There are also kayaks, swimming and paddle boarding.

The Boy Scouts and Venturers are also trying The Ropes, a network of zip lines, balance beams and cargo nets which are all suspended 25 feet above ground.  There are two mountain biking adventure areas as well.

This year is the first year for the National Boy Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bectel Reserve.  Before now, the event was held at Fort A.P. Hill which is an active military site so the Jamboree infrastructure had to be removed and then rebuilt every four years.

National Boy Scout Jamboree Director Larry Pritchard said what is in place at The Summit now will stay.  “We can build permanent facilities, build them the right way,” he said.

The Jamboree continues through next Wednesday.





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