Training for Full-Time and Weekend Guides

Over the last seventeen years, we have hired 91% of the people who completed our guide training class.

Pay for First Year Guides: $40.00 for half day trips, $60.00 for one-day trips. Tips usually range from $10.00 to $30.00 per trip. On some trips a guide may not get tipped at all but occasionally a guide gets tipped $100.00 or more. Guides who are professional, skilled, and personable get bigger tips.

We train our own rafting guides so we have control over the quality of training our guides receive. We charge less for guide training than most other rafting companies because we do not run guide training as a money-maker. Many rafting companies do run training as a moneymaker and train a lot more guides that they can hire. We limit the size of our classes and focus on training fewer guides extremely well. Our guide training exceeds the standards required for guide certification by the State of Colorado because the purpose of our training program is to produce guides who are good enough to guide for our company.

Guiding is a challenging job that requires physical fitness and mental stamina. Most people who are in good physical condition and have the perseverance to stick with a job until it is done can learn to guide. We train on the Arkansas River because that is where you will be guiding customers. After completing our guide training and passing your final check out run, you will be a certified guide and can guide for any rafting company in Colorado and most other states.

Most people can learn to guide if they are willing to make the commitment in time and effort. Of the 199 people who trained with us in the last 17 years, 166 (83%) completed the training class. Of this 166 people, 152 (91%) passed their final check out runs. In the last 17 years, we hired all of the guides who completed the class and passed their final check out runs.

One reason that we are able to hire such a large percentage of the people that we train is that we try to bring people into our training that we feel have a high probability of making good guides for our company. If we accept you into our class, we consider that spot to be filled and turn away applicants for that position in the class. It is very frustrating to fill the class, turn away qualified applicants, and then have trainees call us and tell us their plans have changed and they want their training fee back. Therefore, we have a strict policy on refunds. If you are accepted into our class, we require a non-refundable deposit of $100.00 to hold your spot in the class. Please send us your $100.00 deposit only if you are totally committed to doing the class. The balance of $300.00 is due by April 15th. (The total training cost is $400.00).

We provide wetsuits, booties, and splash/rain gear during training. We recommend you also bring polar fleece or a wool sweater, a hat, and gloves (either neoprene gloves or wool gloves with a waterproof outer glove). After training, full-time guides are required to buy their own throw bag, river knife, straps, carabineers, and splash/rain gear. Weekend guides are required to buy their own throw bag, river knife, straps, and carabineers. We provide Type V life jackets for our first year guides. (These are the same life jackets our customers wear. Most guides choose to eventually buy their own Type III life jacket since Type III jackets are less bulky than Type V jackets.) Full-time and weekend guides may choose to buy their own guide paddle or use one of ours. We do not furnish wetsuits and booties after training. Most guides choose not to wear wetsuits and booties after training so they do not buy their own. It is best to wait and buy gear after training is completed and you have been hired. You can see the gear our returning guides use and decide what gear you like and what gear you don’t like. After training, we will do a group order so you can buy gear at special guide prices.

You will also need camping gear. Most of our guides sleep in their vehicles or camp in tents for the summer.

Guides and trainees who pay a one-time damage/cleaning deposit of $30.00 and participate in the housekeeper rotation will have access to the kitchen, restroom, and living room of the dome house from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from May 19th through August 12th. Each guide in the housekeeper rotation is responsible for keeping the house clean for one week of the season. Guides who do an exceptional job on their housekeeper rotation will receive one extra day in the guide rotation.

Once training is completed, you will be required to do a final check out trip in which you guide customers with your instructor in the boat. You are not paid for guiding this day, since we pay the instructor for the day, but you are not charged extra for the check out trip. You must pass this check out trip in order to be hired as a guide. WE WANT OUR TRAINEES TO PASS THEIR FINAL CHECK OUT TRIP so we encourage trainees not to attempt a final check out trip until they are ready. If we have a group of trainees who want a little additional practice time on the river before they try to check out, we will provide the boats and equipment to trainees we feel have the potential to make good guides.

You must be certified in both CPR and First Aid before you can guide customers. We will offer a CPR/First Aid class on Saturday evening, May 19th. The charge is $25.00 for a two-year card that includes both CPR and First Aid certification.

Our customers frequently compliment us on how professional, skilled, and personable our guides are. We want to bring people into our training class who will share our commitment to providing the highest quality rafting trips in Colorado.