River Guide Schools
Most river guides learn their basic skills from a guide school. This is an opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts about what it takes to work as a full-fledged river guide. While all schools focus on maneuvering a raft and reading water, the best go beyond that and cover every aspect of river guiding.
Featured Guide School
ECHO
River Trips (800) 652-3246 offer professional and
advanced river
guide schools on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon and Oregon's
Rogue River.
Most people select the guide school offered by the company they want to
work for. In guide school you learn the basics characteristics of rivers:
eddies, rocks, waves, and holes. You'll also learn about boat spacing,
river signals, and scouting. To be prepared for everything, you will
also learn how to deal with "swimmers," wrapped boats, and flips.
Some of the most important parts of your school will be off the river. You'll practice giving a good safety talk, throwing a throw bag, pumping up your raft, and taking care of gear. The best guide schools also cover the mundane: vehicle checks, buying food, and the most difficult task - setting up tarps.
You'll have to make a decision about the type of school you'd like to be involved in. Most schools focus on one day trips and paddle boats. In these schools you'll spend more time focusing on running whitewater. Other schools focus on the intricacies of running multi-day trips like rowing boats, cooking, and rigging boats. Less time will be spent running difficult rivers and more time will be spent on providing for a group of people in the wilderness.
Guide school is a special experience for everyone involved. It's a chance to meet others with similar interests and be challenged. The best (and most infamous) schools are those that happen in extreme conditions: bad weather or high water. If you're lucky you'll get both!
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