Whitewater Boating & Guide School 4/29-5/3/2024

Whitewater Boating & Guide School 4/29-5/3/2024

Price: $995.00

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Whitewater Boating & Guide School

Our most intense, comprehensive and popular Guide course 19+ years running...


This course is designed for those seeking true adventure and comprehensive instruction, enhance personal boating skills as well as summer employment opportunities as river guides for the upcoming season, if desired.
Details will be sent with your enrollment form).


This area in Northern California offers some of the most divers river environment, river volumes, remote scenery and overall epic boating. One will be immersed into the world of river navigation from early mornings to late evenings working on knots, land based rescue scenarios, essentially living and breathing the art of river navigation and all aspects associated with it.


Rivers that are included in our training include the California Salmon River, The south fork of the Salmon, The Lower Klamath, Clear Creek, and potentially sections of the Upper Klamath. These details will be decided in early April. Factors include river levels, weather, and since some of the rivers are free flowing the snow pack will be a factor.


A brief description of the itinerary:
Day one at camp: The first half of the day consists of a camp, gear and location orientation, description as well as an overall introduction to the world of whitewater and guiding. After which you go on the river and begin learning the art of river guiding and all it entails. The evenings consist of discussions of the day’s events and various dry land activities readying us for the next days adventure.
Day 2: From here on it is a rapid and intense succession of river training, rescue and navigation learning exercises. The majority of the course, conducted on the river, learning and experiencing all the skills needed to successfully “guide” in a whitewater environment. As a student you will be exposed to and learning the following: Leadership & Guiding Philosophies, River Hydrology, Reading whitewater, Flipped-Raft Drills, Unwrapping Rafts, Wilderness First Aid for the River, Basic River Rescue, Class II-V River Captaining in a paddle raft as well as an oar rigged raft configuration, Wilderness Camp Preparations, boat rigging, river and guide etiquette, river knots & many more necessary skills to be able to guide in a private or commercial environment.


The week will be spent camping in a wilderness setting along the river, running a river everyday. High Country Expeditions chooses not to try to go to more than 2-3 rivers during this course since with experience we end up spending more time in the vans than on the water. Instead, we set up one or two base camps and stay there for the duration. These rivers offer whitewater experiences from class I-II up to class V. There are only a few locations in the Northwest where all these levels can be experienced on the same river, and we choose our locations to utilize this, for maximum exposure to our students.
This course offers you the opportunity to experience every water level classification with an extraordinary 1:3 instructor student ratio. We are confident this will be more than just an amazing learning adventure, but a lifelong memory as well.
Days do not only consist of running rivers, but also engaging in a wide array of boating exercises. In the evening, relax around the warmth of the campfire while practicing various knots and rope work, and enacting land based scenarios such as camp setup and guest hospitality.
This course is highly recommended for all first year future High Country Expeditions guides, and for anyone else interested in river guiding on a professional level. We are confident that this course will lay the groundwork for anyone seeking to become a professional river guide.


We will also assist those interested in finding work as river guides for the upcoming rafting season, either with High Country Expeditions or one of our many partner Outfitters in the Northwest.
The cost of this true 5 day course is $995.00. This includes dinners, travel, instructors, literature, all boating equipment and necessary gear and maximum river and guiding time.


If employed by  High Country Expeditions and work one season with us you will receive 1/2 of the boating school cost back.


Join us for a whitewater rafting adventure. High Country Expeditions offers rafting trips on some of the most beautiful rivers in Oregon and Northern California.

Deposits, Payment Methods & Confirmation:

A minimum 50% deposit or credit card is required to secure a reservation, unless other arrangements have been made. For groups of 12 or more payment is due in full 48 days prior to your trip. After making your reservation, confirmation will be sent out with any additional information you may request. Last minute inquiries are welcome, please give us a call and we will do our best to accommodate you! We accept cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Cancellations for river trips:

You may cancel your trip 30 days prior to the trip date for a full refund. Cancellations made 29 to 3 days prior to your scheduled trip will result in a $25.00 reservation fee, and a $100.00 per person fee for extended excursions. The balance will promptly be credited back to your credit card. Or, if you would like to reschedule your trip for later in the season, we will work with you to do this and apply the deposit amount to your new trip. We do not offer any refunds after your trip has been rescheduled. Sorry, but no refunds for cancellations made 48 hours or less from the trip date. If you schedule a trip for a group of 20 or more, you may finalize the number of people in your group a week before your trip without penalty. As always, we want to make sure you are happy, and will always work with you to achieve this.

Non-Performance:

We reserve the right to cancel any excursions due to unsafe water conditions, poor weather, and other circumstances beyond our control. If a trip is cancelled, you may choose to reschedule or we will promptly refund your deposit/payment in full.

Cancellation for schools: You may cancel your enrollment 14 days prior to the date for a full refund with a $50.00 filling and holding fee. Cancellations made 13 to 6 days prior to your scheduled trip will result in a none refund of deposit, any balance will be returned promptly. Sorry, but no refunds for cancellations made within five days of the start of the course.


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