Our professional guide school ended with a bang on the Tuolumne last weekend. After hiking into the canyon, we put on at Meral’s Pool with 3500 cfs. We spent most of the first day pulling swimmers into boats while floating through big rapids. Our last paddleboat surfed the hole at Clavey Falls for a good 30 seconds and everyone managed to stay in the boat.

We discussed our “favorite moments” around the campfire on the last night of our trip and most agreed that our wrap at Blossom Bar was the highlight. Other highlights were fixing a torn boat in the rain, the drive from Oregon to California, and our first night discussion about what it means to be a guide.

We are already making plans for our guide schools for 2006!

Our whitewater guide school faced four days of pounding rain on the Rogue River this past week as they watched the river rise from 2200 cfs to over 4600 cfs. The class encountered an impromptu “rip” session on the first day after a six inch tear to one of the boats. The same boat, now referred to as “Karma,” also led to an impromptu “wrap” class at Blossom Bar on day three.

Everyone reports cold weather, a great time, and tons of learning. The class is now headed to brave an overnight on the Class IV Tuolumne River near Yosemite.

Over the years, many parents have asked us to run a whitewater skills camp for teenagers. We are running one this year. It is a seven-day camp, Aug 5 - 11, 2005, on the Salmon River in Idaho. Minimum age is 16 and the cost is $795 per person.

This will be an excellent opportunity for young people to pick up basic skills in river running and river camping. We will teach reading water, operating oar rafts, paddle rafts and inflatable kayaks, basic camp skills, camp cooking, and river safety.

This is also a way for teenagers to see if they would really like to become river guides. While not a “boot camp” or Outward Bound type experience, the camp will require more energy and participation than a regular river trip. For those over 18, check out our professional guide school.

We’ve finalized our plans for our whitewater guide school. We’ll begin by meeting at noon on Saturday, March 19th at our Rogue guide house in Grants Pass, Oregon. On the Rogue, we’ll be focusing on camping and rowing oar boats.

The guide school will finish on the Tuolumne River where we’ll have a chance to focus on our technical water skills as well as safety. The guide school officially ends on Saturday, March 26th in the evening.

Check out our Whitewater Guide School page for more information and price.