River Guiding is one of the best jobs for adventure enthusiasts.  It is a way of combining work with a love for the outdoors and opens up doors of opportunity to guide worldwide.  Glacier Raft Company has been running commercial trips for 25 years and many of the leading raft guides in BC,  Swift Water Rescue Instructors and BC Examiners were originally trained at Glacier!

This 10 day river guide training course has been specially designed to cater to individuals interested in commercially raft guiding, or to those who want to gain the knowledge of how to run rivers safetly, and to those who just want to come out for a fun 10 days of rafting some of Canada’s best rivers!  Our instructor to student ratio is 1 : 5, ensuring that you get maximum learning time both hands on and with theory.  We will be rafting on 4 different rivers giving you the opportunity to learn how to run big volume rivers aswell as technical creeks. 

Each day we will be running a paddle raft and an oar rig so that you have the opportunity to learn both skills. 

One week of the course is spent in the B.C. interior rafting on 3 different rivers. Every river is different with it’s own distinct character. Rafting on a variety of rivers from big volume to technical creeks gives the students a broader knowledge of river characteristics and guiding techniques. One week will be spent in Golden rafting the different sections of the Kicking Horse river where students will focus on river rescue skills and rafting harder white water that the Kicking Horse offers.

RIVER GUIDE COURSE CONTENT

• River reading, hydrology, terminology and of decision making
• Learn to command crews for both paddle and oar guiding on a number of different rivers, ranging from class 1 to class 4 water
• How to deliver a safety briefing
• Swimming in white water
• Self rescue and throwbag rescues
• Flipping and re-flipping a raft
• Various rope systems for rescues
• Emergency first aid and evacuations
• Equipment - repair and safety
• Customer care and interpersonal skills

COURSE DATES AND ITINERARY  

May 22 - 26

• 5 Days River Training (Golden)
• Kicking Horse River - Technical, Medium Volume, Class 1 -4   

May 29 - June 2

• 5 Days River Training (BC interior)
• Illecillewaet River - Technical, Small Volume, Class 3
• Thompson River (Frog - Lytton) - Big Volume, Class 4
• Nicola River (Lower Canyon) - Big Volume, Class 3                       

OUR INSTRUCTORS

Our instructors are among the top raft guides on the Kicking Horse River.  Some of their qualifications as they relate to this course are as follows.

• 20 seasons of commercial raft guiding in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Peru and the USA!
• A combined 14 seasons on the Kicking Horse River
• BC certified Trip Leaders
• Rescue 3 international Swift Water Rescue Instructor
• Wilderness First Aid

LIZ MURPHY
Liz grew up rafting as her family are owner operators of Glacier Raft Company.  Liz has seven years of guiding on the Kicking Horse river and is the river operations manager for Glacier Raft Company.  Liz has spent three winters rafting abroad in New Zealand and Australia.

IAN KIRSCHNER
Ian has seven years of commercial rafting experience on the Kicking Horse River. He has guided expedition trips in Peru and the United States. Ian is a certified Swiftwater rescue instructor with Rescue 3 International. An exceptional whitewater kayaker, Ian has paddled throughout Canada, U.S.A, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru.

SWIFT WATER RESCUE LEVEL 1 COURSE
Rescue 3 International is the certifying organization that we operate with for the Swiftwater Rescue Certification portion of our course. SRT level 1 is the legal standard of care in Canada for professional working in and around moving water. The emphasis is on identifying risks, self rescue and low risk rescue options. SRT 1 is generally offered as a independent three day course but will be intergrated into the ten day raft guide training course. Upon successful completion of the course students will receive theinternationally reconized Rescue 3 SRT 1 certification.

COST OF COURSE

• 10 Day River Guide School    $1200
• * Course price is subject to 7 % GST.

PRICE INCLUDES

• Swift Water Rescue Certification
• All of your personal river and safety gear
• Group camping equipment
• Transportion to and from all rivers
• BC Raft Guides Manual (2002 edition)
• Jeff Bennett's Guide to Whitewater Book

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT REQUIRED

• River footwear (Old running shoes work great)
• Personal camping gear ie Tent, sleepingbag etc.
• Polypro or wool long underwear for on the river
• Warm clothes for after the river

ADDITIONAL COSTS

• Camping fees
• Food

HOW TO REGISTER

Email us:  , Attention Liz Murphy, or leave a message at Glacier Raft Company (250) 344-6521, and we will return your call ASAP.

* A 50 % deposit is required at the time of registration.  Full payment (non-refundable) is due 30 days prior to the start of the course.  Space is limited, make sure you book early to secure your spot.