# How to become a raftguide?



## nightmare (Dec 9, 2008)

Hey,

I just registered, couldn't find any useful information on the internet just some raft training offers with a duration of 10 days. Looks like a scam to me, can't believe 10 day training makes you become a raftguide lol

Maybe anyone here can give me some more details about it ?
Any certificates needed?
My experience is close to 0

thanks for any help


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## Badazws6 (Mar 4, 2007)

First two steps would be to stop bathing and learn to love ramen noodles. Then grow a set of dreads that house small rodents.


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## cbieh589 (Mar 4, 2008)

Depends on where you want to start, If you're starting on the east coast the Lehigh and Lower Yough are good places to start. The training to guide on the Lehigh is 3 days, and I'm not sure about the Yough. If you wanna go big right away check out the Upper Yough or Upper Gauley also the New. There are really no certificates, usually just training through the company. P.S. if it takes you more than 10 intensive days to learn how to guide a raft, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place.


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## nightmare (Dec 9, 2008)

okay so those trainings for certificates are really a scam 
cbieh: oh okay, i thought that 10 days is enough to learn how to guide a raft but I think you still lack lots of experience then

what do you think how many seasons of work you need to get a job oversea?

oh an d thanks for the advice badazws6 ;P


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Different states have different requirements. In general, you will have to be CPR and First Aid certified. The 10 day training is not necessarily a scam- you just have to talk to the companies to find out what the training entails. You will probably have to have a certain number of hours on the river you plan to guide. State parks rangers will look at logged hours and CPR/First Aid certs for commercial guides. As cbieh said, if you need more than ten days, you shouldn't be guiding, however, no amount of training will teach you how to read water- that comes from instinct and experience.


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## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

In Colorado almost every company that hires new guides does a 7-14 day training that the prospective guides pay for. The cost of these ranges from $250-$1000. Some companies will reimburse some or all of this cost after you guide for that company for one or two seasons. 

After the initial training period the company will decide which guides to hire. Then the guide training will continue, often for 2 or 3 additional weeks. Then the guide will be given a check-out run with a guide trainer before starting to run commercial trips on their own.

Of course the length of the training will depend on the difficulty of the river - Class II is a lot easier to guide than Class III+/IV- and rookies will guide across this range depending on the company and location. 

In Colorado 50 hours of on water time is required by the State but many companies require 100 hours before a check-out run. An additional 20 hours of classroom training plus First AID and CPR are also required. 

The certificate programs aren't necessarily a scam, they may offer good training. What I would look for is a company that offers training for new guides, and that hires the vast majority of the guides that they take into their guide training program. Ask them how many of the people in their training program that wanted jobs, got jobs (also ask about full-time jobs vs. part time jobs). Press for actual numbers like 11 out of 13, which would be a good sign. Some programs will honestly have numbers like 5 out of 27 which is a tough for you as a prospective guide, but great for the company because they make some money and they get to do a 2 week job interview.


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## Becky J (Oct 20, 2006)

I worked on the Lehigh about 2 summers ago. If you're looking to be in-raft back east, I wouldn't try the Lehigh. Pretty much all of the companies have the customers take themselves down, with the guides in kayaks "raft hearding" guests down the river. It's fun, but I very rarely hopped in a raft. I was with Whitewater Challengers, trained for about a day because I was already a whitewater boater, and was working a lot. Training is cheap too, I think I paid $25 to train on the Lehigh (CPR and First Aid Certification offered through the company) and $450 to train in raft out here in CO. Don't get me wrong it's a good time, but if you're looking for more of a challenge I agree with cbieh589, look into guiding on the Gauley. 

Here's the link for the company I worked for: http://www.whitewaterchallengers.com/


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## nobody (Jul 30, 2007)

Get married and have a kid(s)!


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Do you like whiskey? Do you like middle-aged women, nursing students, and high school girls camping with you and begging for your guide stick? Do you like corn liquor? Do you like whiskey?

Try West Virginia. (Whitewater Rafting in West Virginia) Email them and ask if they are training guides this spring.

Rob will whoop your ass into shape over the course of a summer and he won't let you go hungry. You can guide in WV from late March through late October.


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## nightmare (Dec 9, 2008)

Randaddy said:


> Do you like whiskey? Do you like middle-aged women, nursing students, and high school girls camping with you and begging for your guide stick? Do you like corn liquor? Do you like whiskey?
> 
> Try West Virginia. (Whitewater Rafting in West Virginia) Email them and ask if they are training guides this spring.
> 
> Rob will whoop your ass into shape over the course of a summer and he won't let you go hungry. You can guide in WV from late March through late October.


there's no possible guy who would answer any of those questions with a no.. sounds like a paradise haha

Thanks for all the replies/advices, sure helps me alot .. 
@nobody: sadly kids wont give me money to life, they would just suck it out of me


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## jen84 (Sep 5, 2005)

Mostly you will need a substantial drinking tolerance, have an aversion to showering or washing gear, love burritos, pizza, coffee and PBR, have functional alcoholism and be somewhat good at picking up drunk chicks at your local watering hole....

I myself have an amazing gift for all these talents and look where it has gotten me!


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

I all ways looked for high personal skills (how they deal with a variety of different situations and people). Basic skills like CPR/First Aid can be bought and technical skill are only learned by miles and miles on the river. A good open attitude goes a long way as a good guide. Also being able to hold your liquor goes a long way too, and good babby sitting skills are highly recommend. P.S I always paid for everything, never took from the poor because I was there at one point in my life also. Have fun!!!


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

jen84 said:


> Mostly you will need a substantial drinking tolerance, have an aversion to showering or washing gear, love burritos, pizza, coffee and PBR, have functional alcoholism and be somewhat good at picking up drunk chicks at your local watering hole....
> 
> I myself have an amazing gift for all these talents and look where it has gotten me!


Look at where it's gotten you? You're wearing pant suits in law school! Miss ya Jen...


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## jen84 (Sep 5, 2005)

Oh yeah I forgot to mention you should also have a desire to go to law school (its the thing to do).... so you can play on mountainbuzz instead of studying for your final in 20 hours and cause pant suits are in!


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## DurangoSteve (Jun 2, 2006)

Important requirement: you must be able to hoist a 300-lb Texan... who is half-drunk on Lonestar Beer... back into your boat. They have a tendency to fall out in riffles and such...


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## pinemnky13 (Jun 4, 2007)

Just ask Griff, he knows the best rescue techiques....


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## Junk Show Tours (Mar 11, 2008)

I too got my start in West By God Virginia and ended up going to law school. The company I trained at and worked for was Rivermen. They are a great company with great guide training (that didn't cost anything). Everybody that made it through guide training got a job there, so I highly recommend them. The thing you have to remember about WV is that you are not going to make hardly any money there. That being said, the boating kicks ass and the scene is very cool.


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## gapers (Feb 14, 2004)

How to become a raft guide? Show up.

Then preface everything you say with "I'm a raft guide"


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## jen84 (Sep 5, 2005)

Complete and utter self-pride about raft guiding is also a required... I wake up every morning and say hey raft guide how you doin? I put it on test.... I get A's.... I tell dudes... I get laid.... I tell my bank.... they give me money! My Lord its an amazing tool!


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

How do you know if the guy at the bar next to you is a raft guide?

He'll tell you.


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## paulk (Apr 24, 2006)

so beer bonging the five stack isnt mandatory in colorado?


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## Buckrodgers (Feb 28, 2007)

jen84 said:


> Mostly you will need a substantial drinking tolerance, have an aversion to showering or washing gear, love burritos, pizza, coffee and PBR, have functional alcoholism and be somewhat good at picking up drunk chicks at your local watering hole....
> 
> I myself have an amazing gift for all these talents and look where it has gotten me!


Wow Jen, I didn't know you were into chicks. That's cool. But just because you are my girlfriend's date for the FCB holiday party, don't get any ideas...


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## cosurfgod (Oct 10, 2003)

Have sex with a dude. Raft guides are gay.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

paulk said:


> so beer bonging the five stack isnt mandatory in colorado?


 
No, but being not only willing, but excited, to drink a full PBR out of a rental booty after a flip in your first season is.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

TakemetotheRiver said:


> No, but being not only willing, but excited, to drink a full PBR out of a rental booty after a flip in your first season is.


 that is dirty....


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## Canada (Oct 24, 2006)

*Funny thread*

Being a raft guide is funny. It is one of those things I wish I had done, but wouldn't want my kids to do. 

The lawschool thing happens to alot of us. Mine was skier and kayaker turned lawyer. That is alot more respectable than the raft guide to lawyer route discussed here.

Prerequestes for guides: (whether fishing or raft)

Be willing to live out of a tent indeffinately.
Have a higher than average tollerance for every recreational vice.

Be about two beers away from dropping out of society and moving to alaska to live in a tent.

be the life of every camp fire circle.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

also get use to southern comfort and other super cheap whiskeys


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## nightmare (Dec 9, 2008)

so far I think the lifestyle wont give me any trouble.. so yea can't wait for the season to start 

law school ? oh well might get back to it in few years.


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Don't do it man. You'll catch an STD.


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## nightmare (Dec 9, 2008)

haha at law school or what?


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

body condoms .who knows what some of the gypsie river girls do just for a place to sleep on those cold nights. not that im against or anything. but if i were you id buy one of those family packs with like 60 in them or something. unless you are ugly than i wouldn't buy anything else but alot of chick alcohol.


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## northfwestg (Feb 23, 2006)

*rubber pusher*

ok here is how it goes, step 1 buy 1 pair of shorts and shirt, step 2 forget about all personal higene, step 3 submit yourself to black hole of whiskey, you like whiskey, your gonna love it, step 4 buy a tent, you like tent, your gonna love it soon enough, step 5 pay the man 600 for certification, then throw back 300 river miles with no pay, you like no pay, your gonna love no pay soon enough, then work 2 months and make 700 dollars, therefore grossing 100 for the season, take the 100 and buy whiskey, you like whiskey, you will soon, ps ont forget to throw away the deoderent, you wont need it where your going, finally when your sliding into home and your face is full of foam, your a pusher, rubber pusher,


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

I meant as a raft guide, but with Jen and Brian both in law school I guess it could just as easily happen there...


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## asleep.at.the.oars (May 6, 2006)

You really only need 1 pair of shorts, PFD's work as shirts. 

And don't forget to have self-deprecating humor, it helps you tell everyone that you're a raft guide.

Q: How many raft guides does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Raft guides don't screw in lightbulbs, they screw in sleeping bags.

Q: What's the difference between a raft guide and a savings bond?
A: A savings bond will eventually mature and make money.


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## junkshowriverchick (Oct 3, 2008)

whats the difference between a raft guide and a cheese pizza?
a cheese pizza can feed a family of 4!

classic. 

mmm whiskey. and sleeping bags. damn i miss the river.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

Raft guide jokes should be saved for the river- around a campfire- after too many shots of whiskey- and too many rounds of SillyTilly, Never Have I Ever, and dead baby jokes.


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## asleep.at.the.oars (May 6, 2006)

TakemetotheRiver said:


> Raft guide jokes should be saved for the river- around a campfire- after too many shots of whiskey- and too many rounds of SillyTilly, Never Have I Ever, and dead baby jokes.


Home is where the heart is... And I won't get a chance to sit by a fire on a beach for another couple months.


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## WhiteLightning (Apr 21, 2004)

Guiding is the shit (excpet for the money part). Get used to driving vans, especially your first year too. You don't need deodarant or showers "because you get splashed a lot" seems to work.


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## raftus (Jul 20, 2005)

Canada said:


> Prerequestes for guides: (whether fishing or raft)
> 
> Be about two beers away from dropping out of society and moving to alaska to live in a tent.


Whats wrong with moving to Alaska? But I lived in a trailer there - not a tent, I saved the tent for Colorado. Alaska is colder.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

gapers said:


> How to become a raft guide? Show up.
> 
> Then preface everything you say with "I'm a raft guide"


Very true, nothing worse than six boats ready to go and only four river guides show up. Than you can say, I was a raft guide.


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## dograft83 (Jun 16, 2008)

What steps do you need to guide the grand. Any outfits do it with just guide power


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## CanyonEJ (Jul 28, 2008)

dograft83 said:


> What steps do you need to guide the grand. Any outfits do it with just guide power


What do you mean guide power? 

6 trips minimum before anyone is legal with the Parks Service. But each company is different after that point. Some will put you in a guide spot right away. A few companies love free help, and will let you row bags as long as you're willing and won't put you on as a guide unless you really push it. Some won't even give you a baggage boat till you have 6 trips or so. You also have to have a WFR, CPR, and a Coconino County food handlers permit to be a guide, but not to row bags.


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## Awoody (Nov 15, 2006)

6 trips minimum before anyone is legal with the Parks Service. But each company is different after that point. Some will put you in a guide spot right away. A few companies love free help, and will let you row bags as long as you're willing and won't put you on as a guide unless you really push it. Some won't even give you a baggage boat till you have 6 trips or so. You also have to have a WFR, CPR, and a Coconino County food handlers permit to be a guide, but not to row bags.[/quote]


Boobs and/or the right last name seem to expedite this process greatly.


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## 1whitewattafoo (Nov 25, 2007)

whats the difference between a lesbian and a triscuit????

Whats the worst part about goin' to a gay BBQ???


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Awoody said:


> Boobs and/or the right last name seem to expedite this process greatly.


Austin, how would you know about that? How are the girls? Tell them hi for me.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

whats the difference between a lesbian and a triscuit????

ones a snack cracker and ones a cracker snaker....

Whats the worst part about goin' to a gay BBQ???

all they serve is hotdogs no cheesburgers?


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## northfwestg (Feb 23, 2006)

*tips please*

whats the difference between a raft guide and poverty,?
A TIP MOTHERFER,,,
whats the difference between a bus driver and a raft guide???
SOBRIETY BIATCHEZ...


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

What's orange and red and looks good on a Texan?
Fire.


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## smurf (Mar 8, 2006)

What's the difference between a female raft guide and a hockey player?

The female raft guide won't shower after the third period!


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

smurf said:


> What's the difference between a female raft guide and a hockey player?
> 
> The female raft guide won't shower after the third period!


I knew it would come to this.

How do you find a male raft guide in the dark?

It's not hard.


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## craporadon (Feb 27, 2006)

Q-What's the difference between a female raft guide and the big sur wave?

A-Not everybody's ridden the big sur wave.


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## mania (Oct 21, 2003)

what did the female raft guide say after sex?

"do you guys all work for the same company?"


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

Smurf that was beyound disgusting.


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## jen84 (Sep 5, 2005)

In FoCo we have "raft aids" that do the servicing of the guides... works out great. All you have to do is convince your non-river girlfriends that you know some cool guys, they do the dirty work, your fellow guides are happy and you remain less slutty
Thought I would pass this tidbit of wisdom on.... Feel free to implement this policy when you become a raft guide


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## DurangoSteve (Jun 2, 2006)

Uhm, I believe that should be "raft aides." Raft aids refers to a potential consequence of not wearing a drysuit, or perhaps a gasket failure...


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

As a rafting guide you will hear the same questions over and over again. You should have a quick response ready. Q: How deep is the water. A: Deeper than a ducks ass.Q: How come these toilets smell so bad. A: Because people shit in them. Q: What do you do during the winter. A: Live off my tips from guiding. Q How many times do these boats flip. A: Just once. Q: What is the most dangerous part of your job. A: A female guide with a chiped tooth.


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## mania (Oct 21, 2003)

raymo said:


> What do you do during the winter. A: Live off my tips from guiding.


lately I've been saying I'm a mercenary but I am thinking of switching it to somali pirate.


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

jen84 said:


> In FoCo we have "raft aids" that do the servicing of the guides... works out great. All you have to do is convince your non-river girlfriends that you know some cool guys, they do the dirty work, your fellow guides are happy and you remain less slutty
> Thought I would pass this tidbit of wisdom on.... Feel free to implement this policy when you become a raft guide


Then who services the bus drivers?


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## jen84 (Sep 5, 2005)

Randy.... I was waiting for that...... "I get older, they stay the same age"


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## ecarlson972 (Apr 24, 2007)

What is a raft guide's love life like?


He barks out orders while working from the rear!


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## kmiller229 (May 30, 2008)

I know years ago my son worked for various raft companies on the Arkansas River in Colorado. Then he head for Asia and worked for Equator Expeditions. He actually taught a raft guide course in Nepal that did give a certificate. Don't know if they still offer the course, but you might try them. Also check out Ultimate Descents.

Oddly enough - I just returned from Peru and ran into one of my sons students who was in his course over in Nepal in 1998. Still boating to this day. Best of luck - 

Pops Miller

I just registered, couldn't find any useful information on the internet just some raft training offers with a duration of 10 days. Looks like a scam to me, can't believe 10 day training makes you become a raftguide lol

Maybe anyone here can give me some more details about it ?
Any certificates needed?
My experience is close to 0

thanks for any help [/quote]


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## Le Mitch (Apr 27, 2007)

i dunno 10 consectutive days on the river will do a lot.i think that is how long we do our guide training


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## oopsiflipped (May 9, 2006)

smurf said:


> What's the difference between a female raft guide and a hockey player?
> 
> The female raft guide won't shower after the third period!


You really butchered that one. The correct punchline is : After three periods, the hockey player changes pads and takes a shower.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

oopsiflipped said:


> You really butchered that one. The correct punchline is : After three periods, the hockey player changes pads and takes a shower.


Brevity is the soul of wit. I believe it's, "What do they have in common? They both shower after 3 periods."


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## jonpowder (Dec 10, 2008)

*get a job*

Becoming a raft guide is easy, its the giving it up thats the [email protected]%$#@[email protected]#%$#!


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## tboe101 (May 10, 2005)

We run an eight day training course which will give you the hours required to get Colorado State certification of 50 hours. My experience is this isn't enough time to become a decent class III guide. I wouldn't put my mom in a boat with most people with only 50 hours of time. It takes a bit of time to become truly safe on the river. The "ten days to certification" classes might get you the legal requirements to get a job but it takes years of alcohol and chemical abuse to become a world class guide.


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## tboe101 (May 10, 2005)

craporadon said:


> Q-What's the difference between a female raft guide and the big sur wave?
> 
> A-Not everybody's ridden the big sur wave.


What's the differance between a female raft guide and a bowling ball?

If I had to I could eat a bowling ball.


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## tango (Feb 1, 2006)

tboe101 said:


> What's the differance between a female raft guide and a bowling ball?
> 
> If I had to I could eat a bowling ball.


you can only fit 3 fingers in a bowling ball AND could eat it if you had to.


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