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A raft guide is a trained professional capable of leading commercial whitewater rafting trips. Most raft guides are employed by commercial outfitters who run either single or multi-day trips. [1]
Typically, first year raft guides are required to undergo a training program often run by the company or a professional guide training school, before beginning to guide commercial trips. This training utilizes classroom and on-river experience to train students in rigging and maneuvering vessels; river flow and hazards; scouting and running rapids; and river rescue and emergency procedures. Trainees are generally required to have a minimum of basic first aid and CPR certifications. Professional river guides often have additional advanced certifications such as International Rafting Federation-GTE, Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Responder, Swift Water Rescue, White Water Rescue or Emergency Medical Technician.
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The majority of raft guides are seasonal employees and work during the spring and summer months when rivers are flowing at their best levels. However, during the seasonal winter months some raft guides will continue to work by traveling to countries with warmer climates where commercial rafting exists.
A raft guide's primary job is to navigate an inflatable raft with passengers down a river in a safe and enjoyable manner. This requires that they continually assess and manage risks during the trip. A skilled raft guide is able to recognize river features and understand their effects on a raft, and what is required to navigate among or around these features with passengers. On rapids where the potential risk of injury is high, it is the guides' responsibility to keep the raft from overturning and the passengers from falling overboard.
Oar Guiding is where the guide maneuvers the raft with oars from either the stern or middle of the raft. On multi-day trips it is common to have a center oar rig where clients do not paddle, and where gear is stored. Guides oar guiding will use techniques such as 'walking the oars' through flat sections or 'holding a star' when stern rigged through large waves. Oar Guides generally have more control over their raft than paddle guides, but oar rigged rafts are dangerous when flipping and hard to re-right, making them less versatile in big water rafting. Oar boats are often rigged to carry all of the gear for a trip. Oars are typically made of wood, but sometimes of plastic.
Paddle Guiding is the most common type of high adventure guiding where the guide sits in the stern of the boat with a one bladed guide stick (paddle). Using draws, the guide can influence the direction of the boat, along with using different paddling commands for their crew. Guests often enjoy paddle guiding the most as they feel like they have control over what is going on in the boat.
Bow Guiding is where two guides are in the boat: one in the stern and one in the bow. This can be done in a stern rigged boat, or a raft where both guides are paddle guiding. Bow guiding is usually only done over short stretches of whitewater that require a lot of maneuvering for safe passage. Bow guides use techniques such as 'spearing' through large waves, and bow draws to quickly change the direction of the boat. Unlike stern guides, the bow guide will never pry with their paddle; instead they will change the orientation of their hands to maintain a power grip in both directions.
Guide compensation can vary a great deal by type and length of the trip. In North America, guides are typically paid by the day and may receive gratuities from their clients. [2]
A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Inuktitut word qajaq. In British English, the kayak is also considered to be a kind of canoe.
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and then the other in rotation. Most kayaks have closed decks, although sit-on-top and inflatable kayaks are growing in popularity as well.
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a part of the experience.
Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and white.
Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving smaller, steeper, and more technical waterways. Creek boats tend to be short but high volume to allow for manoeuvrability while maintaining buoyancy. Slalom requires paddlers to navigate through "gates". Slalom was originally the only whitewater event to be in the Olympics but Kayak Cross - a new subcategory of slalom involving gates and more natural whitewater elements - featured in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Play boating involves staying on one feature of the river and is more artistic than the others. Squirt boating uses low-volume boats to perform special moves in whitewater features.
Canoe freestyle is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place, as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river. Specialised canoes or kayaks (boats) known as playboats are often used, but any boat can be used for playing. The moves and tricks are often similar to those performed by snowboarders, surfers or skaters, where the athlete completes spins, flips, turns, etc. With modern playboats it is possible to get the kayak and the paddler completely airborne while performing tricks. The competitive side of playboating is known as freestyle kayaking.
Whitewater recreation in British Columbia is available in most of the province. Except for north-central and northeast British Columbia, the province is mostly mountainous with many glacial fed rivers draining though steep terrain creating excellent whitewater. Most commercial whitewater operations in British Columbia are rafting outfitters. However the provinces rivers are also well known to be good for whitewater kayaking, whitewater canoeing and river surfing although these activities are often done unguided.
In competitive rowing, the following specialized terms are important in the corresponding aspects of the sport:
The international scale of river difficulty is an American system used to rate the difficulty of navigating a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The scale was created by the American Whitewater Association to evaluate rivers throughout the world, hence international in the title. It should not be confused with the internationally used whitewater scale, which is published and adapted by a committee of the International Canoe Federation (ICF). The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river. The scale is of use to various water sports and activities, such as rafting, riverboarding, whitewater canoeing, stand up paddle surfing, and whitewater kayaking.
The U.S. National Whitewater Center (USNWC) is a not-for-profit outdoor recreation and athletic training facility for whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and ice skating which opened to the public in 2006. The Center is located in Charlotte, North Carolina on approximately 1,300 acres (530 ha) of land adjacent to the Catawba River, with more than 50 miles (80 km) of developed trail.
Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) is a commercial outdoor guide service and retail store located at 13077 Highway 19 West, Bryson City, NC 28713. It opened in 1972 when Payson, Aurelia Kennedy, and Horace Holden Sr. took over the old Tote 'N Tarry Motel. NOC is based in western North Carolina near Bryson City, near the Great Smoky Mountains on the Nantahala River. Nantahala National Forest surround the service. The Appalachian Trail crosses the Nantahala River on a bridge next to the outfitter.
Creeking is a branch of canoeing and kayaking that involves descending very steep low-volume whitewater. It is usually performed in specialized canoes and kayaks specifically designed to withstand the extreme whitewater environment in which the activity occurs. In addition, the canoes and kayaks give the paddler improved performance and maneuverability needed to avoid river obstacles.
Packraft and trail boat are colloquial terms for a small, portable inflatable boat designed for use in all bodies of water, including technical whitewater and ocean bays and fjords. A packraft is designed to be light enough to be carried for extended distances. Along with its propulsion system and safety equipment the entire package is designed to be light and compact enough for an individual to negotiate rough terrain while carrying the rafting equipment together with supplies, shelter, and other survival or backcountry equipment. Modern packrafts vary from inexpensive vinyl boats lacking durability to sturdy craft costing over US $1,000. Most weigh less than 4 kg (9 lbs) and usually carry a single passenger. The most popular propulsion systems involve a kayak paddle that breaks down into two to five pieces. Most often they are paddled from a sitting position, although kneeling can be advantageous in some situations.
Paddling, in regard to waterborne transport, is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using at least one hand-held paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel via generating a difference in propulsion between the two sides of the watercraft. The paddle is not connected to the boat, unlike in rowing where the oar is attached to the boat.
Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or severity of the rapid. Whitewater grades range from I or 1 to VI or 6. Grade/Class I can be described as slightly moving water with ripples. Grade/Class VI can be described as severe or almost unrunnable whitewater, such as Niagara Falls.
Cataract Canyon is a 46-mile-long (74 km) canyon of the Colorado River located within Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Utah. It begins at Colorado's confluence with the Green River, and its downstream terminus is the confluence with the Dirty Devil River. The lower half of the canyon is submerged beneath Lake Powell when the lake is at its normal high water elevation of 3,700 feet (1,100 m).
Canoeing – recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.
The McKenzie River dory, or drift boat, is an adaptation of the open-water dory converted for use in rivers. A variant of the boat's hull is called a modified McKenzie dory or Rogue River dory. The McKenzie designs are characterized by a wide, flat bottom, flared sides, a narrow, flat bow, and a pointed stern. The sole identifying characteristic of the McKenzie River dory is a continuous rocker. It is this constant rocker that allows the boat to spin about its center for ease in maneuvering in rapids.
