Grand Canyon River Rafting Guides Have Completed Rigorous Training Before They Captain Your Raft

By Stephen Daniels

Hatch River Expeditions

If you've decided upon a Grand Canyon Colorado River rafting trip, you almost certainly already have an idea that you are ready for the experience of a lifetime. Riding the world-class whitewater and enjoying everything else this spectacular canyon has to offer is an experience you will likely never forget. While many get an adrenaline rush just thinking about the trip, others have trepidations about the potential danger involved as well as their personal safety. You can rest assured that the boat captains in this adventure are some of the most experienced and skilled river guides on the planet. Every single one of these river-rat supermen and women is licensed and certified, and has a depth of knowledge, training, and experience that is all geared to keep all tourists safe from harm while they are having the time of their lives.

Your Colorado River guides likely started their journey to the top of their profession by either participating in intensive, hands-on training courses, or by extensive apprenticing either specifically in the Grand Canyon, or on comparable rivers. In fact all guides who have reached the position of captains of rafts have both extensive experience, in addition to technical training. They start their professions, after training, as associate guides on the rafts and have to wait for openings to captain their own rafts. Among the required courses from experts in the field are river mechanics, wilderness first aid, oarsmanship, the history and geology of the region, weather patterns, best camping practices, client services, and so much more. In addition to training and becoming certified, Arizona requires that all guides be re-certified every two years.

For river guides, boats and riggings are the tools of their trade, and they know their craft inside and out, how to maintain and repair them, and when they are safe to operate. Thoroughly inspecting their craft before each launch is as routine and necessary to them as putting the key in a car's ignition.

One of the most important skills that guides learn is "river hydraulics." The river's movement creates a huge amount of energy, and when they wend around corners or obstacles such as boulders, the relative forces determines the speed of the currents, both on top and underneath. River guides recognize how water operates in varying conditions and the best way to navigate the raft through them. They also are aware that rivers adjust, sometimes daily, due to wind, rain, snow melt, rock slides, and more, so guides scout the river continuously in order to choose the best route through rapids. The end goal is always to provide you with the very best adventure while providing for your safety.

Of course, on the river as in life, "stuff" does occasionally happen, and if it does, your guides are more than prepared to deal with it. They have special training in CPR, first aid, white water rescue (a specialized and remarkable set of procedures), lifeguard skills, and even wilderness evacuation if required. During their extensive training programs, guides are required to "de-flip" overturned rafts (no small accomplishment as these rafts can be huge - running as large as 35 feet long and 15 feet wide), so they have hands-on experience with that skill if necessary as well.

The best guides are experts in "leave no trace" camping, effective camp management, gourmet camp food preparation, and in safely leading nature hikes to places of interest. To top that off, they will keep you entertained with local stories, facts, and folklore all the while keeping you safe for your once-in-a-lifetime Grand Canyon rafting adventure.

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About the Author:

If you are interested in booking a high adventure Grand Canyon rafting vacation, author Stephen Daniels recommends Hatch River Expeditions. Their skilled guides average over 13 years experience each, so are very capable of taking you on the adventure of a lifetime, showing you the river and canyon as few see it, while making sure that all your senses are well stimulated, including your taste buds.