At Colorado Rafting Company we pride ourselves in offering top notch products to not only our clients, but to our staff and trainees alike. With decades of knowledge and experience river running, our instructors pride themselves on the quality of their teaching skills with  personality and humility. Teamwork is our foundation. This will directly translate to you becoming a confident guide with a strong grasp of the basics and will allow you to progress faster with a solid foundation to build on.

Our 2023 Guide School will be led by Operations Manager Justin Ibarra and Head Boatman Tanner Thompson. Justin has been rafting for nearly 20 years all around the world. He has trained 100’s of river guides throughout the years and also leads Swiftwater Rescue Courses. Tanner is a certified guide instructor with almost 10,000 river miles and together they are here to deliver you the best training possible.

Our river guide school is only open to applicants looking to become commercial raft guides and gain employment as a river guide after completing our guides school. Applicants to our river guides school have to go through a small interview process so we can see if we are a good fit for each other. We accept only 5-6 applicants for our guides school so we can give personalized attention to each trainee.

Participants must be 18 years or older and should be in good health and overall fitness, possess solid swimming ability, and be comfortable swimming in moving current during river drills. Participants should dress appropriately for weather and temperature and expect to be in the water for extended periods of time day after day. This can be both a physically and mentally demanding course.

Most of the gear throughout the training will be provided by us. This will include;

• PFD designed for whitewater use
• Whitewater helmet
• Wetsuit, splashjacket, and booties
• All river gear including boats, paddles, oars, ect..
• Rescue equipment including throwbags, medical, z-drag, ect..

Throughout the training you will be responsible for providing the following;

• Cold weather layering. We recommend a few sets so you can swap out each day
• Food throughout the training
• Lodging (camping may be available)