Now hiring Colorado whitewater rafting guides!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend a summer rafting Colorado—and getting paid for it? Now’s your chance! Wilderness Aware Rafting is currently accepting applications for Colorado white water rafting guides for the 2012 summer season. We’re looking for guides with curiosity, a love of the outdoors, and a dedication to providing our clients with top-of-the-line service. If you’re a team player who loves exceeding client’s expectations and having a great time on the water, we want to hear from you. We believe that our application process is one of the most involved and informed of any Colorado rafting company in the country—which means we can make sure that you are the best fit for us, and we are the best fit for you. If it turns out we are not the rafting company for you, our hiring process occurs early enough in the season for you to be able to find work at another rafting company—something we’re happy to assist you with. If you don’t have any experience rafting in Colorado, great! We give new guides 3 to 4 weeks of intensive training so they have a solid foundation to build from as the season begins. Beginners also have an edge while applying—Wilderness Aware prefers individuals with a love of learning and an open mind to experienced guides with commercial rafting experience. Whether you just love to spend weekends on the water or you’re a seasoned professional, we’d like to hear from you and see whether you can be a member of our 2012 guide team. As a Wilderness Aware guide, we will teach you everything you need to know—from knot tutorials to the mechanics of Royal Gorge rafting. Our in-depth interview process culminates in a 5-day rafting trip, where our guides can show you the ropes and watch you in action. We give applicants a discounted rate for this multi-day trip so all parties can be clear on what the duties of a Wilderness Aware raft guide are and whether applicants are comfortable carrying those out. If you’re looking for an adventure this summer, apply for one of our rafting guide positions. Remember that if you are hired, you must be in Colorado and ready to train no later than May 20, 2012. Guides are also required to be certified in CPR and First Aid. Take the first step towards your summer of whitewater rafting Colorado and fill out a rafting guide application today! For more information on our hiring process or Colorado white water rafting, visit us at www.www.inaraft.com.
Thank You Wilderness Aware Rafting!
“WHAT? WHAT? YOU ARE KIDDING, RIGHT? OH MY GOSH, SARA, WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?!?!?!? THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!” ~Sara Kranz, Fantastic Facebook 2-Day Giveaway Winner Enlarge the font by a thousand, bold it, put about a million exclamation marks next to each sentence, and then turn your volume up to high. THAT is how we all sounded when we heard the news that we won the Colorado white water rafting trip! I, Sara, put our names in for the rafting trip without telling my girlfriends about it (ok, I finally let on a short time later…they were stoked, but realized that we were up against so many other worthy groups!) That is not atypical for us, actually. We enjoy pushing each other to “new extremes” and getting each other out of our “comfort zones.” When I found out that we did win (realize I have never won anything in my life), I was beside myself! The reactions from my friends? They were beyond excited! Here is “our history in short form:” Andrea, Stefanie (Suds, Sudsy, Stef), Kim (Kimmers) and I have been lifelong friends. Andrea and I met when I was 2 years old, she 3 years old. Suds, Kimmers and we became friends in high school. Though Kimmers and we lost touch for a time when she left for CA, we reconnected a few years ago and it seems as though time stood still for those years that lapsed. Though we live across the states, we still see each other as often as possible and we get together as a group at least once a year. The last time was to do a half-marathon on Santa Catalina Island off of CA (another “out of the box” moment for most of us!) I’m sure that we had more fun than anyone else there!!! This Colorado rafting trip is a milestone of sorts for us. First off, we are all turning 40 years old in the next year or two. But most importantly, Andrea and Kimmers are cancer survivors. Kimmers had an extremely rare form of cancer and it’s a medical miracle that she is here with us today. This is her 10 year of being cancer free. Andrea as well is a cancer survivor and the very day that I called her to tell her that I put our name in for the trip is the day that she found out that she as well is 5 years cancer free. We feel blessed to have each other in our lives, and therefore, when we are together, there is nothing but laughs, jokes, some serious conversation, but really just a lot of amazing, fun times! THANK YOU, Wilderness Aware, for adding to our memories!
Our Operation Manager’s Perspective on Rafting, the Arizona Drought, and the Changing Seasons
By: Jack Gunckle – Operations Manager As Wilderness Aware’s river operation manager I am back in the office after an all too short visit to the Salt River in Arizona last month. In early Spring I normally find myself sleeping under the stars in the Sonoran desert for a month at the start of the Salt River commercial rafting season, but this year is a little different. As much as I enjoy Colorado winters, I can’t wait for the river season(and all it entails) to be a part of my everyday life again as the snow melts and the sun shines for a little longer each day. Unfortunately, due to strong La Nina conditions in the Southwest, Arizona is an even drier place than usual this year. The Upper Salt River is a wild river, which means there are no dams to control the flow of the river; it is entirely up to Mother Nature and the snow she deposits on Arizona’s White Mountains. Without enough snowfall the river does not flow high enough to take our guests rafting, and that is the case this year. After months of watching weather forecasts, snowpack reports, and crunching the snowpack and river flow numbers, it became clear (not quite crystal) that a commercial rafting season would not be viable on the Salt River this year. It was not an easy call to make as we have worked hard to establish ourselves in Arizona and we enjoy rafting with our guests as much as our guests look forward to rafting with us. Escaping the heat and the hustle and bustle of the city, even for just a ½ or full day of rafting can be the highlight of the year for our guests. Don’t worry everyone; we’ll be back next year! So, in early March when I am normally helping set up our commercial operation at the bottom of the Salt River Canyon, I found myself driving south with a much slimmer agenda… to hire new raft guides. On our first day in Arizona, before heading to Phoenix to pick up our 11 candidates for our traditional on-river 5-day interview trip, Joe, Brad, Jimbo and I ran the Upper Canyon of the Salt River in inflatable kayaks. The river was flowing only at about 200cfs. That’s not much water considering we need about 500 cfs float rafts on the upper canyon, but the sun was shining and the river was calling our name! It didn’t take long to feel back at home on the Salt River. With the low, crystal clear water we noticed that we were outnumbered by carp, the now abundant year-round inhabitants of the river. Around the next bend we kept our eyes out for the peregrine falcons that are known to patrol the cliffs below Grumman Rapid, but they eluded us on this trip. It’s always great to see the river at different flows, even this low flow. After last year’s epically high water, it was interesting to see the rocks that are normally just under the surface and create such amazing rapids. It was a fun day of boating and a great welcome back to Arizona. On our second day in Arizona after picking up our interviewees at the Phoenix airport, it was back to the Salt for some rafting. We launched our five day interview trip from Gleason Flats instead of our normal spot that is 14 miles upriver. The river had come up just enough for us to navigate with relative ease. We were not able to run a couple of my favorite rapids, Black Rock or Corkscrew, with our gear-laden boats, but that really just added to the adventure. Fortunately, with a little creativity, we were able to line/heave the boats around, over, and through the rocks without unloading them. Thanks to the help from our 11 aspiring river guides! Despite the low water, the trip was a blast with plenty of time in camp each night for fun and games, exploring the desert, and good food. We even had time to do a side hike up Hess Canyon. Even though we didn’t have a season on the Salt this year it was great to get down to AZ and get on the river. I think the trip will hold me over until May when the summer rafting season starts on the Arkansas River in Colorado.
