Whitewater School

Price: $595.00/person
Where: 130 A Street Ashland Oregon, 97520
Dates: May 4-6 and May 11-13, 2018
Minimum Age: 17 Years Old

Sign Up

This is a six-day whitewater school taking place over the first two long weekends (Friday – Sunday) of May (May 4-6 and May 11-13). Participants begin on Friday at 8:00 a.m. with a trip pack and overview at Indigo Creek Outfitters’ Rafting Center, located at 130 A Street in Ashland, Oregon. From there, transportation is provided to the river and the day on the river begins. Nights are spent as a group at a nearby campground. Meals are provided on all six days, with the exception of breakfasts on both Friday mornings.

Course Topics
  • Trip Preparation – Packing gear, stacking boats, and using checklists
  • Customer communication – Introduction, safety and paddle talks
  • Skill Development – “Reading” water, navigating downstream, controlling your boat. Maintaining spacing and order.
  • River Etiquette and Leave No Trace – Managing your group, awareness of others, and LNT ethics.
  • Introduction to Risk Management – Recognizing, eliminating, or accepting risks on and off-river. Prepare, act, clean up: the stages of a rescue.
  • River-specific hazards – Hazards specific to the Rogue River and Upper Klamath.
  • The river camp and kitchen – Setting up, cooking for groups, and basic concepts.
  • Trip clean Up and Debrief
What’s Included?

On-River Equipment: Wetsuits, splash jackets, river booties, Personal Floatation Devices, and helmets are included.

Camping Equipment: You are welcome to bring your camping equipment. We can provide camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad) free of charge. We will be using Indigo Creek’s commercial river kitchen, which includes all the basics of utensils, cookware, etc.

Food: We provide food starting with lunch on Friday and ending with lunch on Sunday. You are responsible for your own breakfast on each Friday. At camp we provide appetizers, dinners, and breakfasts. Additionally, we provide coffee and tea in the morning. You are welcome to bring your own beverages of choice to enjoy at camp.

Prerequisites
  • Personal River Gear (if you have it, if not we will provide)
  • First aid and CPR certifications
  • Drivers license
  • Good/great attitude

Hiring: We hire after our whitewater school and give priority to those who attend the school. Prospective applicants are encouraged to attend both weekends of the school. This gives us an opportunity to get to know each prospective hire, develop a sense of skill level, and also gives you a chance to see how we operate. If you are not able to attend the whitewater school, please still get in touch with us as we do occasionally have openings in our crew heading into the summer season. Attending the whitewater school does not guarantee that you will be hired by Indigo Creek Outfitters.

Getting Ahead of the Game

If you are attending the whitewater school to be considered for a guiding position, there are a few things you can do to get ahead of the game. See the list below of things that are required to guide for Indigo Creek Outfitters:

  • Personal Floatation Device
  • Whitewater Helmet
  • Whistle attached to PFD
  • Knife attached to PFD
  • Flip Line
  • River Shoes
  • First Aid and CPR Certifications
  • Drivers License