O.R.E.’s Guide School provides a hands-on experience. Some companies run their guide school as a trip with education built into it. We operate our guide school as a guide training program with the majority of students working for O.R.E. post guide school.

Dryland and on-river instruction cover a comprehensive array of skills and topics. Our Instructors begin by explaining the basics and teach by example. The emphasis throughout is on learning by doing, so students will be actively involved in every learning experience, from cooking, to paddle captaining, to river rescue, to rowing a gear raft. The majority of the class is focused on learning how to operate paddle boats, learning to read whitewater, and basic river safety skills.

During your course, we’ll be rafting 3 of Oregon’s best day-trip rivers, the Clackamas, North Santiam, and Deschutes. Convenient access points, location, and water levels are the factors used to determine which rivers we will visit. As a result, we can choose our river and stretch of river per the needs of our students. We will start early in the morning and finish up around 5:30 PM each day.

Curriculum Points Include:

• River dynamics: understanding the way rivers flow (“reading water”)
• Raft setup and rigging
• Paddling skills
• Paddle captaining techniques
• River safety
• Swiftwater rescue techniques
• Knot tying
• River ecology and minimum impact camping techniques
• Camp cooking
• Equipment selection, repair and maintenance
• Trip leadership and group development
• Interpretive and instructional skills
• Permits, regulations, and guide responsibilities

Trainees learn a lot in a short timeframe, but additional training is necessary after the formal instruction period has ended. For this reason, hired trainees enter an on-the-job training period after guide school is complete. Trainees/Assistant Guides should plan to spend at least another six days in training or more. Assistant Guides work alongside our experienced crew on our regular commercial trips. This on-the-job training is the best way to hone your skills. Assistant Guides are neither charged nor paid at full rate for the time they spend in training.

If you’re interested in becoming a guide and don’t have whitewater guiding experience, then the O.R.E. Guide School is a great option to get into the industry. Please complete the application and submit a river resume.