Job: Whitewater Rafting Guide

Job Description

Job Type: Seasonal, Full time, Daily

Wage: $120-$165/day 

Location: Buena Vista, CO.

Job Description:

Serve as whitewater-rafting guides on both paddle and oar rafts. Guides will run primarily ½-day, full-day and multi-day whitewater rafting trips on the Arkansas River and may be rotated onto occasional multi-day trips on some of the other rivers that we run. Guide’s primary responsibility is to safely entertain our guests, seeking to provide the best possible vacation experience. Guides are members of a dynamic high-quality company which emphasizes quality, customer service, and teamwork. 

QUALIFICATIONS:

• All River Guides Must: Be at least 18 years old.
• Have current 1st Aid and CPR cards.
• Be physically fit.
• Be available to work a minimum of two summer seasons.
• Attend our annual training clinic and pre-train on every river. Live in Buena Vista, CO for the summer.
• Have a cell phone (note that as of 2019 Sprint and T-Mobile have very limited service in the area, Verizon and AT&T work the best).
• Have a professional attitude.
• Work long hours and not be subject to burnout and moodiness.
• Work well under pressure.
• Be a team player.
• Purchase an approved PFD, a river knife, three locking carabiners, a whistle, an overnight river bag, and a wetsuit or equivalent.
• Be willing to live out of a tent or vehicle for periods of time, and travel at odd hours.

GUIDE DUTIES RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Runs ¼ to 1-day trips on the Arkansas River.
• Captains both paddle and oar boats (majority of our business is paddleboats).
• Performs lead and sweep boat duties as assigned.
• Majority of trips will be on the Arkansas River.
• Runs occasional trips on Dolores, Gunnison, North Platte, Upper Colorado rivers.
• Performs occasional safety boat responsibilities.
• Shops for and packs all trip food.
• Cleans guide area, refrigerators, break room and kitchen.
• Packs equipment, unpacks, cleans, and puts away all trip gear after trip.
• Stacks and ties down boats.
• Washes and hangs out trip rental gear and lifejackets.
• Puts away all dry gear each morning (i.e., wetsuits, booties, ponchos, lifejackets etc.).
• Expects to be given and completes assigned tasks while waiting for guests to arrive for trips.
• Fits lifejackets, wetsuits and other rental gear for guests.
• Informs management of food and equipment resupply needs.
• Repairs or replaces equipment damaged or lost due to gross negligence that was specific guide’s responsibility.
• Completes and turns in incident and accident reports when necessary immediately following the incident or accident.
• Sees that post trip meetings address any issues from the day.
• Completes all camp chores on multi-day trips.
• Cooks meals, does dishes, leads hikes, rigs boats, etc.
• Looks for ways to better serve the guest and the company, brings new ideas to management if it involves policy change.
• Maintains a good sense of humor and cooperative attitude in dealing with co-workers and guests.
• Communicates well with head trainer, owners, managers and co-workers. Is expected to behave in a professional manner at all times.
• Learns about natural environment and human history of area and shares knowledge with guests.
• Treats guests in a manner that makes them feel respected, valued, liked and cared for.
• Performs other responsibilities as assigned.

TRIP LEADER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Acts as trainer for new guides – Participates in all training activities.
• Conducts river orientations and distributes guests into boats.
• Determines exact equipment needs for trip and selects menus for multi-day trips.
• Sets meeting time to rig multi-day trips and communicates that to guides at least 24 hrs in advance.
• Ensures that the trip leader reports are accurate and complete.
• Coordinates the duties of guides on the trip and initiates post trip meetings.
• Does not micro-manage.
• In the event of an accident, takes full charge of scene or delegates that duty if necessary.
• Makes the final call on minor decisions in the event that a consensus cannot be quickly reached.
• Brings issues that cannot be quickly resolved to the attention of the Operations Manager.

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS: Evaluated on thoroughness in performing duties, attitude, punctuality, dependability, ability to operate as a team player, initiative, mature judgment, relationships with co-workers, management and guests, flexibility, and willingness to learn.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP: Reports to the Operations Manager.

**Disclaimer: The duties and responsibilities described above are not a comprehensive list and additional tasks may be assigned to the employee, time to time; the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands. Click “View Application” below for more detail on this specific job.