Any BC Commercial Rafters??????

[brannen]

i want to work up there next year, time to move on from colorado. had a buddy with an 'in' for Wedge but theyre under new management now, applied already.
any other suggestions?

[grinch]

you might try one of the operations in golden(kicking horse river). quite a few companies. i've had lots of friends work there. a few have started a couple companies. i don't think any are still doing it though. day trips and your close to good biking(mt 7, kicking horse) 4hrs from silverstar and sunpeaks. they're always looking for guides. good time to check for next year i would guess.

[brannen]

good idea. kind of had my heart set on whistler, but that hasnt worked out the last few years, will look into it.

if you know any rivers off hand that paddle boat and not row, that would be cool. looks like everything on the KH is oar boating, which i suck at and isnt as fun.

[eirikainersharp]

I worked the kicking horse for a couple of years. The money is good but its there river is over rated IMHO. Most companies will make you row for the first half of the season. The water level changes really slowly and there are only really two moves on the river, so there is a lot of running lines and not much reading water. All in all its not very challenging to guide but the consequences of having swimmers can be high, the water is cold and continuous especially in the lower canyon section.

That said there i a ton of good paddling in the area and a thriving paddling community.

Another good option in BC is the Clearwater.

[XXX-er]

Clearwater is a great river also try the Thompson where Hyak or Kumsheen do paddle rafts

I have heard kumsheen described by a KH guide as the " macdonalds of rafting " Hyak is smaller

edit:there is also a commercial raft co on the chilco which has some amazing ww

[brannen]

good info, thanks. cold water as in drysuits? or just cold water as in splash gear?

[XXX-er]

I never see raftguides wearing dry suits on any of those rivers

A GORTEX dry suit is a nice thing to have but I would say a pair of neo shorts/ farmer johns /dry top would cover you for most all conditions

[brannen]

cool. work in 30something degree water in colorado everyday, but much further south then BC, but much higher as well.
and i never dress to swim. . . . . . .haha

[RootSkier]

If you can't get a job in Canada, have you thought about AK?

[XXX-er]

I wear at least a gortex dry top all the time because of air temp but water temp is about that water being ice 4 hrs ago not being far north

Its only been hot enough to wear just swim trunks and a PFD 2 or 3 times down in the hotter/dryer okanagan

AND we are all just walking between swims eh?

[Dr. Crank]

Clearwater is such a nice river. Pretty warm, too. But obviously there are a lot of options in BC. Depending on where you go, you could be paddling 20C water or glacier-fed water. I guess it comes down to what you want out of your summer besides paddling and who is willing to hire you?