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Whitewater Raft Guide School

Raft Guide School

On-River Training from the Best Raft Guides in Whitewater

Enroll in NOC's Raft Guide School where your classroom is the river! These fast-paced training programs provide you with the skills necessary to work as a professional river rafting guide for commercial outfitters, summer camps, whitewater clubs, outdoor schools and more. NOC pioneered river guide school as a place to get training from the top raft guides in the nation. In this whitewater guide class, you can learn to become a professional river guide at NOC's Nantahala River headquarters, in western North Carolina.

In your week of fun with NOC's raft guide trainers, you'll learn:

• Reading whitewater
• Maneuvering rafts
• Strokes
• Knots and Hitches
• Raft rigging
• River signals
• How to communicate with your crew
• How to place your crew in the raft
• The basic operations of a rafting trip

And crucial safety aspects of whitewater rafting like:

  • Basic River Rescue
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Risk Management
  • Emergency River Procedure
  • Rope Throwing: Location, Coiling and Bagging
  • Aggressive Swimming and How to Wade Safely

Read more about guide school in this interview with course instructor and Cheoah River guide Will Norris and at this "9 Things to Know About Guide School" blog post.

Photos from previous Raft Guide Schools:

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NOC Guide School 2012 Dates

Dates: March 4 - 9
March 11 - 16
March 18 - 23
March 25 - 30
April 1- 6
April 8 - 13
April 15 - 20
Cost: $450/person
To Reserve: Call or Book Online

This five-day whitewater rafting class begins with team building on our Alpine Tower on Sunday afternoon followed by dinner.  The course ends with dinner and lodging on Friday evening. It also includes lodging at our Basecamp facility. A Wilderness First Aid course preceedes or follows most raft guide school courses, to supplement your professional river training.

Join our Team

Do well in rafting class and you might even be asked to join the NOC guide team! Preferential consideration is given to graduates of Guide School for summer employment at NOC. Please Note: If you have applied for work at NOC, you are not automatically enrolled in Raft Guide School. Please call or click the booking widget above to make your reservation. There will be an option for students to continue their education with NOC the weekend before or after their course by signing up for a Wilderness First Aid or CPR course (at an additional cost).

 
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 spotbox_ps_falllaketour 2012 Calendar
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