Will I have a job after the guide school?

No. If you hope that your whitewater school will lead to a guiding job with ECHO, you should know that completion of the school will probably not lead directly to a paid guide position. Most people need more training beyond guide school and not everyone will meet ECHO’s criteria for a job.

What characteristics do you look for in guides?

Physical qualities: Guiding is hard, demanding work, and requires higher than average strength, endurance, athleticism and energy.

Social skills: ECHO considers a river trip to be a social event as much as a wilderness adventure, and guides are responsible for the quality of the event. ECHO guides should be fun, sensitive, gregarious, engaging, and entertaining. Guides who aren't good talkers should be good listeners.

Character: Guides are working far away from normal supervision. You are entrusted with people's safety, comfort, and well-being, in a wilderness environment. You are constantly making decisions that balance fun and excitement with safety, and you have to be prepared to deal with the unexpected.  ECHO guides must be honest and trustworthy. They must also have a good work ethic, self confidence, and a sense of responsibility.

If you feel that you have all of the qualities we are looking for, you are probably deluding yourself. If you have most of the qualities, you have potential.  If at the end of training we think you have enough of these qualities and the necessary guiding skill, we may have a job for you early that season.

How much will I work the first season?

You'll first be invited to work as an AB (Assistant Boatman) at some point during the summer. The actual timing of this AB depends on our needs and when you're available. This additional training is at no cost to you, but you will be expected to help.

You'll be asked to do several of these AB's before your first paid trip as a guide. The amount of work you receive after that depends on being at the right place at the right time and the recommendation of the guides on your trips.

What does an AB do?

An AB typically rows his or her own raft under the supervision of the head guide of the trip. This is a chance to hone your rowing skills and prove that you're ready to row a boat with our most precious cargo: our guests.

In camp, you'll be expected to cheerfully do and learn each of the camp tasks. You'll need to learn how we prepare all of our meals, the pace of the trips, and the natural history of the area. The guides on the trip will answer your questions, but they'll expect you to be a "go getter" in terms of learning because they're main job is to be there for our guests.

Basically we are looking for AB's that will do everything the guides do and do it well enough that they will be welcomed on the crew.

What Next?

• Fill out a guide school application.
• Call us at (800) 652-3246. We love to talk about our trips!
• Email This Page to friends and family.

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