2008 ORS Whitewater Guide School If you've ever been interested in working as a raft guide or simply wish to increase your safety and skill level for personal trips, the ORS Guide School may be for you. Over the course of two evening lectures and eight full days spent on the Mckenzie river, students will learn a solid foundation of skills for both rowing and captaining a paddle raft, and much of the related knowledge needed by the professional guide. Students will also spend an evening and two full days earning their Wilderness First Aid certification, and two evenings and two full days training in whitewater rescue, the successful completion of which will earn them their Whitewater Rescue Technician certification from Rescue 3 International. These two certifications alone are worth $530! Application's must be submitted by February 15, 2008 to Oregon River Sports. And Oregon requires that you must be at least 18 years or older to register as a river guide.

The cost for the ORS Guide school is $895, which includes all group equipment, but not personal gear such as appropriate clothing, helmets, PFD's, whistles and knives, all of which will be required. Much of this gear will be available for rent (there is a limited supply) at discounted rates. Students will also be responsible for their own food and transportation (we'll be doing a lot of carpooling).

Why Choose the ORS Guide School? We believe our school to be superior to many that are offered in the area for several reasons, the first of which are the certifications that students will earn upon successful completion of the course. Many guide schools produce graduates that are certified in nothing more than Basic First Aid, and if they wish to guide for any company other than the one that put on the school results can be hit or miss. Students in the ORS Guide school will spend two evening sessions and two full days earning their WRT (Whitewater Rescue Technician) certification through Rescue III International, and one evening and two full days earning their Wilderness First Aid certification through Rescue Training Inc. These are nationally recognized certs that students can take with them wherever they end up guiding, and are recognized and respected throughout the industry. The WRT cert. on its own costs $325, and most WFA courses cost around $205, so these certifications alone are worth $530 of the total cost of the school. The quality of our instructors also sets us apart. Some guide schools are taught by instructors who may be qualified by nothing other than graduation the year before from the school they are now teaching. Your lead instructor for the guide and rescue training will be ORS co-owner Guy Santiago, a +30 year veteran of the raft guiding industry (see his bio/qualifications below). Cory Miner, president of RTI, whose qualifications are listed below, will teach the WFA course. We will be using high quality equipment, and the course will be capped at a maximum of 16 students. If there are more than 8 students (the minimum for the class) there will be an assistant instructor on all appropriate days. Stop by our shop, email, or call if you have any questions. For guide school basic requirements and application, just click HERE.

Schedule Feb 28-Mar 2, Whitewater Rescue Technician Training March 6, Raft repair and Gear Clinics; 6-9 pm March 7, Introduction to Gear; 6-9 pm March 8-9, Guide Training; Lower McKenzie March 14-16, Wilderness First Aid March 22-23,Guide Training; N.F. Willamette March 24-28, Guide Training; Upper and Lower McKenzie March 29, Evaluations, meeting and gear clean up

Your Instructors:

M. Guy Santiago: Your lead instructor for the guide and whitewater rescue training will be M. Guy Santiago, co-owner of Oregon River Sports. Guy has been involved in the rafting and guiding industry for 30 years, and has owned and/or operated various outfitting businesses in Oregon and Idaho since 1978. He has guided on the middle, main and lower Salmon, Lochsa, Selway, and Payette rivers, as well as many of the major Oregon rivers. He built and represented custom rafts for Maravia, and has managed and/or owned several paddling shops. He is a NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) instructor school graduate, certified Rescue III International Instructor, Certified LNT (Leave No Trace) instructor and a certified Wilderness First Responder. Class evaluations and references available on request.

Cory Miner: Cory will be your instructor for the Wilderness First Aid training portion of the guide school. He is the president of RTI (Rescue Training Inc.), and is a certified EMT Intermediate, as well as a Wilderness EMT. He has been teaching classes in the health care field for over ten years, and currently teaches WFA, WFR, EMT and several other courses. Cory and his company teach classes for the Lane County Sheriffs office, the University of Oregon, Umpqua Community College, Lane Community College and several large area businesses. He is also a member of Lane County Search and Rescue and the Willamette Backcountry Ski Patrol.

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