35th Guide Training Program Posted On: April 24, 2017 By: Steve Miller Filed Under: Guide Training Program Tagged In: guide, guide training Guide Training Program On the Rio Grande, New Mexico This is our 35th year of operating our Guide Training Program. Seen here are our trainees for this year, with Instructor Britt Runyon, Operations Mgr. for New Wave. The trainees start with 4 days of on-the-water instruction, which ends today, April 25. This will be followed by a practice period that should ready these candidates for guiding by the end of May. This footage was taken on the Orilla Verde stretch (Class 2), of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, where, on their first day of training, the trainees were learning and practicing fundamental maneuvers. They are now practicing on the Racecourse stretch (Class 3), our most popular run, and will do three trips today. We consider 20 trips on the Racecourse to be the minimum necessary to adequately prepare a guide trainee, and many trainees will do considerably more. From 2008, trainees practice surfing the raft on the Racecourse stretch What might the Racecourse look like this season? We expect it to get quite high, and, when and if it does, it becomes Class 4 in difficulty. Mile-long Rapid on the Racecourse section, at high water (Class 4) After completing the program, the trainees will receive the required First Aid and CPR training, and are then ready to go. Their first assignments will be to do trips on the Class 3 Racecourse trip, which we operate twice a day. This year’s trainees (Greg, Todd and Michael) are particularly likable individuals, and we look forward to adding them to our guide corps. And we know that our guests will enjoy them, as well. Hope to see you soon! Sign up for Guide Training at newwaverafting.com