First Timers & Training Trip Information

Thank you for your interest in working at Buffalo Joe’s Whitewater Rafting as an inexperienced/first time guide. You can have the chance to become the part of the most experienced and best crew on the Arkansas River! When you work for Buffalo Joe’s you can be sure that you will find an outdoor loving crew that will have you challenging yourself all summer. Whether you are rafting the Arkansas, kayaking a Lake Creek waterfall, or screaming down the Midland Trail on your mountain bike, you will find that the Buffalo Joe team will test you every day!

Buffalo Joe’s Whitewater Rafting has positions available for inexperienced guides for the 2012 whitewater rafting season. As we mentioned on the home page, there is a limited number of positions available, so it is very important to get your application turned in ASAP!

All first time guides will be required to go on Buffalo Joe’s Whitewater Rafting training trip. The initial training trip will last seven days and the cost will be $399.00. The payment for the training trip will need to be completed before your trips starts!

The destination of the trip will be unknown until we can further determine snow pack and the water flows for the rivers involved. If the water flows are sufficient, we will have a five day six night stay on the scenic Dolores River located in Southwest Colorado.

If the water flows do not allow for a Dolores River training trip, the training will be conducted on the Arkansas River located in beautiful Buena Vista Colorado. You will spend seven days and six nights on various stretches of whitewater that are very abundant on the Arkansas River. Our office in Buena Vista will allow us access to every stretch that the river has available.

Despite where the training trip will take place, you will have days filled with experienced (3 or more years) guides teaching you:

Rigging Oar Boats Geology
  • Maneuvering
  • Paddle boats
  • History
  • River Safety
  • River Rescue
  • Scouting
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Minimizing resource impact
  • And various other subjects!


You will be encouraged to bring the list mentioned below on the training trip with you:

On the river Off river Miscellaneous Camping Equip
  • Shorts or swimsuit
  • Tee shirt
  • Tennis shoes
  • Wool socks
  • Hat
  • Sunglasses
  • Sun screen
  • Long pants
  • Shirt
  • Sweater or jacket
  • Dry shoes
  • Socks
  • Underwear
  • Wool hat
  • Gloves
  • Rain coat
  • Toothpaste
  • Toothbrush
  • Bio-degradable soap
  • Small towel
  • Flashlight
  • Brush or comb
  • Coffee cup
  • Tent
  • Sleeping bag
  • Ground pad

You will not want to wear anything made of cotton on the river. Cotton clothing will not dry quickly keeping you cold and wet. You may also want to buy a water-proof camera (available at the Buffalo Joe office) to snap on your lifejacket and take pictures throughout your training trip.

We do have extra tents and sleeping bags that can be rented at the time of the trip for $30.00 and $20.00 respectively.

Please fill out the on-line application and make sure that you fill out the section describing why you feel that you would be a great addition to the Buffalo Joe’s Whitewater Rafting team.

Thanks for your time and we hope to see you on the river this summer!