Training Calendar

2025 Training Calendar

Please contact Jonah Grubb (jonah@rowadventures.com) if you have any questions about trainings, dates, and what sessions you should plan to attend. Please note that the dates below are subject to change.

Welcome to the Season BBQ plus Nez Perce tribe presentation: May 15th in Clarkston, WA  - ARRIVE BY 3:00 pm

The best BBQ of the year, and the official kick-off event for the 2025 season. ROW provides the food and drinks. There will be a 1 hour presentation before the BBQ by a representative of the Nez Perce tribe.

Staff Trip: May 16-21, starting in Clarkston, WA on the Salmon or Grande Ronde 

This trip begins with a full day at our warehouse in Clarkston, WA and includes a five-day river trip. Most of our returning guide staff, management team, and ROW’s Operations Manager will be there. This is a very important part of our season, full of information about ROW, hands-on training, and a chance to bond with your fellow guides

Lochsa Training: Dates TBD in May in Syringa, ID

This is a great opportunity to knock the rust off, get in shape, gain exposure to more difficult whitewater, and prepare for the upcoming season, regardless of where you will work. It is also required for guides hired to work on the Lochsa.

Wilderness First Responder Course: May 11-15 in Clarkston, WA

This course is being put on by Desert Mountain Medicine but will take place at ROW’s warehouse.  Use this link to sign up for the course.  Space is limited.

WFR Recertification Course: May 14-15 in Riggins, ID

This course is being put on by Desert Mountain Medicine and is hosted by the Redside Foundation.  Use this link to sign up for the course.  Space is limited.

Rogue River Training Trip: May 24: Pack/Learning Day, May 25-28: River Trip

This trip will build familiarity of the Rogue River and serve as a training run for guides whom we identify for early season work on the Rogue. There may be additional availability for guides who are not scheduled to work on the Rogue but who are interested in seeing it or guiding there at some point. 

Whitewater I (aka “Guide School”): June 10-16 on the St. Joe and Clark Fork

This is our introductory whitewater skills course and covers the fundamentals and hard skills of whitewater rafting. This training is primarily for those with no prior guiding experience. 

Interpretive Techniques Workshop: June 27-28 in Clarkston, WA

This two-day course introduces guides to techniques of interpretation and various topics relevant to the natural history of the rivers we run. Attending this workshop qualifies you for additional Enhanced Skills Pay (ESP). Please note that guides are asked to come to this workshop with a presentation topic, some preliminary research complete, and a written or outlined presentation. 

Alternative Onboarding Day: June 26th in Clarkston, WA

This day is intended for guides coming on the Multi-day Training Trip (MDTT) who may have missed the staff trip in early May. We’ll go over important info like pay, licensing, and other topics typically covered on the first day of the Staff Trip.

Multi-day Training Trip: June 29 - July 4, starting in Clarkston, WA

The Multi-day Training Trip begins at our Clarkston, WA warehouse and covers some of the same general information about ROW as the Staff Trip, but with increased focus on ROW multi-day systems such as camp set up, cooking, on-the-water systems, safety procedures, etc. This is led by senior ROW staff and may include other returning staff who want to move from single-day to multi-day guiding or who were unable to attend the earlier spring trip. So long as water levels allow, we offer this trip on the SA8 section of the Salmon River (Hammer Creek to Heller Bar), which fulfills Idaho licensing law requirements for this section of river, what we call the Salmon River Canyons. These two trips will be the primary chance for new multi-day guides to work on their rowing skills preparing them for the multi-day season. Guides may be asked to attend additional trips should they need the additional time to work on their rowing skills.