The Colorado rafting season typically peaks in the busy summer months of June and July. Though rafting typically can start as early as the first of May and continue till the middle of September, that’s still only about four months at of the year, so what happens when there is no water? Where and what do our awesome guides do in the off season? Below you will find 5 ways our guides spend the fall time during the off season.
Rock Climbing
With two fabulous ziplining courses and one awesome rock climbing trip, it is no wonder climbing is second nature to many of our guides. Buena Vista, in particular, does not see much snow; it is only the surrounding higher elevations that typically see high snowfall. As a result, the Arkansas Valley hosts tons of awesome climbing areas that our guides love.
Head East
When the water levels drop in Colorado, East coast rivers are typically still thriving. Many of guides travel east to places such as North Carolina and Tennessee and run trips on various rivers, during the off season.
Gauley Fest
For our guides who can’t be away from water too long, but live in Colorado, they will often travel to Gauley Fest in West Virginia. Typically starting the third week of September, with over 4,000 paddlers in attendance, this is American Whitewater’s largest fundraising event.
Ski Resort Work
Depending on how quickly the temperatures and snowfall begin to drop, Colorado could see snow as early as Mid-September. Many of our guides are ski patrollers, or work on the ski resorts in either Lift Ops, Lift Maintenance, Ski School or another department. So, once the rivers stop flowing and there is snow on the ground, our guides are back in action on the slopes!
Travel:
You may be on your vacation when you come see us, but for our guides, rafting is their job and everyone needs a break from their job, right? Often times, our guides will head to areas all around the world that are known for their rivers and other extreme sports and take a little fall, or spring vacation there!
For four or so months out of the year, our guides are out on the rivers having fun with you! But for the few months where the water levels in Colorado drop and rafting comes to a bitter end, they are either out rock climbing, rafting in other locations, hitting a rafting festival, training for the winter or traveling. No matter what the time of year, you can be sure our guides are out having fun and doing something epic! Don’t worry, we still have a few guides leading our Cliffside Zipline & Aerial Adventure tour in Idaho Springs. Book your Autumn Zipline tour today, or give us a call at 1-977-RAF-TING (1-877-723-8464) if you’d like to speak with one of our friendly and knowledgable sales agents!
