Whitewater & Swiftwater Rescue

Boreal River Rescue rescue instructors are hand-picked.

They're all knowledgeable professionals who’ve spent hundreds of days guiding on whitewater rivers.

They love rivers and are passionate about sharing their knowledge. They're all skilled river runners and experts in multiple watercraft.  

A huge difference maker with our courses is our instructor training and development model:

1 - To start the process, instructors need years of experience and advanced river skills. 

2 - But in addition to and beyond their technical skills, they're also chosen for their interpersonal skills, group management, and the ability to create a positive, inclusive, and fun learning environment

3 - They complete extensive training through an apprenticeship model: even the most skilled and experienced must spend multiple courses as assistant instructors learning how to run these courses

4 - We regularly gather for mandatory, multi-day in-person professional development sessions to keep our skills sharp and knowledge current

These instructor recertifications and development sessions give us the opportunity to share ideas, give each other feedback, try out new techniques, and keep making our courses better and better. All of this leads to incredible courses that give students competence and confidence.

We constantly update our curriculum to ensure you learn the most current techniques.

We also adapt each course to meet the needs of your group:

• If you're a kayaker, you shouldn't be training with a 300' rope you'd never carry
• If you're a firefighter, you should be preparing for call-in rescues using commercial rescue gear — including floods and low-visibility rescues
• If you're a field worker, your training shouldn't be more dangerous than your actual work

This starts with you being on the appropriate course (see 'whitewater' vs. 'swiftwater' above) — but is amplified by our ability, commitment, and preparation to deliver the most appropriate lessons to the right people at the right times.

While there are core learning objectives with each certification, Boreal River instructors have the flexibility and experience to adapt each course to every student.

We're obsessed with how much practice you get.

Our instructors plan diligently and carefully scout training sites for every course.

We put a ton of care and focus on details — from how we split up groups to how we set up drills to run efficiently — so you get maximum hands-on repetition with skills.

You'll have the right level of challenge in scenarios so you can problem-solve, apply your knowledge, and put the techniques into action.

This way, in the months and years following your course, you'll have:

• A realistic understanding of your limits and abilities
• The experience and judgment to make good decisions on the river
• The 'muscle memory' to perform when you need to