a guide to help you figure out which course you should be in

Updated August 2026.

What level packrafter are you? Please answer these questions to self identify your skill level to the best of your ability. Please do not use an Internet search to answer the questions. As a second skills assessment test, we will also have you fill out a pre-trip registration form. Please note this “scale” applies only to Four Corners Guides courses. Other companies, guides and individuals may have different criteria. You may be familiar with a version of this self-assessment form developed by the American Packrafting Association Safety & Education Committee. We have updated our self-assessment questionnaire to better reflect these ACA standards. But we have modified it to apply to our courses. And we added a Level 2+, as we have discovered there is a lot of variability in the Level 2 category.

Beginner (Level 1)

We love absolute beginners! Y’all often have a big advantage over more experienced folks because you don’t have any bad habits yet. You get to learn the right way right from the start!  We’ll skip the questions for Level 1. You are a Level 1 packrafter if:

  1. You have never paddled a standard whitewater kayak or packraft in whitewater (duckies do not count). 
  2. You have paddled a sea kayak, canoe, sit-on-top kayak, paddle board only in flat or slow-moving water.
  3. Your rafting experience is limited to joining a big raft day or multi-day trip with a guide service or friends.

Please note: even if you have experience paddling or rowing a big raft or canoe in whitewater, you will likely benefit from a beginner course. The packraft paddling skills you will learn are vastly different from those you have mastered on big boats or canoes, as are the swiftwater safety and boat care and maintenance skills. Don’t be put off by the word “beginner”! Remember the Zen saying: “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities…” 

What level packrafter are you?
Photo by Steve Fassbinder.
Beginner/intermediate Rio Chama Packrafting
Photo by John Watson.

Advanced- Beginner (Level 2)

If you can confidently answer these questions, you’re likely a Level 2 boater. If not, consider taking a Level 1 course to build your skills and confidence!

  1. Have you learned the basic paddle strokes and self-rescue/safety skills in a course or from an experienced packrafter/kayaker?
  2. Do you know what a whitewater packraft and whitewater helmet are? And do you own and have used your own whitewater gear?
  3. Have you paddled a packraft or kayak (duckies don’t count) more than 6 times in whitewater? And do you know the difference between high and low water and how that affects your paddling?
  4. What is the “safety talk”? And what are the river safety signals? 
  5. What does the “defensive” swimming position look like?

Pre-Intermediate (Level 2+)

We’ve seen a lot of variety over the years in our Level 2 courses. So we added Level 2+ for folks who have quite a bit of experience, but who are not always in control of their boats on the river and/or who are not ready to level up to our Mastery courses. Please be sure to answer all the questions in the Level 2 section and this section!

  1. When you flip, can you hold onto your gear and self rescue (i.e. do a wet re-entry 95% of the time)?
  2. Do you often practice catching eddies? And are you generally successful at doing so? 
  3. Have you taken at least one Level 2 non-certification course or received Swiftwater Safety Institute or American Canoe Association swiftwater training and/or certification?
  4. Do you know how to ferry? Can you explain why is it important to be able to ferry across a river?’
  5. Can you confidently help others who flip and lose their gear in up to Class II rapids?
Packrafting Instruction: Four Corners Guides Women's Level II Course on the Animas River, Spring 2026
Photo by Chris Noble.
Photo by Steve Fassbinder.

Intermediate Courses (Level 3)

Join us on a Level 3 course if you are regularly boating up to Class III on various rivers, you can self-rescue (i.e. wet re-entry) every time, you have more than a basic understanding of rivers, and you have all have your own whitewater gear—PFD, whitewater boat, drysuit, whistle, knife, throw bag. To better ensure correct placement, please be sure you can confidently answer these questions:

  1. Can you roll and/or re-enter your packraft after you flip almost every time, even mid-rapid?
  2. Have you learned and are you able to surf your packraft?
  3. Do you always catch eddies when you go paddling, whether for practice or for navigating a river? 
  4. Do you know the difference between paddling a Class III rapid at 5,000 cfs versus 900 cfs on a river that generally peaks at 5000 cfs? And can you explain this?
  5. Can you confidently help others who flip and lose their gear in up to Class III rapids?

The answers to these and all previous questions should be a definitive YES!

Advanced Packraft Paddling & Expedition Planning Course
Photo by Steve Fassbinder.
Swiftwater rescue: 🎧Episode #18: Packrafting Throw Ropes - a Review With Tony Miely, Owner of 4Corners Riversports
Photo courtesy of Huw Miles.

Advanced Courses (Level 4)

We recommend you take an Advanced course if:

  • You confidently paddle up to Class III+ at both high and low water, and you have done so on 6-10 rivers without significant swims;
  • You have taken one or more swiftwater safety courses;
  • and you paddle regularly and can confidently answer, “yes,” to all the following questions.

Please don’t look up the answers!

  1. Can you re-enter your boat after flipping (or roll it) 5 times in two minutes? If unsure, go test yourself.
  2. Can you help rescue other people and their gear in up to Class III rapids if something goes wrong and without flipping?
  3. Can you explain why each of these hazards–strainers, sweepers, undercuts and low-head dams–are dangerous?
  4. Can you confidently navigate around any obstacle in Class III rapids? If so, what are some of the techniques you might use?
  5. Can you confidently catch eddies in Class III rapids?
  6. Do you know how to brace and use bow and sculling draws?
  7. What are some important components of a proper, powerful forward stroke?

There are nuanced answers to some of these questions. If you’re struggling with some of these questions and answers, consider taking our intermediate course instead.

Swiftwater Rescue Courses

Certification

Packraft-specific certification courses include both classroom and on-the-water swiftwater safety training. We recommend these courses for anyone who enjoys the classroom work, works professionally in whitewater situations, is or wants to be a packraft guide or instructor or simply wants a deeper understanding of swiftwater safety skills.

These courses are run through the Swiftwater Safety Institute, but are specifically for our clientele and run on our permits. You must have your own equipment, and you must at least have some experience in a packraft. This course is not for beginner boaters with zero experience. Please take one of our beginner courses first.

Non-Certification

Non-certification courses are for people who want the full breadth of swiftwater safety skills to enhance their existing skills sets and increase their ability to packraft safety, but who don’t need/want the certification or the heavy, technical classroom work.

Non-certification courses are 100% packraft-specific and on-the-water focused. This course is available to a variety of boaters, from beginners to intermediate boaters (as designated on the specific registration pages for each course). We may or may not provide equipment, depending on the level of the course. And we can tailor a course to an individual or group’s specific needs

Expert Courses (Level 5)

For people who solidly paddle Class IV and beyond. We rarely run these courses, as demand is low. If you want to take one, please email us to schedule a private course for you and/or your group with Jeff Creamer or Steve Fassbinder.

Photo by Chris Brinlee.

Expedition Courses

These courses are for people who want to learn all the backcountry and navigation skills necessary for backcountry packrafting and/or bikerafting travel. On some of these adventures you’ll return to the place you started, while others are point-to-point trips. Generally, depending on the level of these courses and your experience, you’ll do one to two training days to hone your packraft paddling, river navigation and bikerafting skills before heading out on your multi-sport adventure. If you already have experience, please email us to schedule a personalized course.

Mixed levels

Please note that if you are a more advanced boater, but you want to do a course with your less-experienced partner or friend, you’ll be placed in the course appropriate to the least-experienced boater. Or, you may schedule a private course, for which we can better tailor your experience to your collective needs.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Please keep in mind, if you do not end up in the appropriate level course due to your misjudgment or misrepresentation of your own skills and/or misleading answers to our questionnaire, we have the right, at any time we deem appropriate, to remove you from a course. If we do remove you from a course because we feel you would be a danger to yourself or others, you will not get a refund. Nor will you be able to reschedule your course. Thus, we recommend you take both our recommendations and our questionnaire seriously. Thanks!