This is a discounted course. As such, you are not eligible for a refund at any time. However, for a fee, you may apply the funds you paid to a different course run by Four Corners Guides. We may waive the fee if there are extenuating circumstances that require you to cancel. This may include you have a detached retina, your car breaks down and you’re stranded in another state, a family member dies suddenly, etc. 

Please review our cancellation policy, which you will find on our Terms, Conditions & Cancellation Policy Page.

You will need a packraft, PFD, helmet, paddle and drysuit for this course. If you only purchased a packraft from 4CRS, we can loan you a helmet, PFD and paddle. We do not provide lunch or transportation, so you will need a vehicle. But we will carpool together.

Thad Ferrell

Thad is a Level 4 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructor. He additionally has advanced Swiftwater Safety training and he is a certified Wilderness First Responder. An early adopter of packrafting and life-long cyclist and bikepacker, Thad has accomplished some ground-breaking, multi-week climb-bike-packraft adventures in the desert Southwest. He is also an expert fly fishing guide.

Waldo Aguayo

Waldo is a professional adventure tourism guide who specializes in water sports, mainly in packrafting. He has nine years of experience touring the Northern and Southern Chilean Patagonia. He first started packrafting seven years ago and quickly pioneered several routes on various rivers, fjords and lagoons in Patagonia. In 2019 he founded @scoutingrios, a guide service that runs tours, classes, clinics and packrafting expeditions in Patagonia.

We base this instructional courses on confidence and skill progression. The course starts with the basics. And then we push you a little harder as the days progress, tailoring the experience to your own personal abilities. Please note this is only a day course, so you will not master all the skills on the below list. But we will run through all these skills.

Beginners will learn basics paddling skills and river reading techniques such as:

• ✓Equipment (use and care)
• ✓Swimming and general water confidence
• ✓Self-rescue & buddy assistance
• ✓Dealing with currents
• ✓Aggressive & defensive swimming position
• ✓Decision making
• ✓Hazards & river dynamics
• ✓Basic paddle strokes
• ✓Using eddies
• ✓River commands
• ✓Spacing on the river