Packraft Mastery For Women” A Course with Jule Harle
Take a Course With Women, Taught by Women!
Course Description
Do you want to take your intermediate expedition packrafting skills to the next level with one of America’s most accomplished packrafters and instructors? Learn the skills you need to become a more advanced boater from Alaska Packraft School’s Jule Harle. This three-day intensive training course will be held on various parts of the Animas River.
What are some of the skills you will learn?
- ✔Technical and complex strokes.
- ✔How to expertly navigate eddies
- ✔How to read the river and make decisions as a group.
- ✔How to manage vertical drops and surf like a pro.
- ✔How to work together with other packrafters in fast-moving whitewater scenarios to ensure a safe expedition.
If you need additional help determining whether or not you fit into this course, please read our blog post, “What Level Packrafter Are you?“. Please also email us any time with questions. Check out some photos from previous years on our Facebook page.
Price: $1025
A 50% deposit is required to register. You must pay the remaining balance within 90 days of the course. Or you must pay in full if registering within 90 days of the course.
Please review our cancellation policy, which you will find on our Terms, Conditions & Cancellation Policy Page.
Why Take a Course w/ Women, Taught By Women?
Women learn differently from men. “Whether you call it ‘girl power’ or ‘feminine energy,'” says Jule Harle of Alaska Packrafting School, ladies have a different learning style. And women’s packrafting courses can offer a distinct environment where they can talk through concepts and issues more thoroughly than might happen in a mixed class or class with just men.
“There’s a part of the brain that’s twice as big in a female that processes new experiences or manages fear through talking,” Jule says.
Who knew? Well, we women did, of course 
So, here you go–four women’s bikerafting and packrafting courses. We hope to bring Jule back year after year to teach Level 2 and beyond courses. And owner, Lizzy Scully, and our newest guide, Krista Beyer, will teach Level 1-2 courses. Lizzy acquired her Level 2 Packraft Instructor Training Certification April 2024 and will be working to get her Level 4 training in 2025.
Want to read/listen more about how women learn differently from men? Check out our, “A Beginner’s Guide to Packrafting & Bikerafting” podcast with Jule. You’ll find it on our website or on Spotify.
Email us if you want to schedule a bikerafting course for you and your lady friends. Lizzy loves bikerafting! Also ask about our full-ride scholarships for BIPOC, queer and transgender folks through the Armida Huerta Adventure Fund.
What's Included
High-quality instruction
You must have a whitewater-capable packraft (either a self bailing or decked packraft), plus a whitewater helmet, PFD and paddle.
what's not included
Food and lodging, though you may reserve a glamping tent, the cabin or trailer at Scullbinder Ranch and hang out with Jule. Your stay includes breakfast and dinner.
A whitewater boat and whitewater equipment. Transportation. We do not have a shuttle. So you must have a car and/or carpool with other participants.
Instructor
Jule Harle
Jule is the founder, owner & a primary instructor for the Alaska Packraft School. She’s an ACA certified Packraft & also Whitewater Kayak Instructor and Level 4 American Canoe Association Instructor and instructor trainer. She’s invested in the development of river sports and supporting the water community. She serves as a board member for the ACA Safety, Education & Instruction Council’s Packrafting endorsement and also the American Packrafting Association’s AK Regional Chapter. She and the board are advocating for APA & requiting new members to help support its core values: an organization invested in its community, supports packraft education, river access & stewardship.
Check out a quick Facebook clip from our women’s trips in 2024.
