February 15, 2025, is the cutoff date for registering for this course. You may still sign up for the course after the final registration date. However, you’ll have to pay an additional 10% for the course (total $3624.00). This will help cover short-notice permits, additional guides we have to reserve, seats in the vans and insurance.

50% is required to sign up, and 100% if you sign up in within 30 days of the course.

You’ll need to provide the remaining balance 30 days prior to your course. 

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

One day of packraft training and getting to know each other on a river near our base camp at Puerto Rio Tranquilo, shuttling to and from the rivers and the start and end points of the expedition. It also includes all food and sanitation kits in the backcountry. You may choose from a vegan, vegetarian, gluten free or meat options. You may bring your own backcountry food, but you won’t get a discount if you do.

Airfare, any food and lodging in towns, adult beverages, and shuttling to and from the airport. But we will help you arrange these things.

Also not included, but required: a whitewater boat and other relevant equipment (PFD, breakdown paddle, whistle, throw rope, drysuit, locking carabiners, drybags, etc), personal camping equipment and clothing. 

Steve Fassbinder

Steve, aka “Doom,” is one of the country’s first Level 4 American Canoe Association Packraft Instructors. And he will be a certified International Rescue 3 Whitewater Rescue Technician Professional (WRT-PRO) and IRF Whitewater Packraft Guide late April. Steve is also certified in Advanced Swiftwater Safety and Wilderness First Responder. An early adopter of packrafting, he has guided or instructed bike-packrafting to kids and adults for over a decade. And he has done remote packrafting expeditions around the world for over a dozen years.

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 designed this trip for adventurers looking to hone their backcountry packrafting paddling, navigation and expedition planning skills. We will teach many of the standard techniques from our other packrafting courses, and we will do drills practicing those techniques over the first two days of the course. Additionally, we will teach you what it takes to accomplish a multi-day packraft adventure in a wild, international backcountry setting.

Please visit our Course Curriculum page for details.