Packraft Foundations: A Basic Paddling Skills Course for Women of Color – The Armida Huerta Adventure Fund
A Beginner Packrafting Course for women of color
Course Introduction
Are you Black, Latina, Indigenous or otherwise a woman of color? If so, we invite you to take this free packrafting course, courtesy of the Armida Huerta Adventure Fund.
Start whitewater packrafting the right way with this entry-level paddling skills and swiftwater safety skills course.
This special hybrid course is one of our new Level 1 Packraft Foundation courses, which we implemented in 2024. We cover the same hands-on skills taught in Rescue 3 International Whitewater Rescue Technician – Recreational course and in the American Canoe Association-accredited packraft instruction curriculum.
We teach these courses on the Animas River, and your instructors will be Level 4 ACA Packraft instructors Steve Fassbinder and/or Thad Ferrell. We’ll be keeping the courses small with a 4 participants to 1 guide ratio in order to more effectively tailor the course to participants’ needs.
Email us for details. Sign up below!
Price: $100
We are asking for a $100 deposit, which you may have returned to you once the course is done.
If you are financially able to and would like to, we invite you to pay it forward and donate it to the Armida Huerta Adventure Fund.
What's Included
An open Alpacka Classic packraft, PFD, paddle, helmet.
What's Not Included
Food and lodging, though you are welcome to add 1-3 nights at Scullbinder Ranch, which includes breakfasts and dinners. Transportation is also not included. You need a car or to carpool. We do not have a shuttle. Finally, we do not include: whitewater boats, drysuits, river knives, whistles or throw bags.
You will need a drysuit for this course. You may rent them locally for 10% off at 4CornersRiversports.com (they only have four), or get a 15% discount if you order them online at BackcountryPackraft.com We’ll give you the discount code once you sign up.
Instructor
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.
What You Will Learn
On this two-day Beginner course, you’ll split your time learning about your equipment, and basic river reading and paddling skills with swiftwater rescue education.
Please note: This course is meant to introduce you to the following skills, not to get you to master them. You’ll do more drills and hone these skills in our Level 2-4 courses. And because it is a two-day course, we may not cover everything on this list.
Paddling & River Running Skills
- ✔Equipment (use and care + boat rigging, fit, and release of thigh straps)
- ✔Posture, safety, comfort, rocking and balance
- ✔Swimming and general water confidence
- ✔Self-rescue & buddy assistance
- ✔Dealing with currents
- ✔Aggressive & defensive swimming position
- ✔River hydrology/dynamics, features & hazards
- ✔Basic paddle strokes (forward, back, draw, sculling)
- ✔Using eddies
- ✔River communication: Paddle, hand, and whistle signals
- ✔Spacing on the river
- ✔The “River Safety Talk”
- ✔Field repair-tips & tricks
Swiftwater Safety: Handling common emergency situations on the river
- ✔Identify and demonstrate the use of appropriate rescue and safety gear for packrafting
- ✔Responsibilities of the group, rescuer, swimmers
- ✔Boat-based rescues
- ✔Group communication
- ✔Using throw bags
- ✔Swimming in rivers & water confidence (aggressive & defensive swimming position)
- ✔Self-rescue & buddy assistance (wet re-entry)
- ✔River dynamics: currents, obstacles and hazards
- ✔Rescue priorities: people, craft, paddle, gear
