We fully understand any safety concerns you might have about white water rafting. We care about this too—a lot! Safety is our absolute number one priority at Chinook Rafting. We want to give you an insight into our approach. Note that “Fun” is a close second priority, but that’s not what this page is about.
Safety
Age & Weight Requirements
With safety as our priority, we won’t say yes to everything. We have strict age and weight limits for our trips.
Kananaskis River
Age: 5 years +
Weight: 40lbs – 350lbs
Horseshoe Canyon
Age: 12 years +
Weight: 90lbs – 350lbs
Kicking Horse River
Age: 12 years +
Weight: 90lbs – 350 lbs
Our Guide & Staff Training
Quality Guides
Our staff are hired for their knowledge, enthusiasm, qualifications, and experience.
Extra Training
We add thorough in-house training to go above and beyond the industry standard!
Scenario Training
Every guide trains extensively on the rivers we raft and run scenario training in first aid, river rescue, and emergency responses.
Safety Meetings
We run ongoing safety meetings to improve our risk management procedures throughout the summer.
Licensed Guides
All raft guides are licensed through the Professional River Outfitters Association of Alberta and undergo a series of practical and written exams.
First Aid Training
All guides are trained in Swiftwater Rescue, First Aid, and CPR.
International Experience
Our team is so passionate about rafting; several of our guides raft in other countries during the Canadian winter, and some have over ten years of international experience.
Explanations & Safety Talks
No rafting experience is necessary, and each raft is appointed a professional river guide. We’ll ensure all safety aspects will be thoroughly explained in our safety talks, including:
- How to wear all the safety equipment we provide, including a wetsuit, a helmet, and a life jacket.
- We explain the unlikely, but possible scenarios before your feet even touch the river water. If you don’t like what you hear, you can always opt out and receive a full refund.
- How to sit in the raft and paddle and help you train your paddle strokes before we hit the waves and rapids.
Snowmelt & Water Levels
In preparation for every trip, we check the river to ensure the water levels are within the range of our risk management.
In June or July, the snowmelt can create a period when the Horseshoe Canyon or the Kicking Horse are too high to manage the risks safely. This is highly dependent on the snowpack and the weather and can change fast.
We will not run a trip if the water is too high because we’re not ok with the risks. The Kananaskis River is dam controlled with a large reservoir and is far less susceptible to high water levels.
Waivers
Every guest needs to sign a waiver form. This is a condition of participation before any adventure activity in North America and worldwide. You’ll receive a waiver in your inbox after booking. If you would like to review the contents of our waiver form prior to booking, please use the links below to access a read-only version. These versions are for your review only, upon booking, you will receive a fillable version to complete.
- Participants must read and agree to the terms and conditions of the waiver, before we can take you on our white water rafting trip.
- Please complete the waiver 24 hours before your trip starts.
- If you choose not to sign the waiver, you can contact us to receive a full refund.