Guides & Safety

Guides

All Skeena Valley Expeditions guides have undergone the rigorous training and certification formerly administered by the Province of BC, and now sanctioned by the BCROA. They are certified as raft guides, Swiftwater Rescue Technicians, and First Aid Providers. They are professional backcountry travelers who have a passion for the outdoors and enjoy sharing it. Above and beyond just highly skilled technical abilities our guides are masters in giving you the freedom and flexibility to enjoy a personalized, once in a lifetime experience. At the same time they are constantly keeping a watchful eye on the big picture maintaining as comfortable and safe a situation as possible. They are expert in the local natural history including flora, fauna, geology, and cultural history. Our guides come to us with backgrounds as diverse as one can imagine. Some are university professors or air traffic controllers, others are electrical engineers or managers of heli-ski companies, and some have just plain been river raft guiding since the beginning of time.

Warren Gavronski - Guide

Warren grew up here in Terrace and seems to be intimate with just about every "secret" spot we've shown him.  Like a true red neck he runs a small saw mill with his dad milling big rough lumber.  He has done extensive training in adventure guiding on Vancouver Island.  He is a canoe instructor, hiking guide, strong river kayaker...the list goes on and on.  We're happy to have him on our team.

 

 

 

 

Brendan Genaille - Guide

Brendan was the cook at a local heli-skiing company until we got a hold of him.  You won't go lacking for laughs when you spend time with Brendan.  Dirty, wry and cynical, Brendan has all the makings of a great river guide.  His First Nations lineage bring a great background and even through the jovial personality he can actually keep you well informed.

 

 

 

 

 

Samuel Drouin - Guide and Safety Kayaker

Sam, his brother Jeremie and their father Serge began kayaking together and the entire family has taken to the rivers like fish.  Samuel is one of the smoothest and most natural looking paddlers we have ever seen.  He also has a gentle demeanor and is very pleasant to be around.  His whitewater skills have transfered great to raft guiding skills and he is quickly becoming a very skilled rafting guide.

 

 

 

 

 

Jeremie Drouin - Guide and Safety Kayaker

As one would assume from the above biography, Jeremie is also an encredible paddler.  With a "go get 'er, let's have some fun" attitude, he is always out there looking for something great to do.  In a similar way to his brother, he is fast becoming one of our best guides.  This brother combo has it all...solid whitewater skills, great personalities, gentle and fun  with people, and just all around great dudes...

 

 

 

 

 

Ilja Herb - Guide

Ilja is a long time expedition guide who grew up, got a real job and dicided that the old river guide life wasn't that bad after all.  He worked on the Northern expedition rivers for years before moving into journalism and photography.  Ilja has had material published in numerous publications and works for a variety of outdoor media.  His good nature and lifetime of river experience are welcome on our trips.

 

 

 

 

Manuela Geier - Guide

Having trip led river rafting expeditions all over the world, Manuela comes to SVE with a wealth of experience.  She has most recently begun pursuing a diferent career path as a chef and is attending Northwest Community College here in Terrace.  We are lucky enough to have her guide with us during the summer "off" months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allen McKay

Allen is a full Nisga'a First Nation citizen with a passion for water.  After completing his raft guide and SRT certifications we found Allen paddling a Canadian Tire dingy down some really nice whitewater and decided we needed his enthusiasim around SVE.  And he has proved a real asset.  Perhaps Allen's most notable trait, other than his contagious, charasmatic personality is the generations of natural history and interperative ability that so easily roll off his toung.

 

 

 

 

Dave Stewart - Guide

Dave is an athletic anomoly who commonly goes out and rides road and mountain bikes on journeys of epic proportions.  Having lived in Terrace and throughout Northern Canada for the past 30 or so years he is a wealth of knowledge. 

Unlike most of us he actually has a real job as an air traffic controller but is making the leap to semi-retirement and passing through dirt bag raft guide bum status on the way.

 

 

 

 

Umbrella Associations

BCROA

Skeena Valley Expeditions is a member of the British Columbia River Outfitters Association(BCROA). The BCROA is a self-governing body that maintains guide training and certification as well as operational standards for river rafting activities in BC.

Transport Canada

Skeena Valley Expeditions meets all requirements set out by the former BC registrar of commercial river rafting which was the provincial government organization administering the legislation of commercial river rafting activities in BC. This organization has been dissolved and replaced by a sub-section of Transport Canada 's Marine Transport division.

Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Arts

In order to use crown land for commercial use, a Commercial Recreation Tenure is required by law. Skeena Valley Expeditions maintains its agreement with the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Arts (formerly Lands and Water British Columbia) ensuring continued access to the special places we go. This provides Skeena Valley Expeditions the right to operate commercially on Crown Land provided we maintain certain high standards regarding safety, environmental and cultural stewardship, operating procedures, etc.

Safety Program

Skeena Valley Expeditions places safety as its number one priority.  Having said that, there will always be inherent risks involved in any type of wilderness travel, river rafting is no exception. 

What We Do For You

• We never do single boat trips.  There is always a minimum of a safety kayaker in addition to your raft ensuring there is always a second guide on the river with you.
• All our guides are certified and experienced
• The company fosters a conservative approach to river rafting
• All staff participate in a "guide's training" at the beginning of each operating season where company protocols and emergency response procedures are practiced
• All equipment is state of the art and checked after each trip as well as overhauled each season
• All standard first aid and rescue equipment is carried on the rafts and extra equipment is cached in the shuttle bus
• Effective communication is maintained between rafts, between rafts and shuttle vehicle, and between rafts and the base
• There is always a trained dispatch staff at the office or able to be contacted any time a trip is out
• Effective rescue plans are tested each season and all staff are versed in their use
• There is a comprehensive driver safety plan outlining safe operating guidelines so as to minimize risks in that aspect of your trip
• All guests must listen to a comprehensive safety briefing at the beginning of every white water trip so everyone understands the risks involved and how best to deal with them should they be encountered
• The company participates in annual information sharing amongst the industry to effect staying current with all industry standards, new technology, and changing protocols

What You Can Do For Us

• All guests must sign a liability release waiver in the witness of a Skeena Valley Expeditions employee prior to any rafting trip (please download a sample of our waiver here and thoroughly review it prior to arriving at the start of your trip)
• Take time to let us educate you in how best to prepare for a rafting trip.  We don't expect you to already know anything about this stuff but do expect you to let us give you all the information you need.
• Please recognize that there are risks inherent in river rafting and accept responsibility for those risks.