Behind the Scenes Grand Canyon Rafting

Our Grand Canyon rafting season starts every year on April Fool's Day - but the preparations for the big season launch day are no joke! This video gives a great behind-the-scenes look at just what goes on to make these rafting expeditions possible in the Grand Canyon. We follow Trent Keller, Grand Canyon Operations Manager, around the Fredonia, AZ warehouse and learn that preparations for a trip begin weeks and months before a trip actually goes out on the water. For example, if they don't begin stock-piling blocks of ice into the deep freezer in March, then trips that go out in the hot months of mid-summer will not have enough ice to last a trip!

Food, of course, gets ordered well in advance for a "blip on the map" town like Fredonia, Arizona. It's one eternal round for the truck drivers, delivering rafts and guides to get rigged, then driving around "The Big Ditch" to retrieve guides coming off the river and returning to the warehouse. Checklists, mechanics, maintenance, and all the parts working together make it work.

Other "behind the scenes" scenes that go unseen are:

Industry conferences like America Outdoors in early December
Sub-committee meetings in DC for the industry, the National Parks, and land-use permits and compliance issues (thank you Brian and Trent!)
Guide hiring process in January
Guide training meeting in March
Guide training and re-certifications through May in preparation for the Utah raft guides
And an endless river of marketing content to fill the boats! Fun! Fun! Fun!