So you want to become a guide? Together with the most serious companies in the kayaking business in Norway we have developed a standard for guiding operations delivering high standards of guiding. We know that we can train you hard, long and well, but in the end it all come down to who you are. Will you get up early and to bed late? Smile when everyone is down? And make hard unpopular decisions when needed? Many good paddlers think that being a guide is all about bringing a group safely from A to B. Well, thats about 5% of the job, the remaining 95% is about what happens in-between A and B. All your work on technical paddling skills, incident management, navigation, Wilderness first aid, rescue plans, hours on the shooting range (if you work in the arctic) and any other outdoor skill might seem like a waste of time, because a client on a trip really don´t ask about it, and quite frankly don´t care about it, until they need it. Until the shit starts hitting the fan, which it (knock wood) never does. This is one of the reasons why for some guiding seems like an easy task. What they will ask about though is local knowledge, what is that mountain, why is it green and not black. How deep are these seas, what do people do here, how was it formed, who is the mayor and how is his kids, do you know Tommy? He is from Sweden, thats close to Norway right? What´s your view on world peace? How much salt is it in seawater? How was that road made? What about climate change? When was it made? That house seems old, how old is it? Is that a whale? Do you have meat without meat? What species of animals do you have ? A bird? A plane? It´s superman (yeah, thats who you need to be). Since learning the hard skills is actually quite easy and expected, we have put effort into the parts many tend to forget, interpretation, storytelling, historical curiosity, cooking and more. We can train you until you reach our high standard of a low end guide. And being part of the highest end, then we turn into the unteachable domain; it´s the fire in your eyes, and your dying wish for everyone to have a good time, your ability to give bad news in a way that turn them into possibilities and not problems.
The purpose of a guide? «Up in the sky, look: It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, It’s a Guide!»