Posted: July 2nd, 2009 by Carl
Join Glacier Raft Company’s River School for exciting whitewater rescue courses and general river skills courses. We’ve added another whitewater rescue technician course July 17-19. We also still have an introduction to river skills course July 25 & 26. Call us at 406-888-5454 to get signed up! See you on the river.
Posted: June 29th, 2009 by Alex
Glacier Outdoor Center’s annual Down River Demo Days is scheduled for July 11th and 12th. Reps from Aire & Outcast will be on hand as well as our knowledgeable staff. There will be some great discounts on rafts, kayaks and whitewater canoes as well as all the paddling accessories. Our Boat Barn will be stocked full of demos, rentals and many new boats on display. On Saturday we will have a scheduled demo departure and shuttle for those that would like to try one of our many boat options. Come out for the free BBQ both days. Call us with questions or inquiries. See you July 11th and 12th!
Posted: June 20th, 2009 by Alex
Local shops, campgrounds, gift shops, park staff, and many of their employees came to our local appreciation day on June 17th. Some great whitewater memories and a tasty BBQ made for a great day. Thanks to everyone who attended. Enjoy your summer!
Posted: June 18th, 2009 by Alex
Boats and paddling gear have been arriving daily. Glacier Outdoor Center is now fully stocked with gear from Aire, Outcast, Liquidlogic, Esquif, Northwest River Supply, Stohlquist, Kokatat, Sawyer and more. Lets go paddling! Come check us out in West Glacier and we will see you on the river.
Posted: June 11th, 2009 by Alex
The waters have greened up and its time to go fishing. We are starting out fishing trips as of today. The North Fork of the Flathead river is looking the best. Some of our fishing guides explored the North Fork yesterday with some great reports. The North Fork’s river levels are forecasted to stay at the current levels, so we shouldn’t see any change in water clarity in the near future. The Middle fork on the other hand is greening up but the forecast is for increased flows in the coming days. Call or email us with specific questions or to book a trip today.
Posted: June 6th, 2009 by Carl
Check out footage of everyone swimming in the notch. These are students in Glacier Raft’s Whitewater Rescue Technician course for May. Try not to get sick watching. Next time I’ll try to keep my head still while swimming. Check out the classes at http://glacierraftco.com/guide-school.htm#river%20skills. Hope to see you on the river!
Posted: June 4th, 2009 by Karsten
On Saturday May 30th, eight current and former Glacier Raft Company guides completed the first single-day navigation of the Flathead River from the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station, located deep within the Great Bear Wilderness, to the Sportsman’s Bridge, just north of Flathead Lake. The journey, completed as the river neared its peak flow, took just under 18 hours.
The first 28 miles of the trip, known as the Upper Middle Fork, is located within the Great Bear Wilderness and is home to consistent class IV and V whitewater at high flows. The two four-person crews put 14 ft AIRE rafts on the river at 5:10 am and exited the wilderness at 10:00 am, covering nearly 30 miles, that normally takes two to three days to navigate, in under five hours.
After completing the wilderness section the paddlers still had to cover over 40 miles of class III-IV whitewater above West Glacier and nearly 50 miles of flat water between West Glacier and Flathead Lake. The incredibly demanding trip began before sunrise and ended after sunset as the crews pulled into the take out at 10:54pm.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this trip happen and allowed us to kick off the summer of 2009 with such a fantastic accomplishment!
For more detailed play-by-play from the expedition check out this article from Thursday’s Daily Inter Lake.
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2009/06/04/sports/outdoor_life/outdoor_life_8755908154_01.txt
Posted: May 28th, 2009 by Carl
Our first river education courses of the season were great! All the participants had a great time and we’ve got more capable river enthusiasts out on the water now. Photos and Video to follow.
Posted: May 26th, 2009 by Karsten
Mother Nature certainly had Montana paddlers in mind over Memorial Day weekend as she mixed up an outstanding concoction of sunny skies and premium whitewater. Adrenaline junkies and eager spectators thirsty for a taste of Ma Nature’s latest home brew descended on Bigfork, MT this weekend for the Bigfork Whitewater Festival. Paddlers reveled in classic class IV whitewater on the Swan River’s “Wild Mile” and on-lookers cheered and jeered from the sun-baked banks of the river.
Glacier Outdoor Center was on hand all weekend to provide demo kayaks and canoes as well as a daily fix of live bluegrass. Missoula’s “Rich & Rare” brought foot stompin’ tunes to the demo tent all afternoon… not to mention the wee hours of the morning. It was a good ol’ fashioned Montana hoedown and we can’t wait to do it again next year!!
Boats and Gear Galore!
Boats + Bluegrass = Summertime Perfection
RC and Karsten talk strategy before a heated slalom duel.
Val charging his Jefe below "The Big Drop"
RT and the Remix, searching for the next gate.
Posted: May 24th, 2009 by Alex
What a beautiful weekend here in West Glacier. Memorial day tends to be a little rainy, but not this year. Wow!! We are running whitewater trips every day now and are still waiting for the peak of the runoff. With the cool spring we should see some great water levels throughout the summer. Employees are starting to show up and West Glacier is buzzing with early visitors. Glacier Park is open to Avalanche campground on the West side and is open to foot and bike traffic for a few miles beyond. 
