Guiding with Art of Outdoor, Germany, France, Switzerland

Art of Outdoor is an awesome company to work for, and I have done quite a few trips wiht them. These photos are from the first one in June 2015.
Groups range from primary school children to business people, and one of the many lovely places they like to use as a base is the youth hostel near Schluchsee, Black Forest, Germany.

I just love getting groups on the water and enabling folks to enjoy themselves, especially if it is completely new to them. It’s awesome to see how group dynamics can change on the water, but most of all, it’s awesome to see that most people really enjoy themselves.

Another base close to Loue River, France. I set my tent up in the garden and enjoyed cups of tea by the fire pit after a long day on the river. You can see the canoes in the background - this was a company’s team-building trip, and we paddled a couple of different stretches of the Loue over a long weekend.

I really like this photo, and I always like to add that paddling down this weir wasn’t dangerous at all. A lot of weirs are, though, and you shouldn’t take any chances unless you know what you’re looking at and are absolutely sure. It’s also best to… — I really like this photo, and I always like to add that paddling down this weir wasn’t dangerous at all. A lot of weirs are, though, and you shouldn’t take any chances unless you know what you’re looking at and are absolutely sure. It’s also best to wear a helmet.

Got my white water kayak, a Wavesport Diesel 70 from Chickenline. The owner, Lorenz, is one of the people who run Art of Outdoor.

This is us removing some ropes from underwater. There are repairs going on on the weir, and they kindly built this boat slide. However, the ropes got left and could have been dangerous in the event of a capsize.

One of the perks of guiding is that you do get to play, too.

And to see beautiful places you might not have visited otherwise.

Another slide with safety-setup and photographer : )

This might be the most beautiful ‘base camp’ in the world, but the next one isn’t bad, either. It’s a campside on the swiss side of the Doubs. These are photos from a trip with Art of Outdoor and the Swiss International School.

First time camping for a lot of the children

Yet another thing I love about guiding is that basically, I get paid to be outdoors all day.

And sometimes there’s time to play in the evenings.

It had rained loads further up the river and all came down in the evening. I decided to get on the water and use it to get less nervous on bigger features again - not sure if it worked, but it was great fun.

In my slalom boat with slightly less water the day before.