BUENA VISTA, Colo. (CN) — Mid-May snow thaws off the Sawatch and Mosquito mountains building big water and falls down the 1,469-mile-long Arkansas River. Watching the sun’s refractions illuminate the crystal water rushing through Chaffee County, Colorado, it’s easy to see why someone would choose to make their living on the river.
"At the end of the day you just got off a river in the mountains and you're surrounded by your friends,” said raft guide Jess Beaty at the start of her fourth season. While petting a pit bull-lab mix named Mosa in the Gold Camp lounge, she said she’s eager to bring adventurous tourists out to experience nature.
"Sometimes you really change things for a person and that makes it totally worth it,” Beaty said. Still, Beaty’s been around long enough to know the job ain’t all pleasure cruises.
“Rafting is a service industry,” Beaty said. “The only way we're able to break even is tips. If you're really good with customers, if you're lucky or your team leader gives you people that look like they're going to tip, that makes the difference between making 100 bucks a day or making 300 bucks a day.”
Though she put in her dues elsewhere, this is Beaty’s first year working for Arkansas Valley Adventures (AVA) in Buena Vista, Colorado. The company is suing the U.S. Department of Labor over a new wage scheme requiring a $15 an hour minimum wage and overtime for federal permit holders.
The Colorado River Outfitters Association, an influential industry group, joined AVA in the lawsuit, but one voice has largely been absent from the conversation: the guides who work on the river, whose earnings and working conditions are being reviewed by the courts.
Raft guides earn “trip pay,” a set wage for each tour, keeping prices consistent for customers whether they book during early season high waters or the late summer lazy river. At AVA, a rookie guide makes $50 on three-to-four-hour trips with additional prep and post-trip duties. A trip leader with several seasons of experience makes $82 for the same trip.
Most guides take two to three trips, six or seven days a week to save enough to last through winter sports season, but also because taking a true day off can mean being deprioritized on future tours. On standby, guides pick up boathouse chores while waiting to take out a possible last-minute group.
The company compensates seasonal workers $15 an hour for the grunt work, but other outfitters reportedly take advantage of the free labor.
Starting at the bottom of the pay scale, rookie guides often spend about $1,000 on gear, training and certification before taking out their first boat.
There’s no company health insurance for guides, though the job is physically demanding, with common hip, back, wrist and shoulder injuries.
With costs of living on the rise, many find the grind less liberating and more demoralizing.
“I love rafting, and I want to teach people about the environment through rafting,” said Teal Lehto, a former competitive paddler and guide. “I want to teach people how to raft, and I love everything about that, but it is not worth the expectation of being homeless and working for terrible wages just to be outside every day.”
After paddling through high school and competing at nationals, Lehto wanted to make a living doing what she loved. When she added up her hours, however, she realized she was making less than the promised $13 an hour in Durango, Colorado.
Lehto moderates a private Facebook group where raft guides gather to discuss higher wages and better benefits. But standing up has meant stepping out.