Guide school teaches boaters how to ride a boat and unwrap a boat, how to use ropes and tie knots, how to cook meals for a lot of people and how to take care of them—whether those people are paying guests or ten of your best friends. This five-part series by our good friends at OARS takes a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to jump into the challenge of training to be a river guide. It follows aspiring guides and private boaters as they go through Whitewater Guide School on California’s American River.

The first episode tries to answer the age-old question, “Why would someone want to be a river guide?”