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Aspen Whitewater Rafting Team
| Aspen Whitewater Rafting was started by a small group of local guides. We are extremely proud of our staff of outdoor professionals. Our core groups of guides take whitewater rafting seriously and strive to provide each guest with a fun, safe and exiting day on the river. Below you can meet a few of the people that make AWR an easy choice when looking for a great river experience. |
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Jim Ingram
Jim was born and raised on the east coast, and stumbled across Aspen, Colorado on a cross-country bike tour. Jim was the head guide and manager for Colorado Riff Raft for 9 years. In 2004, he decided it was time for him to start his own company—AWR. Jim, while staying busy running his company, is still enjoying guiding whitewater rafting in the summer and ski patrolling in the winter. |
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Dan Leuschel
Dan, a South Carolina native, began following his whitewater dreams with his older brothers at an early age. When he turned 18, he moved to Aspen, and found everything he’d been looking for—big mountains, great rivers, great trails, and lots of other people looking for adventure. Dan is now the head boatman for AWR and heads up the class IV/V operation. He enjoys seeing the world from the deck of a kayak and has done so most recently in New Zealand, Chile and Ecuador.
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Darcy Gaechter
Darcy grew up in Aspen, and started rafting after her first year of college on the recommendation of her high school track coach. Twelve years later she has racked up an impressive whitewater resume including a 2nd place finish in the women’s National Rafting Championships and a 1st place finish in the Women’s Gore Canyon downriver kayak race. When not guiding for Aspen Whitewater Rafting, Darcy enjoys studying Environmental History and guiding kayaking trips in Ecuador for Small World Adventures.
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Don Beveridge
Don has been guiding whitewater rafting and kayak trips for almost half his life now. He started guiding on the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River when he moved to Colorado after graduating from St. Lawrence University. He has worked as a guide in Norway, Honduras, Costa Rica and Ecuador. In addition, his personal kayaking pursuits have taken him all over North and South America. For the past 10 years, Don has been spending his winters in Ecuador guiding whitewater kayaking trips for Small World Adventures. When he is not on the river, Don tries to ski as much as possible to make up for all those wintry months he misses while in South America.
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Hank
Hank was amongst the first generation of commercial raft guides in the Aspen area and helped pioneer runs such as Slaughterhouse on the Roaring Fork River and Pine Creek on the Arkansas River. These are classic whitewater runs today, but 20 years ago they were just obscure stretches of river. You can ask Hank about the "good old days" while he is guiding you down the river. You know you are in good hands with this guy.
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Shannan Osburn
Shannan began his guiding career in Idaho, guiding both day trips and multi-day trips on various sections of the legendary Salmon River. In search of new rivers, Shannan moved to Colorado five years ago, and it seems to be a good fit. He has been with Aspen Whitewater Rafting since the beginning, and both his work ethic and his sense of humor have become invaluable assets to the company. In his spare time, he enjoys climbing, biking, kayaking, and vacationing in Ecuador.
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Jenny Irwin and Todd Sauer
Jenny and Todd left their long-time rafting career in California in 2008 to come to Aspen, CO and try out the rivers here. They are both now bankers in the Roaring Fork valley and they love leading their double life--Banking professional during the week--Whitewater rafting professional on the weekends. Jenny and Todd guide Class I through Class V for Aspen Whitewater Rafting, they always have a positive attitude and are an awesome addition to the AWR team.
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Ross Hart
Ross was born and raised right here in Aspen. His parents have been rafting aficionados for years, and Ross got an early start in the whitewater world. He has been guiding for Aspen Whitewater Rafting for 3 years now. He spends his winters in California hand crafting counter tops and enjoying beach volleyball by the ocean.
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Scott Northup
Scott moved to Colorado in 1989 searching for deep powder and an outdoor lifestyle. He found what he was looking for in Aspen and has made a great life for himself here. He is a ski patroller on Snowmass Mountain during the winters and guides rafting trips during the summers. In the off season, you can find Scott surfing in the ocean off the coast of North Carolina or hiking with his dog Ellie in the back country of Colorado.
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Neal Martin
Neal was born and raised in Kentucky but always dreamed of living in the Rocky Mountains. In 2006, Neal made that dream a reality when he moved to Aspen, CO. Neal is an avid whitewater rafting enthusiast and even he his spare time he loves to raft and kayak the rivers of the world including the Upper Colorado through Gore Canyon, the Gauley River in West Viriginia, the Salmon River in Idaho, and the many rivers of Ecuador. In the winter, you'll find Neal shredding Highlands bowl on his snowboard.
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 We operate under special use permits from the white river national forest, USDA forest service blm and Colorado department of parks.
Equal opportunity provider.
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