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Ashly
Raft Guide
Echo Staff & Guides
Zach
Raft Guide / Equipment Manager
Chloe
Raft Guide
McIver
Raft Guide
Matt
Raft Guide
Berto
Raft Guide
Mickey
Raft Guide
Alfredo
Raft Guide
Thor
Shuttle Driver
Ben Sack
General Manager
Joe
Raft Guide
Charlie
Raft Guide
Sage
Raft Guide
Spencer
Raft Guide
Michelle
Office Staff
Bill
Office Staff
Jac
Raft Guide
Andy Neinas
Owner
Don
Shuttle Driver
Alex
Raft Guide
Craig
Raft Guide
Josh
Raft Guide
Freddy
Raft Guide
Gerj
Raft Guide
Jenny
Raft Guide
Lex
Raft Guide
Mike
Raft Guide
Rachel
Raft Guide
Ricky
Raft Guide
Ryan
Raft Guide
Stephen
Raft Guide
Truelove
Skip
Raft Guide
Ashly
Raft Guide
Hailing from Humeston, Iowa, Ashly trained with Echo back in 2009 and is now one of our trainers. She went to school in Humeston, and then ventured on to massage therapy school in Des Moines. Ashly owned her own business in Humeston, doing massage therapy for four years. After having a handful of random jobs she is now back in school for physical therapy. Ashly first went rafting in high school and has been hooked ever since. She has been guiding the Arkansas for 8 years and would love to raft her whole life. Ashly’s favorite section would have to be the Royal Gorge, which can be challenging but still incredibly fun and beautiful; and she loves sharing this beauty with the guests on her boat. She has been fortunate enough to run the Grand Canyon section of the Colorado twice, which will always hold a place close to her heart. Ashly also enjoys running, hiking, biking, cooking and spending time with her family.
Zach
Raft Guide / Equipment Manager
Born and raised in Cañon City, Colorado, Zach, is one of our 6th year guides. He was drawn to raft guiding by the simplicity the life has to offer. Zach feels it was the river that made him want to guide, and his love for the water inclined him to share that love with the people he takes down each day. Sunshine rapid in the Royal Gorge especially entices him, how it constantly changes with so many different lines hidden in its whitewater. Zach compares summer to an adult playground where occasionally you don’t even know what day of the week it is. He explains that the real world doesn’t exist here and guiding provides us the opportunity to give others an escape from their daily grind. No matter what, as a river guide, you have to be able to let everything else go. He says, things will happen but you have to keep going just like the river, just like life. “Ain’t no time like river time!”
Chloe
Raft Guide
Chloe from Tuscon, Arizona is a 7th year guide. Before guiding on the Arkansas she spent time guiding in Oregon, California, Idaho and Washington. When Chloe was six years old she met a guide named Amy on a rafting trip through Gates of Lodore. She describes her as short but strong and it left an impression so lasting Chloe herself was inclined to be a guide. She refers to a quote “no man steps in the same river twice” explaining how, as a guide, we may do the same thing everyday but the river has a character of its own. We meet new people and a new river everyday and then have to solve its riddle. Chloe says after this she’ll probably end up downstream, who knows what life has in store next!
McIver
Raft Guide
McIver came to us 15 years ago from Boston, Massachusetts. He might have stayed in Boston if they hadn’t kicked him out for being too Redneck! McIver has seen the Arkansas more than the average person yet he still sees and loves the fact that the water changes everyday. The river, as McIver knows it, is a different river every time you run it. He plans to run for President in 2020, and can say “beer” and “thank you” in seventeen different languages, what more could you need! Although the river is a huge reason McIver comes back year after year, it’s really the family that he has at Echo that brings him back, it’s home.
Matt
Raft Guide
Matt is a Cañon City native currently working at Cañon City High. He teaches US history, wood shop and coaches football. He just finished up his 18th season on the Arkansas River, making him one of our most senior guides! Matt especially enjoys the massive waves that inhabit the Royal Gorge during our high water season, and come low water season he fly fishes his way through the sheer cliff walls. He enjoys other rivers in Colorado as well including: the Animus, the Blue, and of course the Colorado River. In his free time you’ll almost always find Matt outside, skiing, fishing, mountain biking or spending time with his wife and dog.
Berto
Raft Guide
He’s been guiding rafts for 30 years! That’s not a typo, folks; thirty years of guiding experience! There’s no place he’d rather be than rafting the Royal Gorge with a paddle crew. This summer he’ll surpass 2500 raft trips under the Royal Gorge Bridge. As Berto says, “It just keeps getting better every year.” Believe it or not, he has other interests aside from rafting. He enjoys going for hikes with his dog while camping in the Canon City area, and during the heart of winter he heads to Arizona where he and his parents search out and map Native American ruins. He’s also an avid reader and makes weekly trips to the library to feed that passion. He’s a talented and very knowledgeable senior guide and we feel fortunate to get to boat with him.
Mickey
Raft Guide
Mickey, from Oxford, Ohio is a 4th year guide. She goes to Miami University and is studying sustainability. Mickey came out to the river to learn how to read the water, live closer to nature, her friends and the community. Mickey feels rafting allows her to help encourage the appreciation for nature with the people riding in her boat. Her long term goal is to stay working on the river and do wilderness therapy with at-risk youth on outdoor expeditions. Mickey enjoys doing yoga, mountain biking, anything outside really! She has recently been studying the medicinal and edible plants in this region of Colorado and loves sharing this information with her guests.
Alfredo
Raft Guide
Alfredo is from Beaumont, Texas. He currently attends Lamar University, is a member of the University Cheerleading team and is ultimately pursuing a career in nursing. Rafting has been a passion of his ever since he went for the first time with his Boy Scout troop almost 12 years ago. Now Alfredo is one of our trainers here at Echo! One fun fact is that he is fairly fluent in Spanish! So if you want to come rafting but are more comfortable in that language have no fear! In his free time he enjoys fishing, cycling, working out and Disney movies.
Thor
Shuttle Driver
Thor has been here at Echo longer than any other CDL driver – 22 years! He’s known for his impressive backing skills and his awesome handle bar mustache! He’ll always volunteer for the longer drive assignments and he can’t wait for the next river season to start. Thor lives in Canon City, drives also for Fort Carson, and is a proud Dad and Grandpa. We hope he sticks around Echo a long time.
Ben Sack
General Manager
Ben is the General Manager of Echo Canyon and began working with us here at Echo in 1994 as a first year raft guide. We just can’t seem to get rid of him! He keeps busy at Echo with staffing, marketing and social media, but his favorite part of the job is guiding rafts with guests like you. Why does he keep doing it? His response: Why would you want to stop having fun on the river… and get paid to do it! What’s his favorite section of river to float? The Royal Gorge, of course. His home town is Omaha, Nebraska, and has lived in Canon City for the last 8 years. In his free time he and his wife have a photography business which keeps them busy. And in his free free time he likes spending time with his wife, two sons and furry canines. Ben feels very lucky have been able to take so many wonderful rafters down the river, and also that he gets to work with a great group of people.
Joe
Raft Guide
Joseph Vercellotti is a 3rd year guide with us at Echo. Originally from New Hampshire, Joe spent last winter working for Ski Patrol in Park City, Utah. Not only does Joe enjoy shredding the gnarliest lines on the snow but also on the river. Rafting entices Joe because sometimes (a lot of times) you get to go places that you can only get to on a boat; the Royal Gorge being a prime example. Aside from being remote the Gorge also creates a draw for Joe by virtue of the spectacular scenery and adrenaline pumping rapids. Joe hopes to, in the future, raft all the Colorado 14ers! Why raft with Joe? He will tell you a tale of the van he used to live in and comfort you with his safety talks.
Charlie
Raft Guide
Charlie, a 3rd year guide from Miami, Florida, attended Florida State University and graduated with a degree in Sociology. He was inspired to be a River guide on his very first rafting trip on the Inn River in Austria while on a backpacking trip through Europe; after which he knew he would be a raft guide. He came to Colorado to train with Echo because he had read so much about our superior safety standards and intensive training. Charlie loves rafting because of the challenges it presents. He is a huge chess fan and it turns out you can use many of the same skills in both avocations. Both rafting and chess require you to think several moves ahead, if your opponent unravels the puzzle before you, you lose. Charlie enjoys exploring these challenges. He is also passionate about Political Science and skiing and spent last winter living and working in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Sage
Raft Guide
Sage is a 4th year guide from Waco, Texas. She was 14 the first time she went rafting and actually fell out of the boat in Widowmaker rapid through Brown’s Canyon! Despite the less than ideal first time rafting she was still drawn to the river. Sage says it’s the friends that make rafting great. The relationships that develop over the summer make it something you want to come back to year after year. Sage is perhaps one of the biggest Lord of the Rings fans you’ll ever meet; and she hopes to one day raft in New Zealand (just so she can see the shire). She enjoys hiking, her friends, her cats, and a recently discovered aptitude for juggling! If you want a new friend and a hug you should come raft with Sage!
Spencer
Raft Guide
Spencer, a sixteen year river guide, is an eccentric renaissance man, artist, painter, illustrator, poet, playwright, actor, writer, director, MC, photographer, and all around creative whirlwind. Spencer is also an accomplished Eagle Scout, mountaineer, chocolatier, rock climber, mountain biker, snowboarder, skier, and whitewater ninjedi lunartic. He works out of B.A.T. Studios (Bohemian Artisan Tribe Studios) in downtown Cañon City, Colorado. Spencer is always hard at work and play.
Michelle
Office Staff
Michelle is our most experienced reservationist at Echo Canyon. She’s worked here since 1996! Michelle can help a guest with questions and complete a phone reservation faster than the average raft run through Sunshine Rapid (average Sunshine run time is 16.9 seconds with a light breeze and average river flow). Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating a little, but she’s pretty fast! She’s a teacher at RE-1 School District when not at Echo. She also likes to travel, spend time with her niece and she’s a huge fan of anything Disney.
Bill
Office Staff
Bill will rejoin us this summer working in the office helping guests plan their trips, and he also is one of the photo sales reps. He grew up in Aurora, Colorado, but has lived in Canon City for the last 27 years. He loves biking, watching cartoons and more than anything he enjoys spending time with is wife of 26 years and his 3 kids. He says it’s rejuvenating for him to work here; all of the guests are excited and pumped for rafting and the staff is great to work with. In the off-season he teaches 3rd grade at Washington Elementary in Canon City. Next year, you’ll see him a bunch at our photo counter since he loves that part of the job! Give a shout for Bill or if he helped you make your rafting reservation this summer.
Jac
Raft Guide
Jac, a 4th year guide from Columbus, Ohio, studied Social Work at Capitol University. Her mom took her on her first rafting adventure down the Gauley when she was 16 and ever since she was hooked. Jac’s favorite part about boating is being able to improve her boating skills day after day. Although her favorite river is the upper Gauley, she is also fond of the Royal Gorge and hopes to be a Gorge Guide on the Arkansas before moving onto other rivers.
Andy Neinas
Owner
Andy is our fearless leader and owner of Echo Canyon. He grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and started guiding rafts while in school, just like a lot of our guides today. Now let’s not do any math on his age, but he’s been working in the rafting industry for the past 26 years, the last 12 of which as owner of Echo. He’s very active and dedicated to the industry as a whole, involved in the Colorado River Outfitters Association, Arkansas River Outfitters Association, Pikes Peak Country Area Attractions and Colorado Springs Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, just to name a few. He absolutely loves floating rivers (he picked the right profession, right?), and he gets on the river every chance he gets. He and his wife, Karen (who gets to be featured here soon enough), have 3 kids who all play a role in the business as well. They love being able to raise their kids in the fun environment of a rafting company. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with family. All of us here at Echo feel fortunate to work with Andy.
Don
Shuttle Driver
Don worked for the federal government for 22 years, retired, and then he realized that he’s not very good at being retired. So he got his CDL and started driving buses for Echo Canyon in the summers and for the school district the rest of the year. Before and after work, Don enjoys riding ATVs, checking out old ghost towns, and visiting his four daughters.
Alex
Raft Guide
Alex, otherwise known as “Silly-bones”, is a 2nd year guide at Echo Canyon. He is from Peachtree City, Georgia, and came out to Colorado to raft the mighty Arkansas River. Alex graduated from Wittenberg University with a bachelor degree in geology and hydrology. In his free time Alex enjoys baking cookies with his Dad, or playing the mandolin in his van. His favorite part about rafting is all the new people he gets to meet everyday and the process of making a team out of the crew in order to make it down the river. Alex dreams that one day he will be known world wide as the Pioneer of the Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Eventually he would like to visit Australia and see if the rivers flow upstream… just in case. He also wants any and all to know that his best friend is Ricky.
Craig
Raft Guide
From Akron, Ohio, home of LeBron James, Craig is a 3rd year river man with us here at Echo Canyon. Last winter he taught history at Northwest High School in Ohio. Craig loves history; he feels the greatest thing about it is that it’s made everyday. His favorite historical event just might be the Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship run, we aren’t sure we’ve ever seen someone more excited! Craig enjoys rafting because he gets to crack jokes with the boys while also crushing big waves. Eventually he dreams of going down the Grand Canyon and the Congo River. Craig also wants to eventually visit all the National Parks, he has already knocked out 17 of them! DOWN WITH THE DAMS! FREE THE RIVERS!
Josh
Raft Guide
Josh is a 1st year guide from Cañon City and is going to be a freshman at University of Colorado, Boulder. He trained at the beginning of the 2016 raft season and enjoyed having the opportunity to be on the water everyday. When training at Echo we spend a substantial amount of time swimming and cultivating the skills to flip boats over that occasionally capsize. Josh found this component of training to be especially exhilarating! Travelling will likely be a big part of Josh’s future; until then if you’re lucky enough to have him as your river guide you’ll see that he has the biggest dimples on the Arkansas River.
Freddy
Raft Guide
From Akron, Ohio, home of LeBron James, Craig is a 3rd year river man with us here at Echo Canyon. Last winter he taught history at Northwest High School in Ohio. Craig loves history; he feels the greatest thing about it is that it’s made everyday. His favorite historical event just might be the Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship run, we aren’t sure we’ve ever seen someone more excited! Craig enjoys rafting because he gets to crack jokes with the boys while also crushing big waves. Eventually he dreams of going down the Grand Canyon and the Congo River. Craig also wants to eventually visit all the National Parks, he has already knocked out 17 of them! DOWN WITH THE DAMS! FREE THE RIVERS!
Gerj
Raft Guide
Gerj (we know, sounds like a made up name) joined us this year from Libertyville, Illinois. He graduated from Illinois State with a Bachelor of Science and Environmental Health. Throughout college Gerj was a member of the Gamma Phi Circus, now how about that! He hopes to eventually be an adventure guide, which would allow him to take all the outdoor skills he has acquired to places all over the world. Gerj is particularly drawn to the beauty of nature and the intensity of the rapids the Arkansas holds. He also has a passion for snowboarding, backpacking, hiking, in addition to a deep awareness of being environmentally conscious.
Jenny
Raft Guide
Jenny goes to Kansas State University and runs cross country and track. She is from Fulton, Missouri, and is a 3rd year guide with us at Echo. Jenny had been studying all night and at 3 am in the morning googled cool jobs in Colorado; the rest is history! She loves being outside all day and can’t wait for the upcoming summer!
Lex
Raft Guide
Lex is from Sarasota and Athens Greece. She recently started whitewater kayaking and fell in love; and from that point she knew she wanted to work on the river. Lex wants to do something that allows her to teach people who don’t normally go outdoors how to be outdoors. Last winter she was in school but is now graduated from Clemson with a degree in Parks and Recreation and Tourism Management. This winter she hopes to chase the summer.
Mike
Raft Guide
Mike is from Baltimore and graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in Business Administration. Mike had never rafted before coming out here and was looking for something to do over summer. He strictly guides the Arkansas now. Last winter Mike was a bartender in Baltimore and this winter he will be moving to Breckenridge. Aside from being a big fan of Kevin Costner or a “cost-nerd” as Mike calls it, he also considers himself a bit of a trailblazer; setting paths for others to follow. Currently 5’ 6 ¾” he is still waiting on a growth spurt.
Rachel
Raft Guide
Rachel is one of our 4th year guides from Austin, Texas. She enjoys rafting because of the total involvement it provides; not only do you get to be immersed in the outdoors but you’re also surrounded by a lot of good people. Rachel also enjoys all the rocks, she feels content in observing their physical nature as they slowly pass by. These boulders and rocks form all the things that allow us to do what we do as raft guides. In her free time Rachel enjoys making music and is actually the founder of her band “The Twitchy Kittens”. The group predominantly is avant-garde, aka “an experimental noise group”, featuring instruments such as synthesizers or trombones, under heavy effects.
Ricky
Raft Guide
Coming all the way from Orlando, Florida, Ricky is one of our 2nd year guides. He came to Colorado after working as a cook in Alaska, in order to be outside and out of the blazing hot kitchen! Ricky thoroughly enjoys travelling; he has visited many places including Thailand, Japan, Columbia and the Caribbean. Ricky’s favorite part of the river is the noise the water makes, it ebbs and flows and becomes incredibly enchanting. His love for the river has landed him a job in Australia this winter, as a river guide on the Barron River! Ricky plans to continue rafting and travelling in the future, he hopes to eventually run the Rogue River in Oregon, the Ocoee in Tennessee, and the Futaleufú in northern Patagonia.
Ryan
Raft Guide
Ryan or “Ron”, as some know him, hails from Meridian, Mississippi. He attended Ole Miss and majored in Business Marketing. Ryan found himself looking to get out of his home state to see something new and Colorado turned out to be the perfect place to do both! In the future he hopes to check the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Oregon off his bucket list. Ryan’s thick Mississippi accent allows him to connect with his guests bringing a Southern Charm to his rafting adventures. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities in general. This winter Ryan will be heading west to California to work as a snowmobile guide in Mammoth Lakes.
Stephen
Raft Guide
Stephen, a 1st year guide from Muskogee, Oklahoma, attends Oklahoma State and is currently studying Finance and Accounting. He came to raft because he wanted to learn how to read whitewater, once he did he realized how valuable his experience here as a guide has been. Stephen wishes more people knew how to read water, to know why you are where you are at any given moment in time. Someday Stephen hopes to own his own business; until then, he spends his free time hunting and having a good time with his friends.
Truelove
Truelove, a 7th year guide, is from Traverse City, Michigan. He attended Central Michigan University and studied Secondary Education, English and Math. Truelove works as a teacher, and coaches basketball in Loveland at Lucile Erwin Middle School (he would be lying if he said he didn’t like dunking on the middle schoolers he teaches). When he isn’t rafting you can probably find Truelove rock climbing, water skiing, or drinking copious amounts of coffee. The Rocky Mountain National Park is his favorite place in the world, he could spend an immeasurable amount of time there. When it comes to rafting he of course loves all the big waves during our high water season and the family aspect the river community lends. He recently got engaged and hopes to eventually spend time climbing in Alaska!
Skip
Raft Guide
Skip, a local to Cañon City, is a 3rd year guide. Skip grew up on the Arkansas River and counted down the days before he could train to be a raft guide. Since training Skip has made some life long friends here, and learned a vast amount about the river. He attends Western State University in Gunnison and when he isn’t studying he enjoys snowboarding, hiking and fishing on the Gunnison River.