Meet Travis Hochard of River Runners in Buena Vista and Cañon City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Hochard.

Travis, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My first experience whitewater rafting was with River Runners in 1997 after I graduated from high school in Topeka, KS. I found a River Runners brochure in the Holiday Inn down the street from my house and convinced my dad to take me rafting as a graduation present. I had such a great time that I knew I wanted to become a guide. In May of 2000, I trained to be a raft guide at River Runners and was a full-time guide for five summers. I graduated from Kansas State University in May of 2002 and continued to guide full-time through summer 2004 – working at REI in Lakewood, CO during the non-rafting seasons. In 2005, I worked at Down River Equipment Company in Wheatridge, CO, but continued to work part-time at River Runners on weekends during the summer. In 2006 and 2007, I worked at Yeti Cycles in Golden, CO while still working some weekends at River Runners. I moved to Salida, Colorado in May of 2007 when my wife, Becky, got a job managing Salida Family Dentistry. We knew we wanted to live in the mountains and I knew I wanted to be part of the river scene. I worked at BBI International (a biofuels company in Salida at the time) but they left salida and I started working at River Runners in spring 2010 as the operations manager and helping out with marketing. In 2013, I was promoted to General Manager, and I have held that position since.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Every year is a new challenge in the outfitting industry. Drought and high water both present logistical challenges and wildfires have also had impacts on our business levels. Ramping up from 2 full-time year around staff to 100 seasonal staff is always a whirlwind and managing things like the Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations with CDL drivers and vehicle inspections, etc., are the not-so-fun parts of the job. Ultimately, it is all worth it. I love the industry, the people and the culture. Sharing the river and canyons I love with people all over the country and the world is what it’s all about.

Please tell us about River Runners.
River Runners started in 1972 as one of the first whitewater rafting companies in Colorado. We continue to offer half-day, full-day, and overnight rafting trips on beginner, intermediate, and advanced whitewater on the Arkansas River in Colorado. River Runners has two locations: River Runners Browns Canyon and River Runners Royal Gorge. River Runners Browns Canyon is six miles south of Buena Vista, Colorado at the put-in of Browns Canyon National Monument. It has a riverside campground, riverside bar and grill, sand volleyball, and a music venue. River Runners Royal Gorge is eight miles west of Canon City, Colorado at the turn-off to the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park. Here we offer half-day and full-day rafting tours through Bighorn Sheep Canyon and the Royal Gorge. Our goal is to provide amazing experiences to our guests.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My grandparents had a cabin at Lake Perry near Lawrence, KS and we would take their speed boat out to go tubing and water skiing. This is where my love of the outdoors and water sports started.

Pricing:

• Family Float Rafting starts at $49 / person.
• Intermediate Half Day starts at $77 / person
• Intermediate Full Day starts at $121 / person
• Advanced Half Day starts at $87 / person
• Advanced Full Day starts at $141 / person
• Overnight Tours start at $309 / person

Contact Info:

• Address: River Runners Browns Canyon
  24070 County Road 301
  Buena Vista, CO 81211
  River Runners Royal Gorge
  44641 US Hwy 50
  Cañon City, CO 81212
• Website: https://whitewater.net/
• Phone: 800-723-8987
• Email: rafting@whitewater.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riverrunnerscolorado/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raftcolorado/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiverRunners
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/RiverRunners/

Image Credit:
Catherine Eichel photography for all photos except the last one. whitewaterphotography.com for the last photo.

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