2012 Media Kit for O.A.R.S. Prepared by Adventure Media O.A.R.S. is the world’s premier outfitter for rafting, sea kayaking and multisport adventures around the world. With first-class adventures throughout the Western US, Alaska, Canada, Latin America, and Fiji. O.A.R.S. provides a diverse set of trips that have garnered numerous awards and recognitions over the years and given O.A.R.S. the opportunity to guide over 500,000 adventurous travelers as they experience their ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’.

1. Media Kit
2012

2. O.A.R.S. is the world’s premier outfitter for rafting, sea kayaking and multisport
adventures around the world, with first-class adventures throughout the Western US,
Alaska, Canada, the Mediterranean, Africa, Latin America, and Fiji. O.A.R.S. provides
a diverse set of trips that have garnered numerous awards and recognitions over the
years and given O.A.R.S. the opportunity to guide over 500,000 adventurous travelers
as they experience their ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’.

3. The O.A.R.S. Experience
Every O.A.R.S. trip combines amazing rivers, friendly guides,
incredible scenery, quality gear, comfortable camping, and
unexpectedly delicious food, but the O.A.R.S. experience is the
unique and captivating sum of all those parts. It’s much more
than a river trip, it truly is an experience.
The O.A.R.S. Experience is about losing track of what time it
is, or even what day of the week it is. It’s about leaving emails
and text messages and Facebook at home. It’s about drifting
off to sleep on a beach under a canopy of stars, and then
waking up the next morning to watch the sun rise over the
canyon rim. The O.A.R.S. experience is what happens when
you leave behind the hustle and bustle of everyday life and let
yourself sink into the simple rhythm of life on the river.

4. Company History
George Wendt, founder and president of O.A.R.S. is
a true pioneer of the adventure travel industry. From
its beginnings as the first exclusively non-motorized
rafting outfitter in the Grand Canyon, George has
grown O.A.R.S. into the world’s premier provider of
environmentally and culturally responsible river trips
and outdoor adventures. Over its 40 year history,
O.A.R.S. has served more than 500,000 guests and
today remains one of the most successful adventure
travel companies on earth. Despite such success
O.A.R.S. remains a family affair; George’s sons Tyler
and Clavey now manage the day-to-day operations,
maintaining the same company culture that their
father established over 40 years ago.

5. Why Travel with O.A.R.S?
O.A.R.S. is the best in the business. Period. If you are looking
for the superlative adventure experience, O.A.R.S. is it:.
• 40+ years of commercial guiding experience
• Over 75 different adventures, more than any other North American
whitewater rafting company
• More than 500,000 guests have traveled with O.A.R.S.
• 70% of O.A.R.S.’ clients are past guests or referrals from past guests
• O.A.R.S. uses high-quality, well maintained equipment
• O.A.R.S. maintains an experienced year-round office staff that is
committed to matching guests with their perfect adventure
• O.A.R.S. sets the standard for safety in the rafting business
• An unrivaled commitment to sustainability
• At 4:1, O.A.R.S. has the best guest to guide ratio in the business

6. Responsible Travel
Environmental stewardship has been ingrained in the culture of O.A.R.S. since its humble
beginnings in 1969. For over four decades O.A.R.S. has been committed to ensuring that
the natural resources we enjoy today will be available for future generations. Over the
years this has meant switching to 100% solar power for both their main office and Grand
Canyon office and warehouse, establishing the non-profit OARS Foundation, adopting
Leave No Trace principles, participating in education and outreach efforts through
documentary films and political action, and contributing over $3 million in donations and
fees toward preservation of the environment and individual conservation initiatives.

7. Articles and Accolades
Throughout the years O.A.R.S. has been consistently
featured in publications such as Outside, Men’s Journal,
National Geographic Adventure, National Geographic
Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Sunset,
Fast Company, The Los Angeles Times, The New York
Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today, just to
name a few.
O.A.R.S. is a past recipient of National Geographic
Traveler’s 50 Tours of a Lifetime, National Geographic
Adventure’s Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth,
Conde Nast Traveler’s Top Travel Specialists, and
Outside Magazine’s Trips of the Year. O.A.R.S. founder
George Wendt was given the Adventure Travel Trade
Association’s 2006 Lifetime Achievement award.

8. Family Adventures
Since O.A.R.S. was founded in 1969, family adventures
have been one of their specialties. O.A.R.S. understands
that it takes thoughtful planning, attention to detail and a
spirit of fun to make a truly great outdoor adventure that
families will cherish for years to come.
An O.A.R.S. family vacation takes the pressure off of
parents and allows them to relax and focus on having fun
with their kids. Meanwhile, O.A.R.S. guides handle the
cooking, planning and heavy lifting. A family vacation with
O.A.R.S. is a totally unique and incredibly positive
experience that allows families to disconnect from
technology, work, and school, and focus on reconnecting
as a family and having fun together. O.A.R.S. offers a
collection of family river trips around the world that are
perfectly suited for families with kids of all ages.

9. Whitewater Wonders
Over their 40 year history, O.A.R.S. has learned a
thing or two about what makes a truly great rafting
river. It ultimately comes down to a few things:
1. The Colorado River,
quality whitewater, amazing landscapes, unique
wildlife, exceptional guides, and extraordinary through the Grand Canyon
experiences. 2. Middle Fork of the Salmon
River, Idaho
The Seven Whitewater Wonders of the World offer
some of the most undeniably awesome 3. Chilko-Chilcotin-Fraser River,
experiences that O.A.R.S., or any other company British Columbia
for that matter, has to offer. These are truly the 4. Tatshenshini River, Alaska
best of the best, as judged by the best in the
business. O.A.R.S. offers experiences on these 5. Tuolumne River, California
amazing rivers ranging from as short as single day 6. Futaleufu River, Chile
trip, to as long as a three-week river expedition.
7. Upper Navua River, Fiji

10. Gourmet Wine &
Craft Beer Tasting
O.A.R.S. offers a special line of river trips and
outdoor adventures for travelers with particularly
discerning tastes.
In addition to their famous Wilderness Gourmet
trips, O.A.R.S. offers Wine Tasting on the River
and Craft Beer Tasting trips for those travelers
who have a palate for adventure and also like to
enjoy a good beverage after a long day on the
river. Both wine and beer tasting trips feature
expertly planned menus designed to pair perfectly
with the evening’s selection of gourmet wine or
craft beers. O.A.R.S. offers these appetizing trips
on some of the best rivers in Oregon, Idaho,
California and British Columbia, and trip lengths
range from two days to a full week.

11. National Park Adventures
Ever since O.A.R.S. became the first exclusively
oar-powered river outfitter operating in the Grand
Canyon back in 1969, National Park adventures
have been a huge part of the annual O.A.R.S.
trip catalog. O.A.R.S. offers world-class rafting,
hiking and kayaking tours in the Grand Canyon,
Yellowstone, Yosemite, Canyonlands, Arches,
Grand Teton, Denali, Kenai Fjords, Crater Lake,
and Dinosaur National Monument. These
National Parks represent the most spectacular
natural resources in the United States, and
O.A.R.S. offers adventures that take travelers
beyond the scenic byways and tourist paths, to
the rivers and backcountry that provide a true
taste of our National Parks.

12. Photography Trips
Any O.A.R.S. trip is the perfect opportunity to
capture the photo of a lifetime, but aspiring and
experienced photographers alike will want to
check out O.A.R.S. photography trips. O.A.R.S.
hosts a professional photographer to accompany
the group and provide impromptu photo
workshops and personal instruction that allows
guests to make the most out of every photo op.
John Blaustein, Justin Bailie and James Kaiser
are a few of the professional photographers that
accompany O.A.R.S. on trips to some of the
West’s most spectacular landscapes:
Canyonlands, Idaho’s Salmon River, Yosemite,
the Galapagos Islands, Yellowstone, and Grand
Teton National Park.

13. The 2012 O.A.R.S. Catalog
The 2012 O.A.R.S. catalog is an industry first: a
content-rich, magazine-style publication that bucks
the conventions of the traditional travel catalog and
captures the culture and evocative nature of the
O.A.R.S. experience. Readers will discover a
stunning collection of whitewater rafting and sea
kayaking adventures, interviews with larger-than-
life river guides, travel tips, recipes from the river,
and a wide range of stories and articles penned by
professional travel writers.
The 2012 O.A.R.S. catalog is available free of
charge at oars.com/catalog or by calling (800) 346-
6277. Or, view the digital version on any desktop
browser or mobile device at http://ow.ly/6VeNw.

14. -Media Contacts-
Steve Szczecina
steve@adventuremedianews.com
970.568.7423
Steve Markle
stevem@oars.com
209.753.4797