We pride ourselves on having the best trained guides on Lake Tahoe. Our entire guide staff has been through an extensive trip leader certification program with the American Canoe Association. This is the group that certifies kayak and paddleboard guides. All guides are CPR and first aid certified. We run additional in house training and mentorship to ensure our guides are highly knowledgeable on all facets of Lake Tahoe. Many on our staff are above and beyond, with formal educations in recreation, environmental science, WFR, EMT, and NOLS. We start with the best outdoor professionals – raft guides, ski patrollers, ski instructors, and wilderness educators – and put them through our extensive training program. You end up with highly qualified, knowledgeable, friendly guides who will take your vacation to the next level.
Name: Si Norton
- Hometown: Tahoe Vista
- Interests: Global Education, Facilitation, Humanitarian Work, Directing Camps, Positive Psychology, Landscaping, Baking, Exploring the South Pacific
- Favorite Tahoe Fact: The role that volcanoes played in the formation of the lake
- Favorite Tour/Class: I love taking people on the water who have never paddled or have limited experience, and offering folks a safe and empowering opportunity to experience the wonder, beauty and serenity of being on the water, surrounded by stunning views, and building new skills and memories.
- About Me: I travel around the world providing workshops and programs on leadership, conflict transformation, teamwork, education, global issues, and many human growth and transformation topics.
- What do you call a Bears with no ears? B
Name: Loren Rupp
- Hometown: Incline Village, NV
- Interests: paddling adventures, long-distance hiking, mountain biking, backcountry skiing, progressive jazz, bluegrass
- Favorite Tahoe Fact: Water from Lake Tahoe never reaches the ocean.
- Favorite Tour to Guide with TCK and Sand Harbor Rentals: Sand Harbor/Thunderbird Lodge/Chimney Beach
- What do you do when you are not guiding kayaks, or in the off season: shredding deep powder and teaching others to do the same!
- Anything you want to add: (favorite dad joke) What’s the best time to go the dentist? 2:30 (get it?)
Name: Andrew Laughlin
- Hometown: Galion, OH
- Interests: Playing and attending live music events, mountain biking, skiing, and aquariums.
- Favorite Tahoe Fact: There is a fault line on either side of Lake Tahoe with evidence of tsunami events.
- Favorite Tour to Guide with TCK and Sand Harbor Rentals: Full Moon Kayak Tour
- What do you do when you are not guiding kayaks, or in the off season: I am teaching my son to be a more radical mountain athlete than I am.
- Anything you want to add: (favorite dad joke) Why is it that you never hear pterodactyls going to the bathroom? Because the “P” is silent.
Name: Thomas Luksch
- Hometown: Incline Village, NV
- Interests: Sailing, back country skiing, paddle sports, backpacking, scuba-diving, bike riding, world music and culture
- Favorite Tahoe Fact: I scuba-dived Lake Tahoe to the recreational depth limit many times – but the lake is 16 times deeper than that.
- Favorite Tour to Guide with TCK and Sand Harbor Rentals: Moonlight Paddle
- What do you do when you are not guiding kayaks, or in the off season: Skiing in the backcountry and as a ski patroller, helping people to enjoy Tahoe in the best way possible, no matter what the situation they are in may be.
- Anything you want to add: (favorite dad joke) Dogs can’t operate MRI machines. But catscan.
Name: Jessee Shultz
- Hometown: Nevada City, CA
- Interests: anything music, biology and ecology, snowboarding, hiking, climbing, and paddlesports.
- Favorite Tahoe Fact: The lake level was once around 600 feet higher than it is today.
- Favorite Tour Guide with TCK and Sand Harbor Rentals: Sand Harbor and Sunset Tours
- What do you do when you are not guiding kayaks, or in the off season: snowboarding and hiking in this awesome mountain range (Sierra Nevadas) of ours!
- Favorite dad joke: -What vegetable do you not want to bring on a kayak? -a leek