Alberta's "Big West Guide & Wrangler School"

Since the days of Lewis and Clark there has been the need for Wilderness Guides. Men who lived in the furthest outreaches of the civilized world, men who had learned the way of the wild, men who stood a head above the rest when it came to overcoming the hardships of mountain travel.

As time passed and civilization pushed its way further into what was once considered wilderness, there still was found the need for those men who knew the ways of the wild.

The wealthy men of the world found much pleasure in the pursuit of the great creatures of the wild yet they lacked the basic skills of wilderness survival and soon found themselves dependant on the skilled woodsman of the day. Thus, the dawn of the Big Game Guide and the Guiding Industry.

For decades Wilderness Guides have led clients into the mountains in search of adventure and the possibility of harvesting a big game trophy yet now in the 21 century this way of life has become in danger of extinction.

The lack of recruitment, the dwindling supply of those adventuresome young men wishing to live the life of a Wilderness Guide has indeed become the most ominous threat to a once stable way of life.

Non-hunting adventure seekers have now, in many regions, taken the place of the once steady stream of Big Game Hunters yet the serious lack of qualified Wilderness Guides sees even this industry in peril.

So many of Western Canada’s back country operators now rely on seasonal employees from around the globe to work as Back Country Guides and Horse Wranglers in order to continue to stay in operation. This is without doubt a double edged sword as many of those now employed as Wilderness Guides are nothing more than tourists’ themselves, sometimes knowing no more than those they lead.

Without proper education in Horsemanship and Wilderness travel today’s Guides and Wranglers are not only placing themselves at great risk, but those they are entrusted to accompany as well.

The “Big West Guide & Wrangler School” has been developed in order to help educate those who wish to seek employment in Western Canada’s hunting and non-hunting guiding industry. There is a high demand for trained Wilderness Guides and Horse Wranglers. There is a need for the “Big West Guide & Wrangler School” both here in Alberta and in Western Canada.

With over four hundred back country operators in Western Canada there is a great demand for a steady supply of qualified help, without a proper means of education the industry will most certainly always be under staffed.

Become a valuable employee to the hundreds of back country operators in Alberta and Western Canada by becoming a graduate of the “Big West Guide & Wrangler School”, a life of adventure and reward is waiting for you.

Study the art of wilderness horse packing while you’re learning how to handle a string of sturdy pack horses. Learn to master the art of tying the single and double diamond hitch, the basket hitch and the barrel loop. Show up at your new job as a Wilderness Guide or Horse Wrangler and be proud in your ability to handle yourself in even the most difficult of back country situations.

It is here at the “Big West Guide & Wrangler School” you can enjoy the challenges of learning the dying art wilderness survival and back country horsemanship from men who have spent decades mastering their skills.

A life of adventure and excitement awaits you; we’re just a “click” away….

Alberta’s “Big West Guide & Wrangler School”…..

Email us at   bigwestadventures@gmail.com

Escape into the Wilderness

Escape into the Wilderness

When is the last time you sat on a ridge top and listened to the sound of the wind whisper through the trees?

When was it you sat mesmerized by the slow dance of a campfire’s flames?

Can you recall the last time you heard the strike of a horse’s shod foot as he carried you across a creek high in the mountains?

The smells, the sounds and the sights of a wilderness adventure will linger forever within the confines of your mind, giving you escape from the hectic pace of a busy life when you most need it.

No ringing phone. No buzzing text messages. No emails demanding your attention. Only the sound of the wind, the smell of the pines, the warmth of a Southern slope’s afternoon sun. Peace and serenity. Escape.

With “Big West Adventures” you can experience Mother Nature’s touch without the hurried pace of a generic tourist trap. We cater not to the masses but to you, to your personal needs and desires. Striving to ensure you leave with only the fondest memories possible.

Share with us the ultimate in wilderness adventures. Whether it be from the back of a horse, a fully guided hiking adventure or a trek through Winter’s wonderland on a set of snowshoes “Big West Adventures” will create for you memories that will make you smile for years to come.

“Big West Adventures”…..we’re only a “click” away…..

Life as a guide

As I look back over the past 30 years of my life, years spent living the life of a wilderness guide and horseman, I search the depths of my soul for regrets and I find none.

My life in the mountains has been anything but easy. Broken bones, hardships and friends lost to an unforgiving wilderness yet I would not for one second change my course if I were given the power to do so. My life has been solid, unforgiving and real.

I have experienced the death of three of my fellow mountain men, men with whom I shared many a fire, men I called friend. I dealt with the loss of seventeen good horses over the years, good friends and companions each and every one yet it was the life we chose, it was the way we wanted it to be.

Snow storms and high water floods, grizzly bears, upside down horses and broken bones. We were men of a different breed, hard and calloused men who shared the hardships and laughter of a life few could understand. Men of the mountains.

I watch now as today’s youth, young women and men cease to exist as soon as their I-Phone loses service. Pants down around their butt cheeks, hats on sideways and faces decorated with such a variety of jewellery that they look like they stumbled and fell face first into their grandfather’s tackle box.

Adventure is a day trip to the mall where they stand in small herds of unknowing and unwilling souls who seem to lack any direction in life what so ever.

What will become of the way of life we the men of the mountains once shared? Who will dare to step foot off the ash fault and lead the few into the depths of Mother Nature’s bosom?

Horses, high country, rocky trails and river depths, who will know the ways of the wild if someone does not teach them, who will become the mountain men of today?

The double diamond, crow’s foot hitch and the barrel loop, only a handful of men even know what these things are any more and even fewer men have stayed in practice with the art of wilderness horse packing.

It wasn’t but a week ago I witnessed a group of gents bungee strap a lop-sided buddle of crap onto an unimpressed horse. I was amazed when I heard one of them use the phrase “Horse Packer” as they worked together to stretch the bungee strap an extra foot.

The world seems to be filling up with those who like to call themselves hunters yet I cannot actually remember seeing a recent photo of an elk on a pack horse, I have however seen the ridiculous display of three men abreast trying to drag a bull elk out of the bush with their poor unconditioned horses who were near collapse.

There will always be those who want to experience a true wilderness adventure, whether it be during a big game hunt or a family outing and there will always be the need for those who hold the knowledge and skills required to safely lead them through the difficulties of mountain travel. It is with this in mind the “Big West Guide and Wrangler School” was founded.

Let us not see our way of life as true mountain men and wilderness guides die, let us teach the youth of today the old ways, the way of the horse, the way of life in the back country.

Written by:

Ron Arnett
“A man from the wilderness”

Want to live the life of a Wilderness Guide    email us   bigwestadventures@gmail.com