About CO | Rafting | Hiking | Multi-Sport | Custom | Guides | Schedule & Pricing | Reservations | Links | Contact | Site Map

Alaska Tour Guides and
Wilderness Adventure Outfitters

Alaska River Rafting Guides and Professional Adventure Tour Specialists

Copper Oar river rafting and adventure tour guides know and love Alaska. We also love sharing this great place with an Alaska outfitter's style and approach that is founded in safety and your absolute enjoyment. We invite you to meet a few of our guides here. We also suggest that you get to know them in their natural evironment: on a river or trail in the heart of the Alaskan wilderness!

Co-Owner Gaia Marrs (right) grew up in the Kennicott Valley and has spent her whole life rafting, hiking, sledding, skiing and dogsledding through the surrounding wilderness. Her first time down the Kennicott, Nizina and Chitina Rivers was at age two, riding in the bail bucket at the front of the raft. Gaia has been leading river trips in the Wrangells for eight years, and was a participant in these adventures for many years before that. She is happiest behind the oars, with many days of wild river stretching out ahead and a new group of adventurers to share in the journey. Whether on the other end of a telephone, behind the desk, or on the river, Gaia is committed to helping you experience the wilderness journey you are looking for.

Co-Owner Wayne Marrs (left) first came to McCarthy, Alaska in 1998 and fell in love with the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. His passion for the outdoors is only matched by his desire to share that experience with others. Wayne's true passion is discovery. He has been rafting, climbing and trekking throughout the world, including Myanmar, Uganda, Jordan, Indonesia and Nicaragua to name a few of his more obscure adventures. His favorite river run - the headwaters of the Nile, where one rapid has been gauged at 1.2 million cubic feet per second! Wayne is also the owner of St. Elias Alpine Guides, an Alaska mountain climbing company also located in McCarthy, Alaska.

Howard Mozen (right) is the founder of Copper Oar and still leads trips. Both of his hands are quite full these days as two lil' Mozens now roam the Alaska wilds. However, he continues to guide Alaska adventures out of his love for the wilderness and desire to share it with you. His knowledge of the flora and fauna is exhaustive, as is his willingness to share a laugh. We highly recommend hiking or rafting with Howard!

Tim Riedel (left) is the former manager of Copper Oar and the most courteous and enthusiastic flight attendent Alaska Airlines has ever known. If you don't get lucky enough to catch him serving peanuts on your way into Anchorage, come on a river trip with him and experience his passion for life and love of the wilderness first-hand. Tim has been guiding river trips since he was 18 years old and is truly a master of the art. His attention to detail, generosity in caring for people, and in-depth knowledge of the history and natural history of the area make him one of the premier guides with which to share the journey of a life-time.

Mark Vail (right) is the absolute master of local knowledge and wisdom. Ask him a natural history question and you're liable to be an expert on the subject within ten minutes! He homesteaded his plot of land overlooking the Nizina River over 20 years ago, and has been living off the land there ever sense. Many of the vegetables for our multi-day river trips come from his amazing garden and when he's along to cook them, it's even better! Although Mark rarely leaves the Copper River Valley, his gracious nature and kind, caring demenor rivals that of the best hosts on earth. As if that weren't enough, Mark's stories are the highlight of many a trip - hours often pass by around the campfire with everyone enthralled by his tales.

Carleton Lane (left) always wears a hat. Probably because the hats usually look better than the hair underneath. On a cold day he can often be found shamelessly wearing a blue fleece hat with snowflakes; on a rainy day it's the red wide-brim, and on warmer days he alternates between baseball caps displaying the company logos. Despite the bad hair, Carleton is a fantastic guide with experience leading backpacking, climbing and rafting trips throughout the country. For his fifth summer in the Wrangell Mountains, you may find Carleton rowing a raft or scaling an ice-wall, but always he will have that mellow, contagious grin on his face and a hat of some sort perched on his noggin.

Photo by Steve Crum

Nik "Animal" Merlino (right) loves Alaska. That's why he moved here from the canyons of the desert Southwest to work for us. It only took one summer before he purchased a piece of land, and now he's here to stay, much to our excitement. Nik is not only river guide extraordinaire, but gear manager at Copper Oar, making sure our equipment is always in top condition so your trip goes as smoothly as possible. On the river, you can look forward to his deep, gravelly voice, finely crafted stories and contagious good cheer.

Photo by Steve Crum

Matthew Emht (left) grew up canoeing on the scenic rivers of the Ozarks. After years of sea kayaking and river running, he is now a student of the cold, high volume rivers of Alaska. "The rivers up here offer an intimate glimpse of true untouched wilderness with an amazing level of comfort and security" says Matthew. "The dutch ovens and fat coolers are a pretty sweet part of rafting up here." Lately Matthew has been discovering the advantages and possabilities of pack rafting. "Pack rafting is giving me a new perspective on wilderness travel as well as a fair bit of practice swimming."

"Alina and I wanted to let you know that the rafting trip we did was the highlight of our break in Alaska... we truly enjoyed the remoteness and beauty. A significant part of the success of this trip was due to our tremendous guides, Kevin and Matthew... I hope that they will remain with your company for many years - since they will give other customers the same great experience as they have given us."
-N. Pfaf, Alaska River Journey Guest, August 2006

Kevin Ewing (right) has had the good fortune of exploring places pleasingly thin on people for over three decades, thanks to growing up in a family that has been adventuring for four generations. Alaska has been Kevin's home for over six years now and he counts a three week solo river trip in the Arctic Refuge and running the Nizina River from its headwaters as two of his favorite river adventures. "Whitewater is fun," says Kevin, "but my biggest grins come from spotting charasmatic megafauna along the banks of the Copper River and hearing folks say that they wish their trip was longer." Kevin is thrilled every time to share his in-depth knowledge of this amazing landscape with his river guests and we are know that you will enjoy his good natured charm and attention to each and every detail of your trip.

Susan Clement (left) A true multi-purpose guide, Susan is equally comfortable on land and water. She has rowed and guided on rivers throughout the US, including the Ocoee in TN, the Chattooga in SC, the Rogue in OR, the Green, the Middle Fork of the Salmon, and the Grand Canyon. Susan's other love (bordering on obsession) is skiing, which she practices throughout the Waasatch Range which she calls home. She has also done a number of ski mountaineering descents in teh Cascades and Canadian Rockes, in addition to having climbed Mt. Rainier. Susan also enjoys rock climbing, hiking, baking, backpacking and canyoneering and is just a fun, outdoorsy kinda gal.

Julian Hanna (right) was meant to be a river guide from day one. Like many before him, Alaska's vast wilderness lured Julian from his native state of California to experience all that the great North had to offer. Having grown up with the Sierras/Yosemite in his backyard and the Pacific Ocean in the front, Julian split his time between surfing and snowboarding. His travels have taken him all across the eastern Sierras in search of the perfect line, and all the way from Costa Rica to the Hawaiian Islands looking for the perfect wave. Recently, Jules decided that to be a truly well-rounded outdoorsman, the mountains and oceans just weren't enough, and he dedicated himself to learning the rivers. Naturally, he is a natural. Not only is he skilled at navigation and the "hard skills" of the job, but also at being one of most laid-back, fun-loving, enthusiastic members of our team. Oh, and make sure he brings his guitar, because a river trip goes from great to greater when you hear his sweet voice and soulful strumming reaching out along the river bank.

Leo Durand (left) has guided on rivers in the Pacific  Northwest, Alaska, Scandinavia, and Latin America since the mid-1980's. Whether rowing through class V maelstroms or floating scenic class II waters, Leo's whitewater guide experiences have enabled him to become one of the premier adventure guides on earth. But, as with all those who have shared wilderness adventures with him, we know that what makes Leo sooooo special is his unmatched kindness, consideration, and virtuoso guitar and ukulele playing. Leo truly is one of the most accommodating and gracious people you will ever meet. And mellow. Perhaps this comes in part from the idyllic life he has created for himself: a chef in Hawaii in the winter and gourmet river guide in the summer.

"Thanks for running such a great trip. The only trip we have to compare to this one was a run down the Colorado river. We really enjoyed that trip and thought our guides there were great-until we met Rick and Leo and realized how much better these guys are. Leo and Rick are clearly tops in their profession."
--R. Millard, Copper River Guest, 2003

Kate Wollney is often called the "Queen of the River" due to over a dozen years of experience in caring for people on remote river corridors all over the western United States. She is an absolute expert when it comes to making your wilderness adventure as comfortable as possible, and always takes the time to add the extra details to make sure her guests are perfectly taken care of. Kate has many gourmet river recipes in her back pocket, and when it comes to the kitchen she doesn't mess around. If you have the good-fortune to go on an Alaskan Adventure with Kate, we are sure that you will come away knowing that you truly had one of the best guides you could imagine.

Rick Petter loves remote Alaska. He has a home on the isolated cliffs above the Nizina river, near the metropolis of McCarthy, population 18 in the winter. Rick’s love for this great land is apparent on every trip he leads. Also apparent are his great sense of humor, unlimited store of Alaska knowledge, and attention to detail that results in exceptionally fun, educational, and rewarding Alaska guided wilderness adventures. And, as if all this weren't enough, wait until you eat some of Rick's cooking. Emeril, et al don't hold a candle to Rick's finely seasoned grub.

Why Choose Copper Oar?

For employment opportunities, click here.