RINCONADA, N.M. -- COVID-19 has some businesses looking ahead to the fall and winter to hopefully make up for lost sales. However, some seasonal jobs, like whitewater rafting, rely on summer success, and it appears many throughout the Southwest are all stuck in the same boat.
“It’s been a stressful season, you know? It’s hard, not only following all the protocols and trying to keep people safe, but just knowing that there’s risk in all of this," Matthew Gontram, owner of New Mexico River Adventures, told Fox News."There’s risk every time you leave your house.”
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Like many others, Gontram's business has hit rough waters, losing out on most of its season and sales because of the coronavirus. “We’re running at about 25% of our capacity. We are the largest river company in New Mexico and we’re right around 25%.”
New Mexico River Adventures, located along the Rio Grande, managed to squeeze in a few days of business when the season opened in March, before closing until June.
“We were surprised we opened, honestly. We were very surprised. You know, Texas and Oklahoma and Arizona and some other states had opened two weeks before us, right before Memorial Day. And as June 1 came up, it was really last minute and we were surprised. Furthermore, we were surprised that the governor didn’t choose to shut us down,” said Grontram.
A few miles south, over at Santa Fe Rafting Co., the sudden reopening in June meant they didn’t have time to hire new staff.
“By the time we got the OK, to get open … [conditions were] ready to put people on the river, so there was no time for trainings,” said owner Jared McClure.
By working with rafting companies across the southwest, the business came up with a reopening plan. A plan which included limiting shuttle capacity to 50%, keeping it to one raft per family, cleaning every piece of equipment and then setting that equipment aside for 48 hours.
“It was really fun to reconnect with a lot of old friends and outfitters from different states all over the country and see what everybody was doing and really work together. Because we had to, we didn’t have a choice. And to really come up with a way we can make this all work as safely as possible,” said Grontram.
Rafting companies say they’re still seeing a high amount of interest, as people want to head outdoors.
“Our numbers are probably at about 30-40% of what we typically do in a season… We have been able to get a lot of locals out, which is awesome,” said McClure.
“It’s really nice to see people taking a lot of proper steps and precautions to slow the spread,” added rafter Alexander Thomas.
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There are similar rafting protocols in Colorado, but in Texas, the activity is flat-out banned. And over in Arizona, rafting is OK, but tubing rentals are off-limits.
“I’ve never gone whitewater rafting. I just wanted to go out and experience something new with my friends…just being cooped up inside has been really tough, so you know, anything you can do to be with friends and family and stuff is just really nice,” said Thomas.
Although they’re working with a limited capacity and a shortened season, New Mexico rafters say they’re thankful to be back on the water.
“I have never seen our public lands more full of people in vehicles and travelers, visitors, hikers, rafters, whatnot… than these last few months," said Grontram. "I mean, people are spending time outside, and whitewater rafting is a great way to get your adrenaline fix, and go out and see our beautiful natural resources,” said Grontram.