Who we are
Orange Torpedo Trips (OTT) is a leader in the outdoor adventure community. We guide our family of adventurous clients on unique and thrilling active river-running vacations to some of the world’s most beautiful waterways. With paddle in hand or on foot, our travelers gain a sense of personal accomplishment in pushing past their own fears or limitations. These experiences challenge our guests physically, build confidence, encourage collegiality and introspection, build respect for nature, create lasting bonds with families and friends, and inspire memories to last a lifetime.
Where we are headed
As OTT journeys towards our 6th decade, we will continue to honor the foundation which has brought us this far: our belief that we have a unique opportunity to help people love rivers and commit to regular pilgrimages throughout their lives. This comes from a culture where our teams consider time at OTT as more than a job, a commitment to see river-running as a way of life and their colleagues and guests as family. This lifestyle and passion is reflected in the way we treat our guests, instilling in them the same love for rivers that we have ourselves.
Going forward, we will continue to offer the incredible experiences which have historically been our cornerstone while also pursuing new adventures with the goal of opening the shores of rivers to more people. Our goal is to expand our Idaho operation to mirror the established and community-centered operation we have in Oregon. We are also exploring a number of international destinations where we will regularly offer annual trips.
Finally, OTT aspires to become a company eliminating both the gender gap and race gap seen in the outdoor industry. We are actively building a staff where women and minorities are encouraged, serving in all levels and in equal numbers to their white-male counterparts. We believe diversity makes us stronger and equality makes us better so our goal is to be an industry leader in this pursuit
History
The unique personality of Orange Torpedo Trips comes from our history as explorers of new places and new types of boats. We are who we are today because we started a little different then the rest and have always prided ourselves on staying that way.
The history of Orange Torpedo Trips starts in the late 1960s, with adventurer and entrepreneur Jerry Bentley on the Rogue River. Jerry saw some little inflatable kayaks and the potential they had for creating great memories on the river. A couple exploration runs with his family, and he was convinced of the idea. After a year of working to persuade Seyvlor (the boat manufacturer) that it was a good idea, in 1969, Jerry was on his way.
In the early years, Jerry worked with the initial guides to perfect the guiding style and maximize guest safety in the inflatable kayaks. These were adventuresome years, when the sport of rafting as we know it today was young and still considered by many risky; add to this the adventure of inflatable kayaks, and this was an exciting time. As the years passed, Jerry expanded from just the Rogue River to operate on rivers all over the West Coast of the U.S.
Eventually Jerry decided it was time to retire from the commercial rafting business, and the company was purchased by Don Stevens. Don continued to expand the company and the trip offerings. These were shining years in the history of the company, when OTT expanded and established a level of professionalism that has set us apart ever since. Don also expanded to establish our partner equipment rental and retail business, White Water Cowboys.
The company has moved on from those days and is now owned by a former guide who is passionate about staying true to OTT’s history as a river pioneer and inflatable kayak outfitter while also continuing to explore new trips, new river crafts, and run the best family river adventures anywhere. Continuing our spirit of adventure just completed the first guided inflatable kayak trip of the Sun Kosi River in Nepal in 2013. Going forward we look forward to sharing memories of years past with old friends and creating new ones with new families and adventurers.