Lou Elliott, founder of ARTA – 1906-1986?
Lou founded ARTA in 1963, originally beginning by taking Sierra Club groups on trips (guides were often very young, some only 16 or 17, but that was part of the spirit then). Lou and his close friend Bryce Whitmore, both kayakers who were part of the Sierra Club’s kayaking section, were the earliest outfitters on the Stanislaus River. By the early 1970s, ARTA was one of the very largest river companies, with rafting operations in California, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Idaho and elsewhere, including some international trips – hundreds of guides grew up with ARTA and a number of them moved off to start other river companies. ARTA (a nonprofit, but also with a for-profit arm) was the only company that had a person full time working on conservation (David Kay) as well as marketing – most companies back then were just a handful of employees, other than the guides. Lou’s children were involved as well, with son Rob leading ARTA for a time and then taking over the Grand Canyon operation, which became AzRA. Read more about Lou in a great 2005 interview with Rob here.
Date uploaded: Oct 30, 2018
Date last modified: Sep 27, 2024