The skills you will take back

My idea is simple: take people into the wilderness for an extended period of time, teach them the right things, feed them well and when they walk out of the mountains, they will be skilled leaders. The core of this idea is the extended expedition, one of sufficient length, in which, a person can learn and practice the skills over and over again.

To me, learning skills is at the very heart of all our programs. People who sign up on programs with us know that they are going to learn - really learn - the skills they need.

Providing the necessary instructions, the tools and the freedom to practice and use what you learn are at the root of our programs. After an Above 14000ft program, our participants have the skills to be competent, responsible wilderness travelers and leaders long after their program is over.

Here are some of the skills you will learn on all our programs:

Leadership and Teamwork
· "Expedition Behavior," including tolerance for adversity, hard work, communication, vision and action
· Judgement and decision making
· Student expeditions
· Team building
· Problem solving
· Self-confidence
· Motivating others
· Competence
· Self-awareness

Outdoor Skills
· Route-finding and navigation, including map and compass use
· Campsite selection
· Cooking skills
· Sanitation and waste disposal
· Ration planning
· Equipment care and selection
· Staying warm and dry
· Wilderness injury prevention and treatment
· Hazard evaluation
· Emergency procedures and rescue techniques

Environmental Studies
· Leave No Trace camping and resource protection
· Field natural history: plant and animal identification, weather, astronomy, geology and snow science
· Wilderness ethics and practices for everyday life

Mountaineering Courses
· Knots and rope handling
· Belaying, signals and rappelling
· Protection placement and natural and artificial anchor building
· Hazard evaluation
· Climbing movement

Snow and Ice Climbing
· Ice-axe use
· Self-arrest techniques
· Technical snow and ice climbing
· Crampon use
· Peak ascents

Glacier Travel
· Roped glacier travel
· Camping on glaciers
· Crevasse rescue
· Fixed line ascension

Backpacking
· Off-trail navigation
· Extra emphasis on topographic map and compass use
· Independent student group travel
· River crossings
· Building tyrolean traverses
· Pack fitting, adjustment and care