Summer Intensive

The five-week SUMMER OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE is designed to introduce you to the full range of skills, activities, ideas, and perspectives that form the core of our leadership training process. In addition to providing training and skills in backpacking, rockclimbing, mountaineering, rafting and general wilderness travel--you will be exposed to our approach to building community in nature, celebrating natural events, tuning our energy and activities to the rhythms of the earth, and exploring issues of deep ecology and planetary healing.

You will begin with a short(4 to 6 day) MOUNTAIN BACKPACKING TRIP in which you will get to know the other member of your small group(4 to 8 members) and be introduced to wilderness travel, safety, and minimum impact("leave no trace") camping. Through shared adventure and earth bonding activities, we will begin to develop the spirit of the "clan" that will be together for the next month. The following two weeks will involve WHITEWATER RAFT TRAINING on the Class 3 to 5 whitewater of the Arkansas River and a CENTERED ROCKCLIMBING WORKSHOP to introduce our unique approach to climbing instruction and techniques for top-roping and multi-pitch climbing.

The fourth week of the course will include participation in parts of BREAKING THROUGH, a nine-day workshop designed to explore personal transformation, creating tribal community, and the use of natural ritual and ceremony. Through such activities as camping, climbing, rafting, peak ascents as well as time for tai chi, meditation, group dialogue, drumming, chanting and singing, we form strong bonds of mutual appreciation and support. Intensive participants will be encouraged to assume leadership roles and coach others in new learning while connecting with a larger "tribe. After this interlude, intensive participants will spend a short period on an ALPINE MOUNTAINEERING EXPEDITION with a focus on route finding and peak ascents in the Sangre de Cristo Range.

The final component of the course is the MOUNTAIN QUEST, similiar to our Canyon Quests, a personal "vision quest" and "rite of passage" where participants take time for solitude and intense personal exploration within a ritual context. Through this seeking of vision in a sacred wild place, you can return to the group and prepare to re-enter day-to-day life with renewed energy and commitment.

Each participant must provide their own personal equipment and arrange travel to the course and between segments of the course. There is usually a short break between segments to rest and recover. The cost of the course includes all food for the five weeks, except for days off and while traveling. Each applicant must submit a personal statement of experience and goals along with our application and $300 deposit.

SUMMER OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE

The SUMMER OUTDOOR LEADERSHIP INTENSIVE consists of intensive outdoor learning experiences designed to provide participants with a broad range of skills such as wilderness backpacking, technical rockclimbing, whitewater rafting, and alpine mountaineering. While none of these sessions provide sufficient experience to lead groups, they allow each participant to explore their interest and talent for these activities and receive strong grounding in safety procedures and techniques. The later segments of the course allow participants to bring this training into a larger program, practice skills and leadership, and take part in a time of reflection and reconsideration of future directions.

The first segment, a MOUNTAIN BACKPACKING EXPEDITION, will provide orientation and training in wilderness travel, minimum impact camping, and our leadership training process. It will provide an opportunity to acclimate to higher elevation, check out clothing and equipment, learn to navigate by map, select routes, use stoves, cook, and monitor water, nutrition, weather, and waste. The emphasis will be on defining goals, building group process, organization and planning.

The next segment will involve WHITEWATER RAFT TRAINING on the Arkansas River where participants will learn to crew a paddle raft, read a river, and have the opportunity to captain a boat and do basic river rescue. The course then moves into a CENTERED ROCKCLIMBING SEMINAR where participants will be introduced to the use of ropes, belays, anchors, and the techniques for climbing slabs, faces and cracks. We will create a safe and sound approach for each person to proceed at his or her own pace. Our internal approach to climbing emphasizes awareness, breathing, balance and centering rather than strength and struggle.

The program will culminate with brief participation in BREAKING THROUGH with an opportunity to share skills with and coach others in new learning while taking part in a larger wilderness community with people of all ages and backgrounds. The program will then move into an intense ALPINE MOUNTAINEERING EXPEDITION to practice routefinding in the mountains and explore roped ascents of high alpine peaks in Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Range. This will be followed by our MOUNTAIN QUEST, a "rite of passage" and transition back into the larger world. This experience allows participants to reflect on their experience throughout the course and, through a three day "solo fast," carefully consider future directions and commitments.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Participants are responsible for getting to the start of the program in southern Colorado and to the locations for the different segments of the course(pick-up and carpooling is possible and encouraged).

Food and group equipment will be furnished during all segments of the course but participants should be prepared to go out for a meal at their own expense when the group is car camping for climbing or rafting. After each segment, participants will have a night to go to a nearby town for meals, cleanup, lodging, supplies, or to use a phone.

Our approach to safety and responsibility during the program is governed by our Full Value/No Discount Agreement as described by our Guidelines for a Personal Growth-Wilderness Experience which will be sent with confirmation. Essentially, we ask each participant to monitor and share responsibility for his/her own safety and well-being during the course and to engage with the group in a process of mutual support and interdependence. Participants are encouraged to ask questions, make choices about participation in specific activities, follow safety guidelines provided by instructors, and share responses and insights.

Diverse approaches and perspectives on wilderness, learning, and community will be presented and participants are encouraged to be open to new ideas and actively engage in dialogue. Ceremonies and rituals will be used to celebrate accomplishments and explore the connection between humans and the natural world.

Application to the program requires a personal statement of interest and goals, listing of prior experience, statement of medical and dietary concerns, and good physical condition(or a plan to prepare for the course).