Leadership Challenge is our 34-day summer adventure travel expedition that trains future leaders and outdoor adventurers in the wilderness. Join us as we rock climb Squamish, North America's premier rock climbing site, learn ice and snow mountaineering techniques in the Cascades, and backpack the wilds of Olympic National Park. Along the way, we pick up our wilderness first responder certification while receiving instruction in hard and soft leadership skills. Click on Read More to learn more about our summer adventure leadership program where we take the traditional idea of camp and improve on the model with this program designed with the engaged teenager interested in leadership in mind.

As weather shapes mountains, challenge shapes leaders. Being a wilderness expedition leader is a very rewarding job — it allows you the opportunity to work in the outdoors and share your love of adventure with others. Being an effective expedition leader requires knowledge of both technical wilderness skills and group management skills. With that in mind, this trip is designed with a specific purpose — to train and prepare our future leaders.

Leadership development is ultimately self-development. The Leadership Challenge is a personal challenge. On this 34-day course, we encourage and support one another in an ambitious exploration of leadership and group dynamics.

We begin our adventure in Seattle and head north of the border to Squamish, British Columbia. There we begin our journey with an overview of the expedition skills necessary to plan and execute a successful wilderness adventure, including trip planning, packing, food preparation, route charting, personal and group safety. Squamish, a seaside mountain community located on Howe Sound, provides the perfect backdrop for the first portion of our trip. Home to some of the best rock climbing in North America, the granite cliffs surrounding Squamish are our classroom for four days.  We learn the fundamentals of rock safety, climbing technique, belaying and rappelling before moving on to more advanced instruction in setting up climbs, placing rock protection and building top rope anchors.

Our next eight days are spent in a fast-paced, hands-on Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course. This is a nationally recognized 72-hour curriculum that includes standards for urban and extended care situations. Special topics include but are not limited to: wound management and infection, realigning fractures and dislocations, improvised splinting techniques, patient monitoring, long-term management solutions and information on all environmental emergencies. Emphasis is placed on prevention and decision-making, not the memorization of lists, and the learning is experiential hands-on and fun. The course is designed to provide us with the tools to make critical medical and evacuation decisions in remote locations, and we find that the knowledge we gain can be applied in everyday situations as well. We complete realistic case studies and scenarios to challenge our decision-making abilities, culminating in a final practical scenario and a formal test each individual must pass for certification. A Heartsaver BLS Adult CPR course is also included.

Prepared with our Wilderness First Responder knowledge, we move to North Cascades National Park, where we develop ice and snow mountaineering skills while surrounded by ancient volcanoes punctuating the skyline. The 10,000-foot peaks give way to near sea level valleys and glaciers clinging to the sides of foreboding slopes. For the next five days, we learn safety and evacuation procedures, technical ice climbing skills, crevasse rescue, route finding, running and hanging belays, leading on ice and hazard assessment. We learn the art of setting top ropes and anchors as we make our way toward the summit pyramid of Mt. Shuksan.
For our next challenge, we move to Olympic National Park and tackle the Skyline Ridge — North Fork Quinault Loop. The next nine days are spent in the backcountry perfecting our skills as wilderness trip leaders. We hike both on and off trail in this rugged wilderness area, practicing route finding, working with a map and compass and learning backcountry health and safety protocols. Our attention is also focused on sustainability and the environment, as we discuss and practice the principles of Leave No Trace wilderness ethics. Along the way, we spend time discussing group dynamics and the interpersonal skills needed to work effectively with groups of people in the wilderness. To complete our journey, we reflect on our personal experience in solitude as we spend a one and a half-day solo in the wilderness of Washington. The final days are ours to explore as a group and a team. Much has changed by the time we complete this epic adventure — so what’s next after Leadership Challenge? A summer internship with The Road Less Traveled, perhaps?

Settling In

Arrival in Seattle; program orientation; transfer to Squamish, British Columbia.

Our Adventure

Four days rock climbing in Squamish; eight day Wilderness First Responder certification course; six day ice and snow mountaineering on Mt. Shuksan in North Cascades National Park; nine day backpacking section in Olympic National Park; individual and group solos; leadership curriculum.

El Fin

Final banquet; transfer to Seattle; homeward bound.

Wilderness Solo: Both Individual and Group