David Anderson
Find new challenges rock climbing in the mountains. On this course, you’ll dive into learning leadership and rock climbing in one of the United States’ premier mountain ranges for climbing. You’ll start by backpacking deep into Wyoming’s Wind River mountains, where you’ll set up a base camp and learn the basics of outdoor living.
As you begin the climbing skills progression, you will learn and practice skills like tying knots, belaying, and placing climbing protection. As the course progresses, you may move into more advanced skills, like lead climbing and vertical rescue. On the days when you don’t climb, explore the area’s clear lakes and forests of lodgepole pine, learning about local ecology and human history. Whether you’re new to rock climbing or are excited to take knowledge you already have to the mountains, this course will give you plenty of opportunities to grow.
Leadership skills will be a key part of this course from the beginning. Taking on different leadership roles each day will help you develop skills like self leadership, communication, and decision making. Your experiences on the rock and living with your group in the outdoors will help you discover your unique leadership style. At the end of this course, you’ll walk away with experiences that will prepare you to be a leader, no matter where you find yourself.
“While I learned many skills that are important for success in rock climbing and the outdoors in general, the most valuable take away from this course were the relationships I have forged and the confidence I have to take on a leadership role in not only the outdoors but in other aspects of my personal and professional life. During my course, I learned how to create an environment where communication between an entire group leads to effective and positive decisions. I learned how taking into account individual differences can lead to different dynamics in cooperation.”