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Photograph (above) taken by Bill Bjornstad

Program Overview

Location
F Colorado Rockies
Start Location
Denver, CO
End Location
Leadville, CO
Certifications
Wilderness First Aid
Program
Pathfinder
Length
30 Days
Expeditions
Backpacking
Leadership Intensive
Service Intensive
Activities
Alpine Backpacking, Ropes Course, Service, Base Camp

Skills

Technical
  • Basic First Aid
  • Campcraft
  • Food Preparation and Cooking
  • Knots
  • Map and Compass
  • Navigation
  • Safety and Risk Management
  • Self Care
  • Travel Techniques
Interpersonal
  • Character
  • Communication
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving
  • Responsibility
  • Self Awareness
  • Self Confidence
  • Service

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Pathfinder Colorado Rockies Alpine Backpacking

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Discover your strengths and learn skills that will shape your future on this 30-day alpine backpacking expedition.

Learn about backcountry expedition techniques including teamwork, navigation and backcountry living skills. Work with your new team to attempt a peak ascent and learn about each other and yourself. Depending on conditions and terrain, you may learn to use more advanced and specialized gear and techniques to assist in your travel. Head to the Arkansas Valley on a service expedition where you’ll explore the relationship between self and community and gain firsthand knowledge of the people and area. The course culminates with a Wilderness First Aid certification class. 

Pathfinder courses focus on leadership skills such as communication, collaboration, decision-making and conflict resolution; skills you can fall back on in many situations throughout life.

NOTE: Outward Bound strongly recommends that all students be vaccinated against COVID-19 and up to date as defined by the CDC prior to arriving to their course start. For all open enrollment courses beginning on or after April 15, 2023, Outward Bound will no longer require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19. For questions regarding this policy please see this page or call us at 866-467-7651. 

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Program Overview

Location
F Colorado Rockies
Start Location
Denver, CO
End Location
Leadville, CO
Certifications
Wilderness First Aid
Program
Pathfinder
Length
30 Days
See More Details
Expeditions
Backpacking
Leadership Intensive
Service Intensive
Activities
Alpine Backpacking, Ropes Course, Service, Base Camp

Skills

Technical
  • Basic First Aid
  • Campcraft
  • Food Preparation and Cooking
  • Knots
  • Map and Compass
  • Navigation
  • Safety and Risk Management
  • Self Care
  • Travel Techniques
Interpersonal
  • Character
  • Communication
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving
  • Responsibility
  • Self Awareness
  • Self Confidence
  • Service

UPCOMING COURSES

This course is closed for the season.

APPLY NOW
This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.

APPLY NOW – Almost Full
This means there are three or fewer currently available spots left on a course. To secure your spot click Apply Now to begin an application!

JOIN WAITLIST
Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist positions become available. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. A $500 deposit is required. This $500 deposit includes a $150 non-refundable application fee and a $350 tuition payment. The $350 tuition payment is refundable only if you cancel your waitlist application or if an open position does not become available. If a position does become available, the applicant will be applied to the open position and the Application and Cancellation Policies of the Regional Outward Bound School will be followed, including forfeiture of the $500 deposit if you cancel 90 days or less prior to the course start date. 

Waitlist applicants are encouraged to complete all required admissions documents while awaiting an open position. Positions may become available up to two weeks prior to the course start date. Applicants may only apply to one course. We recommend applying to a course with open positions instead of a course that is accepting waitlist applications. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.

CALL TO APPLY
This means a course is very close to its start date. Although it is unlikely to secure a spot this late, you can call the National Admissions office at 866-467-7651 to discuss your options.

COURSE IS FULL
When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.

CLOSED
As a course nears its start date, the availability status may read “Closed.” In this event, a course roster has been finalized and applications are no longer being accepted or processed.

Sample Itinerary
DAY1
Course start
DAY2-6
Training Expedition/Backpacking; Curriculum includes: self-awareness, awareness of others, basic navigation, basic first aid, backcountry living, basic leadership, basic team decision making, Outward Bound history and philosophy
DAY7-8
Service projects and high ropes
DAY9-17
Main Expedition – peak attempt and Solo; Curriculum includes: advanced navigation, advanced decision making, summit strategies, time management, peer leadership, conflict resolution, introspection and reflection
DAY18-19
Wilderness First Aid Course
DAY20-28
Final Expedition as a group
DAY29
Challenge Event, course end celebration
DAY30
Departure home

There is not a week that goes by that Max doesn't share a funny story, an uncomfortable situation or an incredible experience from Outward Bound. He is more confident in the outdoors and has a love of nature like never before. He's not afraid to try new things and meet people who are very different than he is.

— Rebecca
We Accept 529 College Savings Plans

Most College Savings Plans, including the 529 College Savings Plan, may be used to attend an Outward Bound expedition, thanks to a partnership with Western Colorado University. Anyone can register – you do not have to be a current Western Colorado University student. Registration is easy! Click here to learn more. 

Pathfinder Courses

Sometimes the noise of daily life makes it difficult to know what we really want, to set clear goals for ourselves, and to forge a path forward. Here’s your reset button. Our Pathfinder expeditions are designed to support students in increasing self-knowledge and awareness, improving goal-setting and decision-making processes, and developing perseverance and self-efficacy. As in the field, so in life: challenge yourself to dream big, then identify your steps to get there and start moving. We’ll put the map in your hands. You chart your path. 

  • Build skills, form connections: Learn and practice wilderness, teamwork, adaptability and leadership skills. Participants will have the opportunity to chart a path and pursue it with their own motivation as extra fuel.
  • Value strengths and strengthen values: Resiliency to recover from set-backs is a treasured and useful skill that will play a part in any Pathfinder expedition. Participants will explore answers to their most pressing questions about what they value, where their strengths lie and what direction their lives will take next.
  • Demonstrate mastery: As students gain confidence in new skills, they will take on more leadership and decision-making responsibilities and gain a deeper understanding of who they are as individuals. The entire crew will work together and individually to achieve goals, solve problems and succeed.
  • What you’ll learn: After spending 30 days in the wilderness, you’ll have mastered multiple outdoor skills and you’ll know what it takes to traverse mountain passes, climb the steepest cliffs and successfully navigate the challenges of the natural world around you. You’ll discover more about your true self and what you want to achieve, how you overcome setbacks and, most importantly, how to move forward to reach important milestones.

Return home after broadening your horizons, learning how to adapt to new environments and trying untested possibilities, with an action plan for the future. With newfound leadership potential, self-awareness, and problem-solving skills, you’ll be ready for your next big step.

Backpacking
A group of people wearing backpacks hike on a grassy strip of land between two small bodies of water. Their images are reflected in the body of water in the foreground.
Photo courtesy of Brian Litz
A group of people carrying backpacks and wearing safety gear hike along a rocky ridge with blue skies above.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
A person jumps off a rock into a body of water.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
A group of people wearing safety gear make their way up a rocky landscape.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
A group of people wearing backpacks pose for a photo in green mountainous valley.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
A person wearing safety gear stands atop a rocky summit in front of snow-capped mountains. Behind them, more people are making their way up to the summit.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
A white mountain goat stands on a grassy incline.
Photo courtesy of Hannah Trim
A group of students pose for a photo in front of a small body of water that is surrounded by green grass.
Photo courtesy of Ian McConnell
A group of people wearing backpacks hike in a line in front of a body of water in a mountainous landscape.
Two people stand near a tarp shelter that is resting beside a body of water. I light dusting of snow is covering the landscape.

Backpackers carry everything they need - food, shelter, clothing and gear – allowing them to go deep into the wilderness where few people go. Students feel a sense of freedom from deadlines and task lists as they grow accustomed to eating when hungry, setting up camp when tired and having complete control over what they accomplish each day. The simplicity of hiking gives students the opportunity to focus internally on their own thoughts and self-reliance, as well as externally to connect deeply with others as they talk, sing, play games and spend time together without distraction.

This course will begin with lessons in basic travel and camping techniques. Along the way, students learn Leave No Trace techniques, map and compass navigation and camp craft as they get a feel for the human and natural history of the area. Students backpack along valleys and long ridges, camp in basins with views of the top of the world and stop along the way to explore microclimates and alpine ecosystems. Students spend time in an incredible area, sleep under the stars, feel the sunshine on their face and maybe watch a few sunsets over this magical landscape.

The expedition includes at least one peak attempt. Peak attempts are major enterprises and typically require early morning starts and take all day to complete. Weather or other factors including group dynamics and physical ability may preclude even an attempt to ascend a peak.

Wilderness First Aid

Students will participate in a 16-hour Wilderness First Aid class. Students will learn how to manage injuries/illnesses in the backcountry, setting them up for safe and self-reliant expeditions in the future. This certification, which includes CPR, is the entry level standard for work in wilderness settings.

Service
One student uses a saw on a piece of wood while two others brace it.
Photo courtesy of Griff Jones
Two people smile at the camera while posing with a llama.
Photo courtesy of Griff Jones

Participants follow Leave No Trace ethics as service to the environment and do acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Students develop a value of service, seeing the impact of their actions firsthand and transfer this desire to serve their communities back home. Past projects have included working on a goat farm, building trails, cleaning trash and debris from natural spaces, working with a local community garden, and removing invasive species.

Solo

In order for profound learning to take place, there must be time to reflect on the experience. Solo is that opportunity, and can range anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours or more, depending on course length and type, as well as the competency and preparedness of the student group. Weather and time permitting, the Solo experience provides an important break from the rigors of the expedition and gives students the opportunity to reflect on their Outward Bound experience. Many students use this reflection time to make decisions about their future, journal and enjoy the beauty of their surroundings unencumbered by the constant external stimulation of modern life. With all the food, skills and supplies they need, students are given a secluded spot to reflect alone and are monitored by staff throughout the. Students find that Solo provokes profound and powerful learning in a short period of time and often becomes one of the most memorable parts of an Outward Bound experience.

Outcomes

Whether an 8-day course or an 80 day course, all Outward Bound expeditions are focused on building character and leadership skills. Short courses are a great option for students looking for an introduction to the outdoors or for those who need a quick recharge. On shorter courses, students learn camping and expedition basics, as well as the skills specific to the course activity, such as climbing or rafting. Students get to know fellow crew mates surprisingly well as they share this immersive and intense experience.

On longer courses, Instructors progressively hand over more of the decision making and leadership of the expedition to the crew, allowing each person to test the new technical and interpersonal skills they have learned. Through the dynamics of an evolving group setting, students have more freedom to investigate who they are and how they want to develop personally. All along the way, students will experience a wide variety of some of the most beautiful wilderness in the US and the world.

Course Area
The sky appears in soft shades of pink, purple and orange as the sun sets or rises on a mountainous landscape
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
A vast mountainous landscape rests under a blue sky. There are snow in some parts of the scene.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun
Behind a grove of fall-colored trees, there is a snow-capped mountain.
Photo courtesy of Brandon Daun

Rocky Mountains, Colorado

The Rocky Mountains, one of the most famous mountain ranges in the world, stretch 3,000 miles from Alaska to New Mexico. These legendary peaks have had a profound influence on the development of the continental United States. The Colorado Rocky Mountains has the greatest concentration of high peaks in the lower 48 states, with hundreds of ‘Thirteeners’ (13,000 plus foot tall mountains) and 54 ‘Fourteeners.’ The state is famous for its abundant wilderness adventure possibilities, from skiing to rock climbing to mountaineering. Colorado courses may take place in The Gore, The Holy Cross, The Sawatch, The Elks, The Sangre de Cristos, the Rawah, or the San Juan mountains.  Each of these Colorado ranges present unique challenges, but they are all beautiful, wild and rugged. These regions are within the ancestral lands of of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Cheyenne, Arapaho, Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux), Eastern Shoshone, Jicarilla Apache, and Pueblos nations.

Course Stories

An incredible experience from Outward Bound

There is not a week that goes by that Max doesn't share a funny story, an uncomfortable situation or an incredible experience from Outward Bound. He is more confident in the outdoors and has a love of nature like never before. He's not afraid to try new things and meet people who are very different than he is.

— Rebecca

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Getting Started

If you are ready to enroll on a course click the enroll button next to the course you wish to select or you can enroll over the phone by speaking with one of our Admissions Advisors (toll-free) at 866-467-7651.

To secure your spot on a course you must submit an enrollment form and $500 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee. 

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