This is a challenging winter expedition with backpacks, interspersed with stops to climb dramatic ice walls. Ideal students are ready and willing to try the adventurous sport of ice climbing and interested in the beauty and challenge of a north woods winter.
Your winter expedition takes place in western Maine or northern New Hampshire. You may travel in one or more of the following areas: the Carter-Mahoosuc mountains, the White Mountain National Forest, the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness Area, or the Appalachian Trail. Winter in western Maine is mesmerizing, peaceful and exhilarating.
The Outward Bound Difference Team challenges like staying together as a group, navigating the complex coastlines and making decisions yourselves contribute to the development of leadership skills on an Outward Bound expedition. Groups will be taught wilderness and team skills and participate in groups discussions and all students are expected to be part of the team. Successful completion of your course demands mastery of skills, trust, fitness, confidence, tenacity, leadership, initiative and compassion. The promotion of these qualities, and the discovery of what’s in you, is the purpose of Outward Bound.
This course may be the hardest thing you have ever done. Outward Bound philosophy maintains that by facing the challenges the course will offer you, you will emerge physically and mentally stronger, with an increased mastery of expedition skills as well as a better understanding of your own capabilities. We think that the payoff is well worth the work, but you should be aware of what you’re getting into and excited about tackling the challenges.
Course Description Backpack and snowshoe over snow-capped peaks. Strap on crampons and pull out your ice axes to scale towering frozen waterfalls. Winter expeditions aren’t about being cold—they’re about mastering the skills you need to travel, eat, and sleep comfortably in the sparkling beauty of the winter landscape. You don’t need to have previous winter camping experience. You will learn how to work with your own body heat to stay warm, how to eat foods that keep you warm, and how to regulate your body temperature using clothing layers and exercise.. Your course will begin at our Mountain Center base camp where you will get a basic introduction to winter travel.
The backpacking route will take you on various trails in the western Maine or northern New Hampshire mountains and sometimes off-trail, using your map and compass to navigate. Your internal frame pack will be stuffed with a sleeping bag, clothing, food, stoves, tarps, and all the other gear you will need to travel in the woods for six days. Winter camping requires a lot of gear and your pack will weigh at least 50 pounds, sometimes more. The route will include at least one alpine peak ascent, where you will hike to a summit and gaze at the winter landscape in the valleys below you.
Backpacking is hard work. Trails can be steep or icy. If snowfall is heavy, you must take turns “breaking trail”—walking at the front of the line and forging a path through the snow for the rest of the group. Hard physical exercise is an integral part of winter travel, though, because exercise turns the water you drink and the food you eat into heat.
As long as the ice has formed properly, we’ll include a day of ice climbing on this course. While you’re ice climbing, you’ll leave your packs at the bottom of an icy cliff and spend the day learning to use plastic mountaineering boots, crampons, and ice tools. You’ll also learn to belay your fellow climbers, keeping each other safe as they push their limits.
Winter Living With our training and equipment, you’ll find you can live comfortably in cold temperatures. You will learn how to work with your own body heat to stay warm, how to eat foods that keep you warm, and how to regulate your body temperature using clothing layers and exercise. As you travel, you may find that your ideas about “comfortable” temperatures may shift. Warm days often mean slushy snow and slow going - colder days may mean smooth moving over crisp snow.
To enroll in this course click the enroll button next to the course dates that work for you. To shop comparatively on line visit our Advanced Course Finder or better yet call one of our expert Admission Advisers at 866-467-7651. Course tuitions listed below do not include our Application Fee or Transportation Fee.
Region: Maine
Activities: Winter backpacking, ice climbing, solo
