Utah Summer Semester

Your Utah Summer Semester course at Outward Bound will be an intense experience; one that combines all the traditional elements of the Outward Bound curriculum with skills training in the La Sal Mountains, on the Colorado River and through the mystical terrain in or around Canyonlands National Park. Students considering a summer semester should be ready to commit to the physical challenges of an extended expedition and the mental challenges of a demanding curriculum.

This amazing course offers a little bit of everything that the southwest has to offer: rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, and canyoneering, For 50 days you’ll traverse some of the most remote and beautiful parts of Southeastern Utah. Absolutely all of your travel is powered by human power, no vehicles will be used to transfer you between each activity, making this a true wilderness experience! The La Sal’s are known for their groves of aspen, scrub oak and incredible views into Canyon Lands National Park and the Four Corners area. This range was originally named when the Spanish came through in the early 1500’s mistaking the snow for salt. Peaks in the La Sal’s range from ten thousand to just under thirteen thousand feet, with hidden lakes dotting the landscape.

After its confluence with the Green River in the heart of Canyonlands National Park, the Colorado River becomes one of the swiftest rivers on the continent. There are twenty-five to thirty exciting rapids that rate with those of the Grand Canyon in power and difficulty, including the famous Mile Long Series and three Big Drops.

Outward Bound Semester
The Utah Summer Semester is designed to develop your technical outdoor skills and to enhance your leadership, communication, environmental, and teaching skills—all while you train in methods of wilderness travel in a variety of environments in the mountains, canyons, and river of southeastern Utah. You will be able to transfer these skills to challenges that you meet throughout the rest of your life.

Your decision to attend this course is an important commitment and should be made with complete awareness of the course’s depth, challenge and complexity—this is an adventure in which you live Outward Bound values in the field for 50 days. The majority of your time will be spent in a group of 7 – 12 people. Your group-mates may very well become your best and lifelong friends; at times, they may be your biggest challenge. It is our goal to teach you the skills to live and work together effectively with a diverse group of people. Everyone will be expected to maintain a spirit of compromise and respect differences. Ultimately, how effectively your group works together and how much you learn will be up to you.

When you commit to an expedition, you enter a dynamic learning situation, in which what you will learn directly relates to what you’re doing. You will need to master skills, face challenges, and solve real and immediate problems. You will work on becoming a member of a team: listening to others, giving and receiving feedback, and expressing your ideas. You will learn leadership techniques within that team, discovering how best to incorporate each other’s opinions and work with each other’s strengths.

The Outward Bound Difference
Our goal is to teach you and your fellow team-mates how to bring leadership into your lives. By focusing on a progression from wilderness skills to team to leadership skills and exploring issues like environmental stewardship, compassion and group living, you will see things you couldn’t see before. This course is ideal for fit, motivated older teens and a great way to spend the summer before college. 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
Initially, you will backpack through the La Sal Mountains in eastern Utah that rise nearly 13,000’ above the canyon country below. You learn the basics and the fine points of navigation and route finding, minimum-impact camping and safe travel in the mountains, in the desert and on the river. You ascend high summits, climb and rappel, explore remote desert canyons, journey on a final expedition (unaccompanied by your instructor) and paddle a raft, sit-on-top hard-shell kayak, or cataraft through exciting whitewater.

In the mountains, you get up early so you can ascend and descend the summit of whatever peak or pass is the high point of the day’s route before afternoon thunderstorms appear. In the canyons and on the river, you get up early for a different reason: to paddle or hike some miles before the heat of the day sets in. Learn a tremendous amount about wilderness travel, safety and outdoor ethics, and much about yourself: how you adapt to change and deal with stress or challenge, how you work with others and your potential as a leader.

You will travel to the La Sal Mountain Range which is located in southeastern Utah. Rely on each other as you climb over high passes, descend lush valleys and work your way over rugged, rocky terrain. You learn and practice the basics of rock climbing and rappelling and you summit together on high peaks. The altitude and exertion present a real challenge, but the reward to fitness and self-confidence are well worth it. Added to these are the magnificent views you have from the high points, the clean air, and the pristine landscapes through which you journey.

You then drop down in the canyons, for a truly different experience. The infinite shapes of the arches, towers, buttes, amphitheaters, overhangs, walls and domes that make canyon country so intriguing and difficult to explore, make your journey all the more beautiful and fascinating. Next you travel the canyons in a different mode, by raft. On the river, the challenges and skills are very different. You and your companions work as a team to maneuver in the rapids as you go. Most of each day is spent navigating among the various obstacles and hazards in the river. Regularly, all boats head for shore to enable the groups to walk downstream to scout rapids before running them. Other stops are made at historic or geologic points of interest, for lunches and occasional side canyon hikes. Your goal is Lake Powell, where you will embark on a mountain bike adventure. Expedition style, you pedal through the desert, allowing your legs to again be your power. On backcountry roads you get another view of the rugged southwest. Arriving at a renowned climbing destination in the Henry Mountains, you settle in for a rock climbing intensive camp. There are an amazing number of routes, for every skill level, and its seclusion makes this a fascinating site. This is the time for climbing, and each day in this section you learn climbing, belaying and rappelling techniques.

NOTE: Semester courses are demanding physically and socially. Students who are unmotivated or struggle with inappropriate behaviors on course may be expelled. Students who are expelled are not eligible for a refund. You and your family should be prepared to make a commitment to being in a relatively formal educational setting for the entire length of the course.

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: Utah

Activities: Rafting, cataraft and/or sit on top kayak paddling, mountaineering, peak attempt, canyon backpacking, canyoneering, rock climbing, service, solo

Additional Information:
Application Fee
Transportation Fee

Sorry, there are no current offerings for this course.