What if I want to work in one of your winter programs?
Although we have internships and instructional staff positions available
in the fall, winter, and spring, we hire these almost exclusively
out of our summer pool. Please come work in the summer first if
you have interest in winter work.
How do I get the first aid certification?
We encourage as many staff as possible to be WFR certified, including
interns and logistics coordinators, and we offer a class for staff
each year in several locations at a reduced rate. Logistics coordinators
are only required to have CPR and Standard First Aid for hire. If
you are going to pursue a WFR or WEMT prior to working for Outward
Bound, please choose your class carefully.
What age group will I be working with?
Most of the work we do at Outward Bound is with youth aged 14 to
17. We are always looking for talented folks who are interested
and excited about working with youth and at-risk populations. We
also serve adults of all ages, and special populations (like survivors
of cancer and violence, people in transition, family groups, and
kids under 14).
In the East... Greenville, Maine: Occupying a 100-year-old historic
farm, the North Woods Base has very rustic facilities: solar power,
water hand-pumped from a well, and a renovated chicken coop for
office space. The Outward Bound staff that live here care for their
own produce for the kitchen and raise pigs and chickens. The Northern
Forest is a place of rocky summits, coniferous forests, whitewater
rivers, moose, bald eagles, and osprey. Canoeing, whitewater canoeing,
and backpacking are the primary course activities.
Newry, Maine: Nestled deep in the heart of the
Sunday River Valley, the 375 acre Mountain Center Base stands in
a lovely hardwood forest along a tumbling stream. Mountain Center
courses take advantage of several large protected natural resources
in the area: the almost 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest,
the Appalachian Trail, and the Grafton Loop Trail. The Carter-Mahoosuc
Range, the Bald Pates, and the Bigelows all have steep trails leading
up to rocky summits, with vast views of the forests below. The unspoiled
waterways of the Rangely Lakes provide superb canoeing in the summer
and swift, scenic dogsledding in the winter.
Wheeler Bay, Maine: Summer programs begin and
end at our Wheeler Bay base in the mid-coast area of Maine. The
rocky Maine coast is host to an active commercial fishery as well
as recreational cruising boats and sea kayaks. There are over 3,000
islands along the Maine coast, which offer limitless options for
exploring, anchoring and camping on our kayak and sailing courses.
Courses include rock climbing and other high impact elements. We
serve mostly youth in the summer, however adult courses and group
contracts are also offered. Staff live and work out of our picturesque
base, situated right on the ocean.
In the Middle... Minnesota: Homeplace, in Northern Minnesota, houses
90 summer staff and 50 sled dogs that serve our winter program.
It’s a lively place, right on Birch Lake with an on-site climbing
site and high ropes course. Housing ranges from open-air tent cabins
with no electricity to dorm style accommodations with bunk beds
and power. The primary course activity is flatwater canoeing, on
extended expeditions in the beautiful Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness. Most courses also include rock climbing or a ropes course.
We serve mostly youth in the summer, including struggling teens.
Adult, over 30, and special populations courses are also offered.
Out West... Montana: We currently have two course areas in
Montana, in the breathtaking Pioneer and Beartooth Mountain ranges.
Course activities include alpine backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing
on the Yellowstone River, and some snow travel. We serve mostly
youth in the summer, though adult, over 30, and special populations
courses are also offered. Most staff live in our downtown Red Lodge
“Mountain Home”, an old hotel which houses around 30
staff.
Colorado: The Rocky Mountains lay claim to some
of the highest peaks in the continental USA. Boasting 54 peaks over
14,000 feet, the Colorado Rockies encompass jagged mountains, snowfields,
high alpine meadows and lakes, as well as endless evergreens and
aspens. Activities include mountaineering, backpacking, rock climbing,
and the Community Contracts programs which works with special populations
and organized groups. Programs run out of Leadville, Silverton,
or Marble--home of the first Outward Bound course in the US.
Utah: The diverse environments of Utah create
the perfect crucible for Outward Bound courses. With some of the
most remote wilderness areas in the lower 48, the SW program runs
whitewater river expeditions down 6 different sections on the Green,
Colorado, Yampa, and San Juan Rivers. Combined with 7 different
canyoneering/desert course areas, and one mountaineering area, the
program specializes in long multi-environment courses that often
don't require any mid course vehicle transport. This program works
to develop staff who will know how to run class IV rapids in paddleboats,
help students negotiate keeper potholes deep in canyons, rig rappels,
manage groups of students in sit-on-top kayaks, and run a top-rope
climbing site. Programs run mainly out of Moab, Utah, with a satellite
operation in Jensen.
Way Out West... Washington: The Puget Sound and the North Cascades
are quite different, though equally magnificent. Course activities
include sea kayaking, mountaineering, backpacking, flatwater canoeing,
and rock climbing. The Puget Sound, our sea-kayaking course area,
offers breathtaking beaches, pods of whales, cool breezes and the
ecologically diverse San Juan Islands. The North Cascades have been
described as “America’s Alps,” and like the Alps,
they consist of magnificent granite peaks carved by snow and ice.
Staff live and work out of our lovely Mazama base camp in the Methow
Valley.
Oregon: The high desert of Central Oregon is a
landscape formed by fire and ice: snow-clad volcanoes provide excellent
mountaineering and backpacking venues, while the snowmelt forms
great whitewater rivers to paddle. The nearby Smith Rocks State
Park, a world-class climbing destination, offers ample challenge
for rock climbing courses. Programs run out of Redmond, Oregon,
supported by our Odin Falls Base camp on a mesa along the Deschutes
River. The base camp has a kitchen, lodge area and permanent wall
tents for staff.
California: The High Sierra has been called "The
Range Of Light," and you'll know why if you work there. Stellar
sunny days lend themselves to the high alpine traverses that can
be accomplished on the perfect granite of the Sierras. Course activities
include backpacking, mountaineering, and rock climbing. Staff live
and work out of our new base camp in Midpines.
Alaska: "The land of the midnight sun"
sees long summer days where the sun never sets. This wild and remote
course area evokes mythical tales of weather, animals, and remoteness,
ultimate challenges in a pristine environment. Course activities
include: mountaineering, sea kayaking, whitewater rafting. Courses
are supported out of our Seward base camp in Southeast Alaska.
Can I get my specific question answered right now by a
real person?
Yes, you can! Click here to get
in touch with one of our Staffing Managers who will be reviewing
applications and conducting most instructor interviews. Contact
them any time with a specific question, or submit general questions
to fieldjobs@outwardbound.org
and a staffing representative will redirect it to the appropriate
person. We look forward to hearing from you.
