Our backpacking courses will take you to some of the most remote places in the Pacific Northwest wilderness, travelling on and off trail through wildflowers and pine-forests. Along your journey, you’ll learn to set up shelter, cook, and navigate using a map and compass. If weather, terrain, and student abilities permit, the course may include a peak attempt.
On our canoeing courses you will learn basic paddling skills that allow you to explore the surrounding wilderness on the crystal-clear Ross Lake. In the heart of the mountain range nicknamed the “American Alps” you will work as a team, practicing communication, leadership, fellowship and compassion.
The North & Central Cascades offer some of the most spectacular mountaineering in the world, with views of jagged snow-covered peaks, alpine waterfalls, and mountain flora and fauna. On these classic Outward Bound courses, our expert climbing and mountaineering instructors will show you how to travel efficiently and safely in the mountains. Most of the course time will be spent backpacking through the wilderness to put you in a position to climb peaks and explore remote technical terrain.
Our rafting courses offer an introductory experience in rafting. Participants will travel on the river in four to six-person paddle rafts, and learn to captain their paddle raft team through Class II to IV rapids. Students also learn river hydrology, swimming in currents, paddle techniques and expeditionary travel.
Students receive individual and group instruction and test their new found skills against vertical cracks, steep faces, and boulders. Students learn about climbing equipment, rope management, wearing harnesses, tying knots, belaying, rappelling, movement on rock, and top rope site assessment and management.
Explore the beautiful San Juan Islands on any one of our sea kayaking courses. You’ll start with the basics and progress quickly as a paddler, learning paddle strokes, rescue techniques, and natural history of the Pacific Northwest coast. Instructors will teach you the teamwork and communication skills necessary to travel as a group of kayaks in a working waterway.
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