This course takes you to a place in Southcentral Alaska often referred to as "the mountain kingdom of North America," where a chain of rugged mountain ranges and spectacular glaciers converge to make a mountaineer’s dreamscape.
Within this region you’ll explore the coastal Chugach Range, the interior Alaska Range, or the vast Wrangell-St. Elias Range. The specific route for each course is entirely season dependent, with expeditions in the early season climbing mostly above snow line to access terrain via huge snowfields and courses operating in the later season completing technical ice routes on glacier.
All routes on the course for students ages 17 and older are classically Alaskan with long approaches on large glaciers. The shorter course for students ages 23 and older flies directly onto a glacier to maximize time for technical skill development.
Both courses provide an ideal training ground for learning to live and travel responsibly and efficiently in challenging mountain terrain.
Being so small in Alaska's big wilderness will magnify your and your coursemates' accomplishments. Turtle Flats, Matanuska Glacier
Photo: Bryan Palmintier
"Once you're in the woods, it doesn't
matter who you are in the world. People drop their pretenses.
I love seeing the stuff people can do and the way groups
really come together on a NOLS expedition."
Liz Alva Rosa
NOLS Instructor
EXPLORE NOLS ALASKA...
WHAT MAKES NOLS THE
LEADER?
Extended expeditions
in remote wilderness make NOLS leadership lessons real. Read more reasons...
