30 Days of Adventure and Learning in Wyoming’s Wild

Prepare to set out on an unforgettable adventure in Wyoming’s Wind River Range where you’ll develop essential wilderness skills and forge lasting friendships all while exploring a rugged and breathtaking landscape. This immersive 30-day NOLS course is designed to enhance your mountaineering abilities through hands-on experience and expert instruction, all while earning valuable college credit.

The Wind River Range features dramatic cliff faces and sun-bleached obelisks. The wings of Golden Eagles and Cedar Waxwings catch the low afternoon sunlight. Great Wyoming elk can be seen, antlers aloft among the thistles. Grizzly bears amble along like shaggy tanks, preparing for hibernation. Vivid bobcat eyes flash out of the undergrowth before silently disappearing. Gannett Peak stands as the undisputed ruler of these mountains — a primordial giant shaped by Precambrian glaciers.

Immersive Training in the Heart of the Range

Led by seasoned instructors with extensive backcountry expertise, you’ll learn through an immersive, hands-on experience. They go beyond instruction — they mentor, push, and guide you throughout the journey. It’s a rigorous and rewarding experience that deeply connects you to the region’s geology, wildlife, and plant life.

You’ll travel in a small hiking group, with opportunities to lead, make decisions, and practice mountain navigation. Learn the basics of knots, rope handling, and belaying techniques. You may also be introduced to ice axe use, step cutting, climbing in crampons, glacier travel, and rock protection placement.

Discover a thriving local ecosystem that grows, predates, and rejuvenates. The geology of the range features ancient metamorphic and igneous rock. These cyclopean ridges, formed billions of years ago, stand as a testament to the power of the Earth. Navigate towering crags the size of skyscrapers. Summit slopes with increasingly refined skill.

Learn to Lead Through Challenge

NOLS builds competencies for life — resilience, teamwork, and confidence that strengthen college essays and future success. A foundational course goal is building an inclusive community with your course mates. Together, you’ll be challenged to make thoughtful, informed decisions and navigate real-time challenges. Life can feel remarkably simple on a NOLS course in the Wind River Range, surrounded by peers — whether you’re falling asleep to the sound of rushing rapids or exploring quiet lodgepole pine forests. Out here, you can stand as tall and steady as the bluffs of Gannett.