Jumpstart your outdoor career with this 50-day immersive NOLS course built for aspiring industry professionals. From Wyoming’s winter backcountry to Idaho’s wild rivers, you’ll cover the skills, certifications, and field time that outdoor employers in the river guiding and ski industries are looking for.

 

Job Category	WFR Needed?	Avy 1 / Rescue Needed?	Swiftwater Rescue Needed?
Ski Patrol (entry)	✅ WFR minimum	Avy 1 is standard	___
River/Raft Guide	✅ WFR preferred	___	✅ Swiftwater required
Outdoor Education Instructor	✅ WFR required	___	___
Backcountry/Alpine Guide	✅ WFR preferred	Avy 1 + Rescue (min. for entry)	___

 

This course has all of these certifications, plus the NOLS leadership training that will set you apart.

Your semester runs in three sections — each one ends with a certification employers ask for. The winter section takes you into the mountain ranges of Idaho and Wyoming on backcountry touring skis or splitboard, navigating avalanche terrain, sleeping in snow shelters you build yourself, and earning a Recreational Level 1 Avalanche and Avalanche Rescue certification. The second section is a 10-day Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification course at NOLS Teton Valley — 80 hours of patient assessment, CPR, and evacuation decision-making taught by NOLS Wilderness Medicine faculty. The third section puts you on the Salmon River in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the largest wilderness area in the lower 48. You’ll travel by canoe, kayak, or raft, running Class II-III rapids and completing formal swiftwater rescue training — a credential most river guiding employers require before putting you on the water professionally.

The NOLS leadership curriculum will be practiced daily, and by the end you’ll have led your group in real settings, building communication and decision-making skills that translate directly into managing groups in the field.

You’ll meet guides, patrol directors, and outdoor educators across the Mountain West — the people who do the hiring when you start applying.

The certifications you leave with — WFR, Avalanche Level 1, Avalanche Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue, and Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor— are exactly what most outdoor employers are looking for.

If you’re serious about turning a passion for the outdoors into a career, this is where you start.