Levine Scholars Leadership Expedition

Your 25-day Levine Scholars Leadership Expedition will take place in the Wind River or the Absaroka Mountains: rugged, glacier-carved mountains renowned for their sheer granite walls and famous for their beautiful alpine lakes. You’ll backpack in a wilderness surrounded by towering peaks and perennial snow.

Your course will focus on developing teamwork and leadership skills along with technical outdoor living skills in this beautiful wilderness. You’ll start with the basics; camp stove cooking, setting up tents, map and compass navigation, Leave No Trace practices, and hiking techniques. From there, you’ll move into more advanced skills like wilderness first aid, risk management, and decision-making, all while sharpening your leadership abilities. Other skills that may be taught based on conditions, group interest, and instructor focus include: fly-fishing, snow travel, geology, and plant identification.

Once you’ve got the fundamentals down, you’ll get the chance to lead. Your NOLS instructors will slowly step back, and give you space to learn and grow as individuals and a team. There will be a strong focus on learning how to adapt within a group, knowing when to support the team as an active follower, and when to step up and lead.

This course is designed to challenge you. Heavy packs, tough terrain, and long days will push you outside your comfort zone, but along the way, you’ll build a strong sense of community and leave with lasting memories. Learning to live well and care for yourself, your fellow expedition members, your equipment, and the environment is the focus of this course.

Photo by Vaughn Burnett