Ross School of Business Leadership Expedition

The Ross School of Business Leadership Expedition is a 7-day, field-based training. Your course will have a strong focus on being an adaptable team member and provide you with opportunities to shift between the roles of “team member” (active follower) and “team leader” (designated leader).

• You will learn and develop both technical wilderness skills and interpersonal skills. This combination will allow you to function effectively as a group in a powerful and dynamic environment.
• You will have the opportunity to exercise individual decision-making while facilitating great teamwork.
• NOLS instructors will coach you through the course in a way that both minimizes stress and encourages peak performance.

On this course, you will backpack through the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah. This area is characterized by rugged terrain and delicate beauty, with red sandstone and green junipers adding color to the arid landscape. Relics of the Ancestral Puebloan culture may still be seen in the form of ruins, petroglyphs, and potshards. At times you will travel across the mesa tops with spectacular views in all directions while at others, you’ll wind your way through the labyrinthine depths of deeply incised waterways.

During the course, you’ll live with two or three other students in a “cook group.” These small groups help disperse our impact on the land and enable you to develop the art of backcountry cooking and living. You’ll also travel in small groups, usually of four to six people, again to disperse impact and enhance learning opportunities.

A Typical Day
Though each day will look slightly different, a typical day could look like this:

• Morning: Wake up, Cook breakfast with your cook group, clean, pack up all gear, and plan your route for the day.
• Hiking Day: You’ll start your hike in the morning, split into small groups, you’ll have snack breaks for food/water, read the map, and on-trail classes, etc.
• Evening: Set up camp, make dinner and clean up, evening meeting to debrief the day and leader of the day experience, reflection, readings, and lights out

Please Note: Each travel day will vary in length; it’s hard to know exactly when you will start and end each day as it depends on your route and the group’s health/motivation.