Adventure
Adventure Leadership Program:
The ALPs are classes designed to teach students several outdoor disciplines as well as leadership skills that can be carried throughout life. Not only do students have class room lectures, they will also spend ample time outdoors putting their skills to practice.
2. What grades are the ALPs designed for?
We have three classes: Intro to Adventure class (7-8th grade), our Adventure Leadership I class (9th-12th grade), our Adventure Leadership II class (9th-12th grade), and an Adventure leadership III. We are now also offering an after school Adventure program for Elementary children. This meets on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesday from 3:30 – 4:50.
3. What disciplines are taught in each class?
In all three AL classes, we touch on various aspects of outdoor disciplines: Rock Climbing, Canyoneering, Backpacking, Winter Camping, Avalanche Safety, Wilderness First Aid, “Leave No Trace”, and Cooking. It is our desire in the near future to add Kayaking/Rafting as well as Ice Climbing.
4. How often are trips outside of school?
As students progress through the ALP, more trips will be offered. Introduction to Adventure (7th-8th grade): 4 trips a year (2 day trips; 2 are over-night trips) Adventure Leadership I (9th-12th grade): 6 trips a year (Most are over-night trips) Adventure Leadership II (10th-12th grade): 6 trips a year (Many are multi-day trips) Adventure Leadership III: 2 trips (all multiple day)
5. How much will the trips cost above tuition?
While it is our goal to have tuition cover the majority of the costs, there could be extra expenses depending on the activity. Students will usually need to be responsible for food and specialized gear rental if needed.
6. What gear will I need?
The gear lists will be provided to you with the hopes to make sure students have the right gear, (without having to buy all of it at once). Please review the list given on the next page to help you determine the gear needed per class. As a rule, students will never be disappointed spending more money for good gear. Buying a jacket at REI is always better than buying one at Wal-Mart for half the price. As with anything, higher quality will ultimately last longer and perform more effectively. Borrowing from friends and family is always an option until students decide if they wish to pursue the program.
7. Do you have gear I can borrow?
The school is slowly collecting gear and we do have a few sleeping bags, pads, fleece tops and bottoms that are available on first-come-first-served basis for students.
8. What kind of gear will the school provide?
The school will provide tents, stoves, technical gear such as rocking climbing harnesses, ropes, and all the hardware, helmets, cooking supplies and other group items.
9. Rock climbing and Canyoneering sound dangerous…How safe is my student?
As a school, we understand the great privilege and responsibility we have to insure the safety of each student. While there is an inherent danger in Rock Climbing and Canyoneering, we do everything we can to insure our equipment is in top order and all risks are managed to the best of our abilities. I have been climbing and canyoneering since 2003 and was trained thoroughly by an organization in California (Alpine Training Services). They taught me not only the skills, but also how to approach safety and risk management with groups to insure safety all the time. Each year Alpine provides additional training, making sure we maintain a high standard of safety. We also strive to keep our ratio of adults to students to no more than 1:6 allowing us to carefully monitor all the activities going on.
10. Is there a way to know where my student is on these trips and if they are doing okay?
YES! Often we are outside of cell service, however, we do carry a device called SPOT on all of our adventures. SPOT is a Satellite Personal Locater Beacon that sends out signals every ten minutes showing our exact location. It also has a feature to call for emergency help (this feature can be used regardless of where we are in the world). You can track each one of our adventures from the internet by typing in the web address we provide before each trip.
11. Does the school have insurance for all that you do?
YES! Our school insurance will cover all of the activities that we do.
12. Are parents allowed to come on our adventures?
We always enjoy and encourage our parents to join us when they can. It helps us out and is also a great opportunity for parents to feel more connected with the school. Parents also experience some pretty cool places.
13. Do my student(s) need to attend ALL the trips offered for each class?
No, however, it is strongly recommended to attend at least 70% of the trips. Usually this equates to missing no more than two trips a year. Out in the field is where the bulk of experience is gained and is extremely valuable to the success of our program.
