to our world. - NOLS

SEMESTER IN THE
Yukon
AN ACTION-PACKED LEARNING ADVENTURE,
this semester begins and ends in Whitehorse,
Yukon Territory, Canada, and is one of our most
unique wilderness leadership programs. It takes
place entirely in Canada’s North Country, where
remote, wild land stands unparalleled. For 76
days your expedition will explore the wilds of the
Yukon with a backpack, canoe, and rope team,
seeing few people along the way. In fact, with a
ratio of six caribou and one moose to every Yukon
resident and a grizzly bear to every Yukon
family of four, you’re more likely to share this vast
wilderness with animals than with humans.
Along your route, you will fish, cross unnamed
rivers, summit unnamed peaks, and
explore the same areas as turn-of-the-century
gold seekers. After this semester, you’ll be a
comfortable traveler in the backcountry with
unmatched technical expeditionary skills in
backpacking and whitewater canoeing, as
well as glacier, snow, and ice mountaineering.
Roo Riley
The cross-bow draw is a difficult stroke that your NOLS
instructors will be sure to help you master. Hess River
Facing page: Get your feet wet with NOLS: Fording
rivers is sometimes the only way to get from point A to
point B. Tributary of the Chilkat River
Leader-of-the-day opportunities allow students to think independently and implement the skills they have learned.
Coast Mountains
BACKPACKING From our base in Whitehorse, you’ll embark on the first phase of your
adventure: a backpacking section through the river valleys, alpine tundra, and boreal forests
of the Yukon Territory. You’ll move up remote mountain valleys, planning routes and
choosing campsites. You’ll learn camping and travel skills pertaining to bear country—and
a metric tonne about being comfortable outdoors—while traveling through alpine meadows
and tundra and bushwhacking through trees and over passes in all kinds of weather.
MOUNTAINEERING What you learn about mountain weather, leadership, and route finding
on the backpacking section will prepare you to face the high glaciers on the mountaineering
section. The Yukon’s mountains are an ideal classroom for learning technical mountaineering
skills such as negotiating rocky mountain passes, icefalls, and glaciers. You’ll
climb stunning peaks while learning rope-team, crampon, and other techniques to move
over snow, ice, and rock terrain.
WHITEWATER CANOEING The Yukon provides some of the best whitewater expeditioning
in the world. For over three weeks, you’ll learn all the skills necessary to effectively
paddle a variety rivers, including assessing, running, lining, and portaging rapids; river
rescue techniques; and river management and navigation. As your technical maneuvers
improve, you’ll be polishing your backcountry and leadership skills while you explore and
live under the midnight sun.
DETAILS
SUMMER
Age and Length: 16 & Over • Average age: 22 • Duration: 76 days
Tuition: $10,270
Optional College Credit: 4 hours Biology, 2 hours Environmental Ethics, 2 hours Leadership Techniques, 6 hours
Skills Practicum, 2 hours Risk Management
Dates: page 107
Pascal Beauvais
66
www.nols.edu • (800) 710-NOLS • admissions@nols.edu