Spend 14 days backpacking through the granite peaks of Wyoming! Alongside other 14-15 year olds, you’ll hike up and over high mountain passes, through meadows of wildflowers, and across boulder fields—experiencing the best of the Rockies. Whether you climb your first peak, catch your first fish, or make your first dinner from scratch, this course is designed to maximize hands-on learning in the backcountry.

You’ll start by learning the fundamentals: camping, cooking, and mastering Leave No Trace principles. From there, you’ll progress to off-trail navigation, decision-making, and leadership development. Your experienced instructors will teach skills through hands-on activities, but it’s up to you to put your learning into practice. As you build competence, you will gradually be given more responsibility—you may even travel in student-led groups without instructors for up to a day.

Photo by: Karly Gutermuth

Mountain weather is unpredictable. Courses may experience snow and rain, or long stretches of sun and blue skies. You’ll hike through elevations ranging from 7,000 to 13,000 feet and might spot moose, elk, deer, bears, bighorn sheep, marmots, or pikas.

Leadership is woven into every day. By the end of this course, you’ll have the skills to lead the group on a peak ascent, work through a long hiking day, and make dinner for your tent group. If you’re ready to develop leadership skills and learn what it takes to lead yourself, your family, and friends in the wilderness, this is the course for you.

Photo by: Karly Gutermuth

Information for Parents: The NOLS Difference

At 14-15, a teen’s brain is in a critical rewiring phase— where experiences now become traits later. While camps keep teens comfortable, a NOLS course gives them tools to navigate an uncertain world. Standing beneath the 13,000-foot peaks of the Wind River Range forces a healthy humility—teaching them that the world is big, beautiful, and not revolving around them. We teach through natural consequences: if the tent isn’t set up right, they get wet. No nagging, just feedback that builds responsibility and judgment. This is an investment in the adult you want to send into the world.