Jumpstart your outdoor career with this 50-day immersive NOLS course built for aspiring industry professionals. From Wyoming’s winter backcountry to Idaho’s wild rivers, you’ll cover the skills, certifications, and field time that outdoor employers in the river guiding and ski industries are looking for.

Your semester runs in three sections. The winter section takes you into the mountain ranges of Idaho and Wyoming on backcountry touring skis or splitboard, navigating avalanche terrain, sleeping in snow shelters you build yourself, and earning a Recreational Level 1 Avalanche and Avalanche Rescue certification. The second section is a 10-day Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification course at NOLS Teton Valley — 80 hours of patient assessment, CPR, and evacuation decision-making taught by NOLS Wilderness Medicine faculty. The third section puts you on the Salmon River in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, the largest wilderness area in the lower 48. You’ll travel by canoe, kayak, or raft, running Class II-III rapids and completing formal swiftwater rescue training — a credential most river guiding employers require before putting you on the water professionally.

photo by: Molly Hagbrand

The NOLS leadership curriculum runs through all three sections, giving you the communication and decision-making skills that translate directly into managing groups in the field.

Throughout the course, you’ll have the opportunity to network with outdoor industry professionals in the Mountain West, including guides, patrol directors, and outdoor educators, building the connections that matter when you’re ready to start applying.

photo credit: NOLS

The certifications you leave with — WFR, Avalanche Level 1, Avalanche Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue, and Leave No Trace Level 2 Instructor— are exactly what most outdoor employers are looking for.

If you’re serious about turning a passion for the outdoors into a career, this is where you start.

photo by: Molly Hagbrand