Registration Closes on March 30, 2023
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Registration Closes on March 30, 2023 〰️
What to expect: This course offers an introduction to backcountry trip planning and off-trail navigation. Participants will gain confidence in their ability to navigate, meal plan, route plan, assess risk and more during the three days. It is designed for beginner and intermediate adventurers who want to build their backcountry skill set.
Course objective: help students gain confidence planning and implementing an overnight backcountry trip that may include both trail and off-trail travel.
Full course description and curriculum is available here.
Our scholarship application period closed on March 17, 2023.
Topics covered include:
Map and compass skills
Wilderness medicine basics and patient assessment
Leave No Trace
Nutrition and meal planning in the backcountry
Tools available for route planning
How to pick the right route
Risk management
Search and rescue in Alaska
Packing a backpack
When: Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7.
Course will take place from approximately 9AM-5:30PM each day with evenings free to explore the Palmer area. Lodging and meals not included.
Where: We’ll be meeting at multiple venues around the Palmer area during the course.
May 5, 2023: 9AM-5PM at the Musk Ox Farm
May 6, 2023: 9AM-5:30PM at the Musk Ox Farm
May 7, 2023: 9AM-5PM at Wilderness Emergency Medical Education educational yurt
Cost: Course fees are $539 per person for three days of instruction. If cost is a barrier to you attending the course, please email Kierre at info@revelak.com. Conversely, if you would like to offer financial support or a scholarship to someone attending the class, please contact us.
Instructor list:
Dorothy
Owner, Wilderness Emergency Medical Education
Dorothy began teaching Wilderness Medical classes in 2007, while residing in McCarthy, Alaska. As a mountain climbing guide and through her experiences participating in rescue work, she grew her passion for teaching wilderness safety skills. Today she owns and operates Wilderness Emergency Medical Education in Palmer, Alaska.
She is a certified SOLO Wilderness Medical Instructor and proud to represent New Hampshire based SOLO Schools in Alaska. While her passion as a WEMT is in delivering wilderness medical courses, she is also a SOA EMT Instructor and an ASHI Instructor, classes which focus more on urban medicine. She received the state of Alaska Governor’s 2022 EMS Educator of the Year.
Teaching on:
Wilderness medicine and patient assessment
Map and compass skills
Trip planning
Packing a backpack
Tim
National Outdoor Leadership School, Field Faculty
Tim has worked as an outdoor educator for over 10 years leading whitewater paddling, backcountry skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing and backpacking courses around the globe. As a NOLS faculty member, Tim has introduced hundreds of students to leadership, communication, risk management, and outdoor living skills while helping them foster connections to the natural world. As a senior instructor who is avalanche, swiftwater rescue, and WEMT certified, Tim facilitates trainings for both incoming instructors and current staff. When he is not teaching, Tim is an avid photographer, skier, and expedition paddler and who can most often be found scouring satellite imagery in search of his next big packraft traverse.
Teaching on:
Risk management
Route planning
The nuts and bolts of trip planning
Winona
Owner, Nourished Health Coaching Services
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Nutrition Educator & Culinary Instructor
Winona believes that we all have the ability to eat well to prevent disease. Getting healthy takes simple steps, but it can be difficult when you don’t have the needed support. My role as a health coach is to help individuals make small, progressive changes in their nutrition and lifestyle that will create long-lasting health.
Winona struggled with fatigue, digestive issues, joint pain, and brain fog for years. Her desire to feel better and be healed led me to her passion and current profession. She has been teaching nutrition and wellness since 2008 with a focus on healthy cooking, whole foods, and wholistic lifestyle choices.
Teaching on:
Food dehydration workshop - learn how to create your own dehydrated meals for Alaska adventures
Nutrition on the trail - a discussion on what foods are best before, during and after an outdoor adventure.
Amy
Geographic Information Systems professional
Amy Macpherson is a Certified Geographic Information Systems professional (GISP) with over 20 years of mapping experience, that she uses both professionally in her day job and personally for adventure planning.
Amy has had epic trips; backpacking, cycling, rafting, all over the world. For the last 10 years, she has called Alaska home and has become increasingly familiar with all the challenges and opportunities route planning presents in the last frontier.
Teaching on:
GIS systems available for trip planning - a discussion of common tools used for route planning, navigation and more
Patrice and Justin
Leave No Trace Master Educators, Guides, Speakers and Writers
Patrice & Justin La Vigne have collectively logged more than 12,000 trail miles across the United States and internationally, have explored 57 of the US National Parks and climbed to 46 of the state high points. They are Leave No Trace Master Educators, Wilderness First Responders, guides, writers and speakers. After spending about 10 years living nomadically—including 3 years as Traveling Trainers for the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics—they made Healy, AK, their permanent home.
Teaching on:
Leave No Trace - how to minimize your impact while traveling outdoors.
Raine
Mind & Mountain
Raine made her way to Alaska via jobs working in the adventure travel industry. After being sent up to guide in the Alaskan interior and parts of the Yukon, she was hooked and spent the next few years working towards a permanent move to the state. Raine's backpacking experience lies mostly in the American Southwest and Alaska - with dabbles in the Sierra Nevada and Patagonia.
Raine is a plus-size backpacker who is passionate about making outdoor spaces accessible for everyone. She began working on Team Mind & Mountain in, whose values are the outdoors are for everyone, strength is key, and mental health matters in 2021. Over the course of her time there she has learned from the best about building functional and mental strength for outdoor adventures, big and small.
Teaching on:
Health and wellness - building strength to prevent injury while adventuring in the outdoors
Stephanie
Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
Stephanie came to Alaska on vacation 10 years ago and promptly quit her job to move here permanently (it's a common story). She was drawn to the easy access to the outdoors and plethora of outdoor recreational opportunities. She began volunteering with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group 8 years ago and is passionate about promoting safe access to public lands for everyone.
Teaching on:
Search and Rescue (SAR) in Alaska