Description

14-Day Wilderness Survival Immersion

2027 Course Date: May 28 through June 10, 2027

The 14-Day Wilderness Survival Immersion is designed for students who want more than a weekend introduction to survival. Over two weeks, you will build a strong foundation in wilderness survival, learn to navigate with a map and compass, develop practical campcraft and outdoor cooking skills, travel through the Colorado backcountry, and finish by putting those skills to use during a supervised survival challenge.

The program begins at The Survival University’s mountain training area near Cripple Creek, Colorado. The first five days follow our established Outdoor Survival Basics curriculum, covering knife safety and use, water procurement and treatment, firecraft, shelter building, useful plants, food procurement, and other fundamental skills.

From there, students move into introductory land navigation. You will learn how to read a topographic map, recognize terrain features, orient a map, use a compass, work with bearings and declination, estimate distance, associate the map with the terrain around you, and begin applying those skills in the field.

The next two days focus on campcraft, camp living, and outdoor cooking. Students will work on practical camp projects such as wooden utensils, burn bowls, cooking supports, and other improvements that can make an extended camp more functional and enjoyable. Students will also spend time cooking with fire and coals, working with Dutch ovens, preparing simple camp breads, and learning about smoking, food preparation, and preservation.

The program then transitions into a three-day backcountry survival hike. Students travel through TSU training properties and surrounding mountain terrain while continuing to practice navigation, camp selection, water skills, resource identification, and the daily decisions involved in traveling and living outdoors. Nights are spent in the field, and students are expected to carry and manage their own required equipment.

The final three days consist of a supervised survival challenge at the Survival Ranch. This portion of the course gives students an opportunity to apply what they have learned rather than simply repeat another series of demonstrations. The specific challenge assignments are intentionally not published in advance. Students will receive the information necessary for safety, equipment, food, physical preparation, and informed participation before the course.

This is fourteen consecutive days of training. Students should expect hands-on work, hiking, overnight field participation, changing mountain weather, physical activity, problem solving, and periods of discomfort.

Course at a Glance

Dates: May 28 through June 10, 2027
Duration: 14 consecutive days
Location: The Survival University near Cripple Creek, Colorado
Tuition: $1,800 per student

Day 1: Survival foundations, safety, knife skills, animal awareness, and water
Day 2: Firecraft
Day 3: Shelter
Day 4: Useful plants and food procurement
Day 5: Introductory land navigation fundamentals
Day 6: Land navigation field application
Day 7: Campcraft and practical camp projects
Day 8: Outdoor cooking, fire and coal cooking, Dutch oven techniques, camp breads, smoking and preservation
Days 9 through 11: Backcountry survival hike
Days 12 through 14: Supervised survival challenge

Who This Course Is For

This program is intended for people who want enough time in the field to move beyond simply being introduced to survival skills. It is a good fit for hikers, campers, hunters, outdoor professionals, preparedness minded students, and anyone who wants a longer hands-on training experience without committing to TSU’s 50-Day Wilderness Immersion Program.

You do not need to arrive as an expert. You do need to arrive prepared to participate.

What You Will Need

Students are responsible for their personal outdoor equipment, clothing, sleeping system, meals except where food is specifically provided as part of an instructional activity, and other items listed in the course gear requirements.

Because this course includes backcountry travel and overnight field training, students should be prepared to carry their own equipment over uneven mountain terrain and operate outdoors in changing Colorado weather.

Specific equipment requirements, arrival information, and preparation instructions will be provided before the course.

The Survival Challenge

We intentionally do not publish the individual assignments for the final survival challenge. The purpose is to give students an opportunity to make decisions and apply their training without knowing every problem in advance.

Students will still know what equipment to bring, what physical demands to expect, what food arrangements apply, and anything else necessary to participate safely.