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WINTER SURVIVAL ADVENTURE HIKE
$495.00
Challenge yourself with our 3-day Winter Survival Adventure Hike. Traverse rugged, off-trail backcountry while refining essential winter survival skills in real-world conditions. A true test of endurance and skill!
WINTER SURVIVAL ADVENTURE HIKE
Colorado’s winter backcountry is as treacherous as it is breathtaking. For those who have completed our Basic Winter Survival Class, we now offer an advanced, immersive experience: a rugged, 3-day winter survival hike through untouched wilderness. This hike goes far beyond what you'd find on a mapped trail; we’ll be traversing about 9 miles of tough terrain, including old roads, animal paths, and off-trail bushwhacking, testing your navigation and survival skills to the fullest.
COURSE DESCRIPTION This adventure builds upon the skills learned in the Basic Winter Survival Class and challenges you to apply them in a true backcountry setting. While portions of the hike will follow remnants of roads and animal trails, much of it involves bushwhacking through rugged, uneven terrain that few have traveled before. You’ll be constantly confronted with the realities of navigating off-grid in winter conditions, far from the beaten paths. This is not your typical hike—there will be no groomed trails or easy shortcuts, just raw wilderness.
Throughout this trek, you will also refine and expand your winter survival skills, learning to adapt as you push your limits.
WHAT TO EXPECT Over the course of three days, we’ll cover roughly 9 miles of challenging terrain, with a heavy focus on hands-on survival skills and practical application. Each day brings new challenges, from difficult weather conditions to variable terrain, and you’ll rely on both your mental and physical stamina to succeed. Along the way, we'll practice essential winter skills that build on what you learned in the basic course, but now, in real-world scenarios.
Our main focus will be on thriving in unpredictable and rugged winter conditions, all while managing limited resources and exposure to the elements.
SKILLS TAUGHT AND REFINED
- Advanced Shelter Building: You’ll revisit the shelter-building techniques you learned in the basic course but will now apply them in tougher, more rugged terrain using natural resources found during the hike.
- Land Navigation: Master the use of a map and compass combined with terrain association to navigate through off-trail and rugged backcountry.
- Snow Navigation and Terrain Assessment: Learn to navigate the backcountry with minimal landmarks, assess snow conditions, and avoid dangerous areas such as avalanche zones.
- Advanced Fire Craft: You’ll practice fire-starting techniques in difficult winter conditions, focusing on creating long-lasting fires with minimal resources.
- Winter Foraging and Resource Management: Discover how to forage in the winter wilderness and manage your resources efficiently over the multi-day journey.
- Skills in Action: Throughout the hike, you’ll apply modern and primitive skills to tackle challenges you encounter.
- Emergency Situations: Learn how to manage real-world scenarios like minor injuries, navigation mistakes, and weather changes while deep in the wilderness.
WHAT YOU WILL GAIN This 3-day Winter Survival Adventure Hike is designed to push you to the next level in both physical endurance and winter survival skills. You will walk away with:
- A deeper understanding of how to move through and survive in rugged winter backcountry environments.
- Confidence in your ability to navigate, build shelter, and stay warm under harsh conditions.
- Practical bushcraft skills to rely on in off-trail and unpredictable terrains.
PREREQUISITES This course is open to those who have completed the Basic Winter Survival Class or have equivalent experience. This is a physically demanding hike and requires a high level of fitness, mental resilience, and winter preparedness.
ACCOMMODATIONS
- Sanitation/Hygiene: A portable restroom and potable water will be provided at main camp.
FOOD AND WATER REQUIRED
Water will be provided but students will need to bring their own food. We recommend quick field expedient meals such as freeze dried hiking meals or MRE’s. They can quickly be made at our primitive camps and won’t slow down the learning process. However, students may bring any food that they wish to cook over the campfire or on their own personal camp stove.
Food can be purchased locally at nearby facilities. Walmart and several local eateries are within a reasonable driving distance.
SUGGESTED GEAR LIST
We do not provide students with gear unless they have purchased it from us ahead of time. Not much gear is needed for our courses, though good equipment does speed the learning process up greatly! Gear does not have to be purchased from our store to attend the course, but we recommend survival gear of equivalent quality.
- Fixed blade knife (Preferably a full tang bushcraft style knife WITHOUT a serrated edge)
- Ferrocerium rod
- Poncho or Rain Gear
- Outdoor Clothing and appropriate footwear
- Folding hand saw
- Overnight Camping Gear (sleeping bag, tent, etc.)
- Sleeping pad or yoga mat
- Tarp or SOL emergency blanket
- Base plate compass
- 100’ of 550 Paracord
- Shemagh or large cotton scarf or bandana
- Headlamp or flashlight and extra batteries
- Cooking pot and eating utensils
- Single walled metal canteen
- Nalgene or other plastic water bottle
- Metal nesting cup
- Sawyer mini water purifier
- Signal mirror (credit card sized)
- Emergency whistle (non-metal)
- Bic lighter (new)
- Glow sticks
- 5 contractor sized trash bags
- Sunscreen and sunglasses
- Insect repellent
- Leather work gloves
- Notebook and pencil
- Small Backpack
CLOTHING REQUIRED
Warm outdoor clothing, warm gloves and hat, outdoor boots and wool socks. Cotton clothing is highly discouraged in the mountains! Wool will keep you warm even when wet and synthetics will dry faster. Layers are important in Colorado. You will want a water wicking base layer, an insulating mid layer, and a waterproof breathable outer shell. Check out our Clothes Layering Basics if you are unsure of what to wear.
Check Recommended Items List for more details!
If it is still not clear what gear is needed for our survival courses, then we have assembled a complete kit that is still high quality but for a budget friendly price. All the items in this kit were hand selected by our instructors to be the best bushcraft tools on a budget. This survival kit is a useful starter kit that can be used in all of our courses. These are all must have tools at a good price. It’s a great survival kit, bug out kit, go bag, or use it as a solid foundation to build a kit that perfectly fits your needs. With this kit and our training anybody can survive like a king in almost any environment!
NOTE
Due to the different levels of prior experience and knowledge among students in each class, individual outcomes may vary. Weather conditions can also be a factor in changing class content slightly. Nonetheless, our instructors will always endeavor to be as accommodating and consistent as circumstances will allow to ensure students get the best training experience and value for money.