Applications for February of 2025 are closed.
In conjunction with our partner, Outward Bound, we are excited to provide this unique opportunity for 7-8th grade scholars. This is a leadership adventure like no other. Your Leadership Adventure, will take place at basecamp outside of Ely, MN on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA). You and your crew will learn to care for sled dogs, nordic ski, pulk (pull a sled) and thrive outside in the winter.
The BWCAW is a protected and pristine wilderness, with more water than land. This unique biome stretches across the northeastern border of Minnesota. The BWCAW communicates important stories about conservation, people and place. From geology, to mining and indigenous culture, the BWCAW invites curiosity, inquiry and leadership. You will be challenged to reflect on your place in the world, and you will be called upon to lead with your peers. There is zero light pollution; this may be the first time you truly encounter the wonder of the night sky. Untrammeled forest, snow, ice and sled dogs create great conditions for learning leadership. You will be part of a crew, and not a passenger. Together, with your peers (human and canine), you will learn to survive, adapt and thrive in one of the most beautiful, interesting and challenging places on earth. Your Leadership Adventure is designed to support your compassion, resilience and leadership. You will try various activities in a crew of 7 scholars, with two highly experienced, very caring human Outward Bound instructors, and a host of very experienced, and engaging canine Outward Bound instructors. You will learn through the group and for the group.
Dogsledding, Skiing, and Sauna – The small town of Ely, Minnesota, where the Voyageur Outward Bound School is located, is known as the dogsledding capital of the lower 48 states for good reason. Our base camp, affectionately referred to as Homeplace, is located in the Superior National Forest on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. As you immerse in a winter experience, you’ll travel through diverse forests and on frozen lakes and rivers while learning how to manage teams of huskies, cross-country ski, navigate with a map and compass, check ice-conditions, and generally stay comfortable in potentially sub-zero temperatures. The group will consist of a maximum of 7 scholars and 2 Instructors. Mushing is not a passenger sport and, depending on the snow conditions, often requires mushers to run and walk along with the dogs. Backcountry cross-country skiing involves making a trail through untracked snow; as you glide along learning new skills, you have opportunities to observe tracks of the smaller and larger animals who call this winter wonderland their home. In the evenings, you’ll return to a rustic, cozy cabin on the Kawishiwi River. You’ll enjoy filling, home-cooked meals and in the evening you’ll have the opportunity to partake in the age-old tradition of a wood-heated sauna. After sitting in the sauna’s heat, take a polar dip into the frozen river through a hole cut in the ice. The nearby Boundary Waters is a designated dark-sky destination; you’ll have the opportunity to stand on the ice in the deep quiet of winter and gaze at the Milky Way and night sky.
