Backpacking Group Written by Ally Edwards and Caitlin Murphy These past few weeks we’ve been enjoying perfect weather and new adventures in southern Utah. We began our time base camping (glamping), spending our days either climbing or doing service work with Trail Mix, a local nonprofit that provides volunteer stewardship for public lands. While climbing, […]
Rock climbing group Written by Ally Bartels and Robert Rolfsen Over three days, the landscape changed from white to green to beautiful yellows and oranges of the fall leaves and red sandstone of Utah. The unofficial slogan for this sandy desert was, “Like Mars, but with more atmosphere.” As we stared out at the stars that
Backpacking group Written by Isabel Emsfeld and Nick Van Besien A white Short bus pulls down a dirt road, signifying the end of our first expedition, 12 days backpacking in the Sawatch Mountains of Colorado. All 8 students and 2 leaders excited for the entry to the front country (aka, opposite of back country). The
Rock climbing group Written by Katie Moody and Andrew Vincent As we unzipped the tent, the snow that lay crusted on the synthetic exterior, accumulated during the frigid night, tumbled onto our heads. While we were boiling some water for breakfast, an instructor trudged through the wet snow to our makeshift kitchen to announce that we
In celebration of the inaugural Gap Year Decision Day, HMI is excited to welcome an incredible group of students for our 2017 and 2018 gap semesters. Gap Year Decision Day is a nation-wide initiative to encourage students to declare their gap year plans through social media outlets. The National College Signing Day, a movement started by Michelle Obama to
April 10, 2017 The global effort to conserve pristine wilderness took a major step forward three weeks ago when Tompkins Conservation donated 1 million acres of land in Patagonia to the Chilean government. Alison Kelman, the Communications Director for Tompkins Conservation and alumna of RMS 11, played a central role in this historic moment. Alison joined Tompkins Conservation in
In recent years, several gaps in the outdoor community have opened up, or just become too visible to ignore any longer. Outdoor advocacy groups have noted the gap between the recreationists who use the land and the conservationists who work to protect it. Seasoned outdoorspeople are well aware of the mentorship gap that has left young adventurers without
Interested in learning more about the High Mountain Institute? Our Gap team will be on the road with USA Gap Year Fairs during January and February, 2017. The Gap Year Fair circuit brings together an array of programs, interested students and parents, college and gap year counselors, and other experts in the field to highlight the many opportunities
Interested in learning more about the High Mountain Institute? Our Gap team will be on the road with USA Gap Year Fairs during January and February, 2017. The Gap Year Fair circuit brings together an array of programs, interested students and parents, college and gap year counselors, and other experts in the field to highlight the many opportunities
“One never reaches home,’ she said. ‘But where paths that have an affinity for each other intersect, the whole world looks like home, for a time.” Our time has come and gone, as last week the tight-knit Gap 2016 family said our inevitable, but nonetheless difficult goodbyes. Some students and instructors stayed in South America,
