Hello there, parents, grandparents, friends, future gap students, and to anyone else reading! We just got back from our first expedition in the Sawatch Range outside of Leadville. We hiked around thirty miles over the span of eight days, with …
The daughter of a family friend is graduating high school this year. Now, at the end of an extraordinarily successful high school career, her voice deepens with cynicism: “I just want to get it over with so I can start …
HMI Gap is officially on the road with USA Gap Year Fairs. We are traveling across the country to meet students face to face during Gap Fairs, High School presentations, and visits at local climbing gyms. This is a great way to learn …
HMI Gap is officially on the road with USA Gap Year Fairs. We are traveling across the country to meet students face to face during Gap Fairs, High School presentations, and visits at local climbing gyms. This is a great way to learn …
Last week, our tight-knit group said the inevitable goodbye and journeyed off to new adventures. Some students and instructors stayed in Patagonia to travel independently while others returned to college or home to return to “real life.” The last two …
“Slush Recycle” is a term that Justin, one of our instructors, coined on our most recent backpacking and climbing trip through Parque Patagonia and Reserva Jeinimeni. Walking around in wet boots is not as bothersome as it may sound; eventually, …
These past three weeks have flown by and were packed with activity and adventure in Utah. After settling into the Castleton Tower campground, we began our service project with the Front Range Climbing Stewards rebuilding and maintaining the trail up …
Upon returning from our two weeks of backpacking and climbing in the Sawatch, we had two short days at the HMI campus in Leadville where we geared up and packed everything we would need for our month-long stay in Utah. It was …
Recently, I read “In Fervent Support of the ‘Gap Year,’” a mother’s reflection on her daughter’s choice to defer college for one year. Initially apprehensive, she now has extreme gratitude for how that experience prepared her daughter for the rigors of college …
HMI is excited to announce its newest program, HMI Gap, a 12-week semester for students aged 18-22 looking to step off the “academic treadmill” to explore the world and pursue unique adventures in beautiful places. While rock climbing, backpacking, and participation in real-world conservation …