Dear HMI Community, A season has passed since we wrote following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May. The horrific event underscored the need for HMI to examine our place in enabling a society where such a thing could happen. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice and so many others have […]
We are very pleased to report the successful completion of our Fall 2020 Semester and Gap programming. Both of these programs ran in an entirely in-person fashion and did not experience a single positive COVID case. Gap students departed from Arizona on December 8, Semester students left our campus in Leadville on December 11. HMI
Written by Grace, Carrin and Meg Our first few days in the KOFA We begin our hiking days with a familiar routine: packing our backpacks with all our belongings, making a tasty warm breakfast (usually hash browns or oatmeal), treating our water bottles, and doing a map check. In preparation for independent student travel, we
written by Jake Wang Disclaimer: **If you’ve never experienced an HMI program before many of Jake’s references may leave you scratching your head…we’ve got a pretty impressive lexicon of random terms that eventually become like a second language to students** From Jake: We’re on the way back from the Kofa, our toughest segment yet. With
written by Sameer Das The light of day was snatched from my eyes as I was thrown into frigid water. My breath was held tight as I tried to reach for what I thought was a lifeline above me. To my shock, I grabbed the life vest of another person who was also thrown into
Silent Football in the Boatzilla: ( you have to read on to understand this title) By Lara When we all get tired of paddling, and there’s not enough time to pull over to a tan sandy beach on the shore, something called the floatilla (aka the boatzilla) is born. On November 17th, our group got
Written by: Sol Walker and Janak Bhakta The following two stories recount the Wilderness & Conservation Semester 1 group’s trek through the Paria Canyon. To minimize human impact, the group split into two smaller independent groups that completed the trek independently; thus, they have written two separate posts to share their experience. Group A (by
F-Trek 2 describes a typical day at their climb camp in Snow Canyon, Utah. Written by: Emma and Lily. Our cozy basecamp. We hardly ever sleep in the mid-tents we set up, preferring to risk frost on our sleeping bags to be able to get a full few of the stars. There is hardly anything
Written by: Hannah Abramowitz and McKenna Fox After spending our time so far climbing up walls, this past week our group ventured down into the depths of the Utah canyons. Our five-day backpacking/canyoneering expedition began with great excitement and enthusiasm. Once we reached our first campsite, located on the canyon’s rim, many quickly scouted for
written by: Evie Usich After an incredible month in the desert of southern Utah, we’re back in Leadville for a few “transition days” before we head to Arizona. We started our time in Utah “basecamping” just outside of Moab before packing our backpacks once again for a 16-day trip into the canyons in Bears Ears
