Programs

Wilderness Orientation is a fun adventure filled with exploration. Wilderness has been the introductory program of the school since the 1970's - well before it became widely embraced by colleges, universities, and other K-12 schools who have recently created their own versions to orientate students to their communities and provide an important community-oriented transitionary experience for their students. Our program is designed to introduce all new students to the school’s values of respect, responsibility, and excellence through a ten-day backpacking trip. Wilderness Orientation also serves the vital role of creating a shared collective experience through service, teamwork, challenge, and adventure all before the start of the academic school year. The skills taught on Wilderness Orientation not only benefit students on subsequent outdoor adventures but also provide valuable lessons and strategies that will help them better approach everyday life at CRMS and beyond.

The individual Wilderness Orientation groups travel through the nearby high country in the Hunter-Fryingpan, Snowmass, and Maroon Bells regions. The first three days of the trip are devoted to a service project with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain and improve backcountry trails. The remainder of the adventure entails a week-long backpacking expedition traveling on- and off-trail through the spectacular mountainous terrain. All the expedition leaders are CRMS faculty members who are qualified, experienced, and certified outdoor educators.

Although the program is physically and mentally demanding, no previous backpacking or mountaineering experience is necessary. Students learn to take care of themselves and other group members while living and working together in a new environment. These self-sufficiency and teamwork skills transfer back to their lives at school, in the classroom, and in the dorms. Students come back bonded with new friends and ready to embark on the new school year with enthusiasm and confidence.

Fall Trip, in particular, is an opportunity for the entire school to celebrate the Rocky Mountain region in all of its autumn splendor. Trips are designed to provide challenging and rewarding experiences that urge students and faculty to work together, enjoy each other’s company, and learn new skills while exploring some of the myriad public lands that surround CRMS. Fall Trip also allows students to integrate skills acquired in the afternoon active program on an outdoor trip.

Sample Fall Trip offerings include:

• Hiking and Service trips throughout the Alfred Braun Hut System
• Rock climbing  San Rafael Swell, Unaweep, Shelf Road
• Kayaking  Ruby and Horsethief canyons, Gates of Lodor
• Mountain biking  Crested Butte, White Rim Trail, Fruita

Spring Trip allows the entire school to undertake expeditions that explore the mesas, rivers, and canyons of the American Southwest. Students and faculty embark on exciting and challenging experiences that build upon and utilize skills learned during Wilderness and Fall Trip. Students discover more about their strengths as they realize their individual roles within group settings.

Sample Spring Trip offerings include:

• Canoeing and hiking  Green River
• Rock climbing  Shelf Road, Indian Creek, San Rafael Swell
• Backpacking  Death Hollow, Slickhorn Canyon
• Canyoneering  Gravel and Long canyons, Robbers' Roost
• Mountain biking  Kokopelli Trail

When students are encouraged to take developmentally appropriate physical, social, and emotional risks, tremendous growth can happen. As participants in our dynamic program, students live and learn in the outdoors throughout the year. These encounters are wonderfully challenging and rewarding. Here at CRMS, there is an underlying conviction that the benefits of venturing into uncertain territory with appropriate guidance yields precisely the holistic developmental gains that are enormously beneficial to students in college and well beyond. 

Understanding our conception of risk is essential in appreciating a CRMS education. Risk can be understood as the potential to lose something of value. Mountain Safety Expert Jed Williamson informs us that “What we need to remember is that our motivation for risk is to gain something of value—good health, self-confidence, recognition, spiritual growth, money, friends, relationships, career move, whatever it might be. But in short, it comes out to a life worth living.”

At CRMS, these motivations, or benefits, of taking risks in the outdoors, for example, are varied. They include an emerging ability to manage oneself and make decisions, to learn to manage one’s thoughts and feelings (i.e., impulsivity, fear, bravado, etc.), to learn to manage one’s physical body during a time of maturation and physical exercise, and to learn about personal judgment, being part of a team, etc.

A vital dimension of risk is inherent risk. Inherent risk is the type of risk that is a natural part of conducting an activity. With knowledge and planning, the inherent risks of activities can be managed and practices can be put into place to respond appropriately. If asked, "Why not eliminate risk from your programs altogether?" We would contend that eliminating the risk associated with an activity would transform the experience into something different entirely. That is, we endeavor in the outdoors in large part because of the risk—because of the developmental benefits that await us in those rich moments.

CRMS takes immense pride in the heritage and the excellence that inform its active curriculum. Our faculty leaders are trained and certified in wilderness medicine. We work diligently to ensure that our practices in the Outdoor Program and within our sports reflect contemporary and accepted practices in the field. The school has been fully accredited by the Association for Experiential Education since 2006 and remains a member of this leading organization.