Telluride Mountain School

The Fish and Owl Canyon trip was a 5-day scenic exploration into the Bears Ears National Monument and Moab. This challenging 17-mile loop offered the opportunity to observe unique geological formations, evidence of past civilizations, and study unique flora and fauna. Students learned about the basics of backpacking, making food on the trail, self-care, navigation, and how to explore safely in the backcountry. Building positive relationships, improving school culture, and discussing important issues related to life in school are daily norms that we build into our curriculum. We started each day with an inspirational quote and discussion and ended it with a reflection and opportunity for students to express themselves and reflect on the opportunities for the day. In this unique and educational experience, students learned about themselves and the natural world and to become stewards of the Earth and leaders in their communities.  To conclude the backpacking portion of the trip, the high schoolers traveled to Moab to participate in rock climbing and canyoneering.  The class was divided into two large groups; one group climbed at Looking Glass Arch, a multi-pitch 5.4 climb that ended with a 200-foot rappel through an arch.  The second group went canyoneering in Pritchard Canyon, where they completed three rappels, two of which measured 100+ feet.  

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