Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

What does it take to become a wilderness skills guide as a business?

+1
−0

I see lots of schools around different states and countries that teach wilderness skills and they seem to vary a lot in their basis (that is, what qualifies them to do what they do). Some are led by an organization with a handful or more paid staff, some are volunteer individuals, and everything in between. Some are qualified based on certifications, some are qualified based on 'I can do this well' and the latter often goes with X amount of time doing it as a qualification.

Looking at certifications, there are dozens of relevant courses that vary in time requirements, intensity, and geography. Some are just courses to certify you've learned certain skills, whereas others are geared toward pedagogy and not just learning skills but also teaching them. There are also separate certifications which make sense but aren't part of other 'wilderness skill instructor certifications', from wilderness first responder to forest therapy guiding. As a customer of a wilderness skills center, it wouldn't hurt for teachers to have those kinds of certifications, but certainly they aren't necessary.

Is there a standard or commonly accepted expectation in the wilderness skills community of what it takes to be an instructor? For example is it taboo to offer guided trips and courses on wilderness skills, having nothing but one's own experience as credentials? Is there a certain amount of years or specific skills that one is expected to have before teaching others in an organized and even for-money capacity? Or is it purely case by case, up to the opinion of customers whether an instructor is qualified enough or not? Mainly asking in the context of USA and Canadian wilderness skills schools and culture, trying to get a sense of how the wilderness skills community views qualification for people trying to lead a new thread in the community.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/21776. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

3 answers

You are accessing this answer with a direct link, so it's being shown above all other answers regardless of its score. You can return to the normal view.

+0
−0

In my experience, it comes down to 4 things.

  1. Wilderness First Responder Certification: The first course is 80 hours and then you need to recertify after 2 years. There are other certifications such as a Wilderness EMT but this is pretty much the standard.

  2. Organization specific instructor course: When you become an instructor for an organization you usually have to take their specific instructor course and pass it. I did this at a place called Summit Adventure when I wanted to work for them.

  3. Experience: This comes in the form of prior trips and rock climbs. I keep mine in a spreadsheet with the number of days, people, miles traveled, mountains climbed etc. Some place have minimum amounts, when I was looking at Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries it was at least 6 weeks of backpacking experience in at least one-week increments.

  4. Being in shape: This sounds obvious but I have seen out of shape people try and fail, you have to be in good physical shape or you may as well stay home.

Of course, it will all depend on the specific organization but that is usually what is needed.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

+0
−0

A great starting point would be to undergo an intensive program in outdoor skills and leadership.

In Canada there is COLT -- Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training. COLT is 100 days long and covers camping, open canoeing, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering, and wilderness first aid.

In the US, and in many other countries, there is NOLS -- National Outdoor Leadership School. NOLS offers many different courses of different lengths on the same above activities, as well as sailing.

They are well-respected schools giving you good experiential education and some certifications, possibly to be used as a basis for further specialized training/certification.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/21805. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

0 comment threads

+0
−0

I like the answer of @Charlie Brumbaugh, and it would be hard to do better as an official answer, but I would like to add the perspective of one category of prospective client: The older, highly experienced but still healthy backpacker who now needs help with carrying stuff (Sherpa help -- I hope that does not minimize the important role Sherpas play on expeditions) -- and wants, but does not need, someone to help with the logistics.

This is based on my own experience of only a year or two and some readers might dismiss it as an "opinion-based answer", but I think it is more pertinent than that.

A Possible Niche Market: A lot of backpackers are getting older, some of us a lot older, but are not yet ready to turn in our hiking boots and sit by an indoor fire watching TV. We can still hike, we still want to sleep under the stars, we still want to feel part of TGO. But we are sloooow with a pack. Up to some point, being slow means we can still do, but have to do it slower; after that point, being slow means one can't do, or it is at least not fun any more.

For this group, of which I am now, alas, one, a strong, experienced person makes the difference. She doesn't have to have formal credentials, just a good reputation among people the customer trusts.

My husband and I found one such person two years ago through our doctor's daughter. After an exchange of e-mails and phone calls, we decided he would work out, and he did, extremely well.

I don't know how well he would have handled a large group, or a group of inexperienced people, or a group into unknown territory, but for a group of two experienced people who knew their own capacity and who were going back to an area they knew well, he was ideal.

This kind of help is one step beyond the packer who only packs stuff into and out of one's base camp, and is worth it only for people who value solitude in TGO, and thus reject a group trip with a lot of strangers.

It is definitely not for every aging backpacker, and it is also expensive, but there is probably a niche market here.

I can think of many caveats, but, as I said, this is a good option if people know what they are doing but need help doing it.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/21781. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »