VOBS / Galapagos Winter Adventure
Course Dates
February 5-9, 2025
Welcome Students!
Voyageur Outward Bound School is excited to partner with your school for a leadership adventure like no other. Your Leadership Adventure, will take place at our basecamp outside of Ely, MN on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA). You and your crew will learn to care for sled dogs, nordic ski, pulk (pull a sled) and thrive outside in the winter.
The BWCAW is a protected and pristine wilderness, with more water than land. This unique biome stretches across the northeastern border of Minnesota. The BWCAW communicates important stories about conservation, people and place. From geology, to mining and indigenous culture, the BWCAW invites curiosity, inquiry and leadership. You will be challenged to reflect on your place in the world, and you will be called upon to lead with your peers. There is zero light pollution; this may be the first time you truly encounter the wonder of the night sky. Untrammeled forest, snow, ice and sled dogs create great conditions for learning leadership. You will be part of a crew, and not a passenger. Together, with your peers (human and canine), you will learn to survive, adapt and thrive in one of the most beautiful, interesting and challenging places on earth. Your Leadership Adventure is designed to support your compassion, resilience and leadership. You will try various activities in a crew of 7 students, with two highly experienced, very caring human Outward Bound instructors, and a host of very experienced, and engaging canine Outward Bound instructors. You will learn through the group and for the group. You and your peers will progress through Outward Bound’s time-tested and proven Theory of Change, found in the next section.
See what previous students have said about their experience:
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW)
Over 10,000 years ago, continental-sized glaciers scraped their way across much of Ontario and northern Minnesota leaving deep ruts, ravines, and holes in their tracks. Eventually, as the glaciers melted, these ravines filled with water, creating a seemingly endless interconnected web of lakes and rivers.
In 1978, the United States designated over 1-million acres of this Northern Minnesota landscape as a protected wilderness area called the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW). Because no roads, power lines, or motorized craft may enter its borders, the BWCAW has remained relatively unchanged since the glaciers receded. The BWCAW extends nearly 150 miles along the Canadian border and encompasses more than 1,000 lakes and rivers. Over 1,200 miles of navigable routes lead to over 2,200 campsites and provide an unparalleled opportunity to travel by canoe and dogsled.
In the winter, the BWCAW transforms into an even more severe and remote wilderness. While more difficult, winter enthusiasts’ travel over frozen lakes and rivers by dogsled, cross-country ski and snowshoe. Winter in the Boundary Waters is mesmerizing, peaceful, and exhilarating. It is a place of spectacular extremes, trackless snow, bracing cold air, glowing warm embers, and powerful silence.
Homeplace, Voyageur Outward Bound School Basecamp, Minnesota
Homeplace is located at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. Situated where the Kawishiwi River meets Birch Lake in the Superior National Forest, the Voyageur Outward Bound School basecamp provides an ideal location for launching/ending BWCAW paddling and dogsledding trips, and practicing white water paddling skills. The surrounding boreal forest also makes Homeplace a great location for spotting moose, wolves, beavers, deer, woodpeckers, eagles and black bear.
Dogsledding, Skiing, and Sauna - The small town of Ely, Minnesota, where the Voyageur Outward Bound School is located, is known as the dogsledding capital of the lower 48 states for good reason. Our base camp, affectionately referred to as Homeplace, is located in the Superior National Forest on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This area is one of the most historically significant and remote wilderness areas in North America; as temperatures drop, winter transforms the wilderness into beautiful, snow-covered environments ideal for winter adventures. As you immerse in a winter experience, you'll travel through diverse forests and on frozen lakes and rivers while learning how to manage teams of huskies, cross-country ski, navigate with a map and compass, check ice-conditions, and generally stay comfortable in potentially sub-zero temperatures. The group will consist of a maximum of 10 students and 2 Instructors. Mushing is not a passenger sport and, depending on the snow conditions, often requires mushers to run and walk along with the dogs. Backcountry cross-country skiing involves making a trail through untracked snow; as you glide along learning new skills, you have opportunities to observe tracks of the smaller and larger animals who call this winter wonderland their home. In the evenings, you'll return to a rustic, cozy cabin on the Kawishiwi River. You'll enjoy filling, home-cooked meals and in the evening you'll have the opportunity to partake in the age-old tradition of a wood-heated sauna. After sitting in the sauna's heat, take a polar dip into the frozen river through a hole cut in the ice. The nearby Boundary Waters is a designated dark-sky destination; you'll have the opportunity to stand on the ice in the deep quiet of winter and gaze at the Milky Way and night sky.
Day 1 - Arrival, meeting instructors, thermo regulation 101, gear distribution
Day 2 - Ice lessons & travel, skiing, team building outside, fire 101, meet the dogs
Day 3 - Dog sled run with staff (in the sled & on runners with staff), lunch over the fire, wall tent evening for dinner
Day 4 - Winter olympics with various skills, students cook their own dinner over the fire
Day 5 - Travel home after breakfast
Wilderness Leadership Expeditions
Theory of Change:
Learning > Leadership > Responsibility
On Expedition, each participant learns and executes a specific role each day to support safe and successful group wilderness travel and survival, activating peer and personal leadership through trust and vulnerability. Participants develop character and community together-- more resilient and compassionate people, for a more resilient and compassionate world.
The Leadership Expedition develops key social-emotional skills across four Domains of Thriving, leading to vital character outcomes for success. Outward Bound promotes belonging, strength and purpose for developing leaders through hands-on intra and inter-personal skill development.
Domains of Thriving:
Belonging, Courage, Physical Engagement, Reflection
Character Outcomes:
- Teamwork
- Self-Awareness
- Social Responsibility
- Assertiveness
- Perseverance
- Physical Confidence
- Self-Regulation
- Group Relationships
Minnesota’s weather can be unpredictable with a wide range of temperatures. Between December and March Minnesota temperatures can range from -40 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but -20 to 20 degree nights and days are the most common. Days are typically very sunny with bright blue skies. Wind and snow are common.
Weather is always a factor when traveling in the wilderness and it adds an exciting element of challenge to each course. Learning to handle varying weather conditions is essential to a successful wilderness course.
While you are not sleeping outside and traveling expedition-style, you will be physically active every day. For that reason, we recommend you prepare for the experience. Please utilize the resources below to physically and mentally prepare for your course. The more preparation you do, the better your experience will be!
Winter Course Life - A Student's Perspective
Physically Preparing for a Dog Sledding Course - A Staff Perspective