2. Operating for 40 years, Wilderness Ventures is the oldest and most experienced adventure
travel program for young people. Their life-altering experiences in some of the world's most
magnificent outdoor settings are crafted for young adults who are just beginning their
experiences in the outdoors or teenagers who are accustomed to outdoor life. Wilderness
Ventures provides fun and adventure in a non-competitive, supportive small group setting. The
companies‘ trips offer unparalleled, educational opportunities in some of our world’s most
beautiful outdoor settings.
3. Trips
Wilderness Ventures' adventures are not tours,
but rather combinations of carefully planned
activities in a wide range of wilderness and
outdoor environments that are located in
specific geographical regions.
The Wilderness Ventures' programs range from
2 weeks to 6 weeks, and the participants
engage in multi-activity wilderness and outdoor
adventures, including backpacking, whitewater
rafting, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking, rock
climbing, canoeing, inflatable kayaking,
mountaineering, fly fishing, snorkeling, SCUBA
diving, sailing, surfing, canyoneering, bicycle
touring, mountain biking, ice climbing, hiking,
glacier trekking, community service and cultural
immersion.
4. Trips by Region
From their founding trip in the Glacier Peak Wilderness
area to the European Alps to the beaches of Tahiti and
New Zealand, Wilderness Ventures offers the most
comprehensive opportunities for young folks to explore
world’s outdoors.
Wilderness Ventures’ trips are divided into the following
regions:
• Rocky Mountains • American Southwest
• Alaska • Hawaii
• California • South America
• Southeast and • Central America
Northeast and Pacific • Europe
Northwest United • Australia and South
States Pacific
• Africa
5. Trip Categories
Introductory Adventures International Adventures
Perfect introductory adventures, with lot's of Experience new activities, languages and
variety for our youngest students completing cultures on these exciting adventures around
the 6th grade. the globe.
Leadership Adventures Community Service Adventures
Enjoy a variety of fun, beginner-friendly Earn up to 80 service hours while adventuring
activities in these outstandingly beautiful in the most spectacular outdoor settings on
outdoor environments. the planet.
Biking Adventures Family Adventures
Carefully crafted bicycling adventures from A family adventure in Yellowstone will be
two to six weeks, designed for young adults offered to older alumni, parents of alumni and
who seek challenge and personal growth former staff members as well as their children
within a non-competitive, nurturing and in 2013.
wholesome environment.
6. more on Bicycling Adventures
Wilderness Ventures Bicycling Adventures have been an important part of their program
dating back to the first Puget Sound bike trip in 1982. These marvelous adventures are a
wonderful way to explore a region.
Bicycle Touring Adventures
Student groups will cycle the back roads of some of the most spectacular parts of our
planet. Along the way, they’ll meet people full of culture, stories and tradition. These trips
are a great way for youth to gain pride and self-confidence knowing they have reached their
destination under their own power.
Mountain Biking Adventures
Wilderness Ventures mountain biking trips open the door to a variety of trails through some
of the most spectacular and pristine environments of our planet. These trips are planned to
take advantage of the finest trails you may have read about and emphasize how to safely
bike while protecting the environment. They are a wonderful way to gain self-confidence and
to learn about a variety of natural settings from alpine to desert canyons
7. more on Family Adventures
Wilderness Ventures’ family
programs sample some of the
beauty and excitement they
have been provided students for
the past forty years.
These six-day, five-night
adventures are designed for the
adventuresome parents of
family’s with children seeking an
active vacation in one of North
America’s most distinctive
outdoor settings, Teton-
Yellowstone country. At the
same time, families will get to relax and dine in comfortable inns and lodges.
8. What Sets Wilderness Ventures Apart?
When Mike and Helen Cottingham founded Wilderness Ventures
40 years ago, their program was a new and unique concept.
Because of their extraordinary success, they soon became a
model for others. Though it’s flattering so many others have
attempted to duplicate the Wilderness Ventures experience, they
remain the most widely recognized and respected program in
this field.
Key factors that separate Wilderness Ventures from the
competition:
• Family Atmosphere • Exceptional and Exclusive
• Personal Attention Destinations
• Unmatched Experience • Limited Vehicle Travel
• Outstanding Leaders • Enthusiastic Participants
• Small Compatible Groups • Minimal Use of
Subcontractors
9. Wilderness Ventures By the Numbers
Total number of students that have been on a
21,000 Wilderness Venture trip
Number of participants that have climbed
2,200 the Grand Teton in Wyoming
Number of participants that have climbed
2,100 Mount Rainier in Washington
Number of years Wilderness Venture has
40 been in operation
Number of national parks Wilderness
20 Ventures has special permits to operate in
Number of designated wilderness areas
17 Wilderness Ventures has special permits to
operate in
10. Wilderness Ventures History
Throughout the last 40 years, Wilderness Ventures have spent many summers mastering
the trips they first started with – but they’ve also set the standard for the industry by racking
up many ‘firsts’ along the way.
In 1973, Mike and Helen Cottingham founded Wilderness
Ventures, combining their love for teaching young adults
with their passion for the American wilderness and
adventure.
1973: Camping at a hut (removed long ago) in the Glacier
Peak Wilderness on Wilderness Ventures’ first eight-week
adventure in the Rockies and Pacific Northwest. Since
then, over 14,000 students have participated in a variation
of this original Northwest trip.
11. Wilderness Ventures History
2001: Backpacking the Jatbula Track in Australia’s
Northern Territory. Wilderness Ventures becomes the first
teen wilderness travel program for young adults to venture
in to the ancestral homeland of the Mangarrayi aboriginal
people.
2007: Wilderness Ventures becomes the first and only
wilderness travel program for young adults to be awarded
a concession license in Grand Teton National Park
granting them exclusive access to overnight backpacking
trips in the park.
**View a comprehensive look at Wilderness
Ventures history over the years.
12. Safety
Over the past 40 years Wilderness
Ventures has had nearly 21,000 students
and an excellent safety record. This
record is the result of their strict staff
selection process, comprehensive staff
training, highly detailed protocol for
conducting their trips, and their low
student to staff ratios. Their approach and
commitment to safety and risk
management requires an ongoing
process of re-
evaluation, learning, adjusting, and
improving in order to enhance safety
without losing the adventure qualities of
their trips.
13. Leadership
You won’t find any other
program with a more
talented, dynamic and
professional group of leaders
than Wilderness Ventures.
Wilderness Ventures’ leaders
all have a proven track record
when it comes to past
achievements. They’re
leaders are far more than
guides or instructors.
Although their primary responsibility is to ensure the safety and well-being of every
student, each Wilderness Ventures leader is a wonderful role model. The leaders are
bright, dynamic, accomplished and charismatic adults who exude enthusiasm and inspire
participants to achieve their highest potential in everything they do.
14. Giving Back
Today, every Wilderness Ventures
group, including all programs not
focused on service, do their parts
through small, but important clean-up
projects on the lands they travel
through. From constructing classrooms
in the small villages of Ecuador, Costa
Rica, and Fiji, to improving habitat for
endangered sea turtles in the
Galapagos Islands; Giving back is
emphasized on every trip.
Additionally, Wilderness Ventures contributes to environmental sustainability through zero-
impact camping, printing their beautiful catalog on soy-ink, recycled paper and supporting
a variety of organizations dedicated to the sustainability of our planet.
Visit www.wildernessventures.com/givingback for more
information on Wilderness Ventures’ green policies.
15. Media Contacts
Hailey McDonald
Director of New Media, Adventure Media
hailey@adventuremedianews.com
970.379.9363
Mike Cottingham
Founder, Wilderness Ventures
mike@wildernessventures.com
307.733.2122
