Program Reviews

A one-of-a-kind semester program exploring sport, trad, and crack climbing in the American west with the opportunity to backpack and go canyoneering. The intentional community at HMI gap is supportive and encouraging, especially when doing things outside your comfort zone and trying new things. Expect unexpected adventures through beautiful landscapes with peers of various perspectives and backgrounds. Highlights included: snowy hiking in the Sawatch range, Halloween costume bouldering in Moab, and cooking cheesy pasta with friends.

To attempt to encapsulate this experience within a review is difficult; the experiences I had go beyond words and extend into the deeply personal. I learned a new skill set in gorgeous places with a community I now hold dear. The climbing progression around the West worked as a perfect medium to expand personal and community support. Lead climbing in Arizona held as a medium for leadership skills, crack climbing in Utah as a medium for positive group dynamic, and so on. The environments HMI creates within the ones it climbs in allowed for lifelong memories and even more everlasting personal development and friendships. I can only say thank you to those who make it what it is.

This was a transformative experience and, while it was incredibly difficult and scary, I am so glad I did it. I fell in love with rock climbing and met such amazing people. I had never climbed before this program but HMI gave me a great introduction to everything I needed to know. In addition, I learned so many important things about myself that I will bring back into the real world. I feel very lucky that I was able to participate in this program and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a true adventure.

I was certainly nervous going into this program as I had never done any kind of gap semester, but the months I spent doing HMI Gap have been some of the most incredible of my life. The people were amazing, the faculty were supportive and knowledgeable, the places we traveled to were breathtaking, and the things we did and learned will stay with me for the rest of my life. I would do it all again in a heartbeat. If you feel like you’re not ‘the right kind of person’ for this sort of thing, or that you’re not experienced enough, don’t let that stop you! There’s a huge range of people and experience levels in the program, and they teach you everything you need to succeed.

I decided to attend HMI gap because I was not having a good time at college online. And I’m so glad I did! I learned so many backcountry trip skills in telemark skiing, climbing, backpacking, canyoneering and more. The instructors are all so warm and wonderful role models and I got really close with the other students. The environmental studies curriculum is relevant, immersive, and pretty chill in terms of academic difficulty. I also attended the HMI high school semester and had a wonderful time
There too but also got different things out of it. All the stars!

I never thought I would be taking a year off after high school to backpack in the Southwest, but I'm so glad I did. Though I had little experience with camping and traveling in the wilderness areas, HMI gap made it possible for me to have an incredible three months in a super special community. We rafted the Colorado river, skied in the Rocky Mountains, and traveled through many slot canyons and deserts in Arizona and Utah. These are experiences I never thought I would have the chance to enjoy, much less with the group of 14 amazing people who I had the privilege of meeting and becoming friends with. One of the best aspects of this trip was how much it prompted me to grow and how much I learned about myself and the world around me, and I am super grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of it.

The HMI Gap Semester offers some of the most beautiful scenery someone could ever see and amazing people someone could ever meet. Everyone from the expedition organizers to the expedition leaders are helpful and do their best to make sure that each person has what they need in every backpacking environment. As someone who has never backpacked before, I felt like I was in good hands all the time. Not to mention, the food is awesome as students get to pick what they want to eat and learn what is best to bring. For anyone looking to learn about themselves over a gap semester, they would be hard pressed to find one better than what HMI offers.

HMI gave me the perfect mixture of outdoor adventure, leadership skills, and environmental studies to create a genuinely phenomenal semester! I had spent very little time camping, backpacking, or climbing before the program, but HMI equipped me with all of the mental and physical tools to combat every challenge I would face. They helped me reframe my relationship with the outdoors and truly become comfortable in a wide variety of activities. HMI also created the space for an incredible and unique community. I had an amazing relationship with each individual participant and the group as a whole- we were genuinely a new family. Finally, I was so impressed by HMI's curriculum that brought together readings and discussions which allowed us to evaluate the many perspectives on nature and how they each address contemporary issues. These learnings allowed me to intentionally consider my personal environmental ethic and look at deep changes in my life. Overall, HMI was a wonderful experience of learning and adventure.

I had the best semester of my life doing this program! I got to meet awesome people and make some of my best friends ever. I also got to have some of the coolest experiences of my life and the instructors were super encouraging and supportive. I learned so much about myself and I feel that I’ve grown so much after doing this program. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to grow, make connections, and spend time outdoors. The people on my trip were awesome and I felt close with every single one of them. We got to have deep conversations and hilarious conversations alike.

This semester was totally unexpected for me - I was fully committed to going right into college, not even considering a gap year. COVID hit and I did a last minute pivot, figuring anything would at least be better than online classes. This semester has turned out to be such an amazing experience - I've met so many cool people, seen and truly experienced some of the most incredible places in the US, and become a lot more comfortable with myself in community and as a leader. A total growth experience - if you're interested to be challenged physically and mentally, have awesome, inspiring mentors, and have a chance for some self reflection, this program is for you.