HMI Gap Semesters: Adventure, Conservation & Leadership in Wild Places

Name: HMI Gap Semesters: Adventure, Conservation & Leadership in Wild Places
Brand: High Mountain Institute
SKU: 66434
Rating: 4.89 (96 reviews)

Read 96 reviews

4.89 Rating

Leave a Review

Location

Multiple Locations +2

United States of America
Chile
- Patagonia

Length

4 - 26 weeks

Program Tags

Adventure Travel After College Conservation Cultural Immersion Hands-On Learning Language Immersion Learning Differences Post-High School Social Justice Study Abroad Volunteer Abroad Wilderness +2

Financial Support

Need-based funding, Payment plans, 529 Plan eligibility

View Other Details

Program Details

Activities

Backpacking Camping Canyoning Mountain Climbing Rafting Rock Climbing Sightseeing Skiing Trekking

Timeframe

Fall Spring Winter

Housing

Host Family Hostel Lodge Tent

Primary Language

English

Age Min.

Age Max

Pricing

Starting Price

17490

Price Details

The price of tuition includes room and board as well as all domestic travel throughout the program. Tuition does not include travel to and from Denver and to Patagonia, or the price of gear.

Need-based financial aid is available on a rolling basis. Our highest awards include full tuition, free gear rentals and travel to and from the program.

What's Included

Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Equipment Meals Park Fees Transportation

What's Not Included

Airfare Travel Insurance Visa

Last Updated: Nov 15, 2023

Last Reviewed: Dec 08, 2023

Wish List

54 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

HMI’s Gap Semesters connect outdoor adventure, conservation, environmental curriculum, and leadership as students venture on an uninterrupted journey of self-discovery in the natural world. Our students thrive as engaged citizen by exploring some of the world’s most awe-inspiring places with intention. We believe the best learning occurs in nature’s classroom. Through experiential and field-based activities-- students explore complex cultural, environmental, and ecological issues in the areas that they visit.

Central to all HMI Gap year programs is extended experience and practice in outdoor adventure. Each course goes into great depth to advance students’ skill in either rock climbing or wilderness travel. Whether climbing iconic sandstone towers in Utah, hiking through a breathtaking glacial valley in Patagonia, or rafting down the pristine blue waters of the Chilean Futaleufu river, our outdoor curriculum is aimed at moving students toward excellence and independence.

Visit Site

Apply Now

Video and Photos

American West Traverse expedition in Utah

Exploring Gravel Canyon in Bears Ears National Monument

HMI Students take a festive water break in the Sawatch Range, CO.

Taking in the breathtaking artistic remains of the ancestral puebloan ruins in Bears Ears National Monument

HMI Gap course at Cerro Colorado, outside Chile Chico

View All Photos

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

The High Mountain Institute believes that both diversity and inclusion are essential to growth and learning. We all achieve our potential when each person in the community feels a true sense of belonging, and has the confidence to express their full self.

At HMI, inclusiveness starts with an intentional and affirming community. Creating such a community is our priority. We connect deeply to each other through classes, wilderness expeditions, and shared responsibilities. We prioritize open communication and honest conflict resolution. These efforts inspire us to build trust, to value diverging perspectives, and to build communities greater than ourselves.

Historically, however, outdoor programs like HMI have attracted largely white and privileged populations. At times, this has made it challenging for all at our school to feel fully part of our community. We seek to address these challenges at HMI by increasing the diversity of our students, faculty, staff, trustees, and advisers; by creating classes and activities that explore and reflect students’ identities; by expanding the cultural competence of faculty and staff; and by continually challenging the assumptions we hold.

We engage with this challenging work because we are committed to building an exceptional learning environment rooted in community—not just for some, but for all who seek to be inspired by the natural world.

Learn More

Program Highlights

Rock Climbing, Backpacking, Backcountry Skiing, Rafting, Canyoneering
Stewardship, Community, Leadership
Environmental Studies Curriculum
Spanish language
College credit through Western Colorado University or Portland State

Popular Programs

Exploring the slot canyons of Southeastern Utah

Traverse Semesters

Spend a semester backpacking, backcountry skiing, canyoneering, and rafting through the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Greater Canyonlands of Utah, and vast deserts of Arizona. You’ll go into great depth to advance your backcountry wilderness skills while studying pressing environmental issues and participating in real-world conservation service work.

Dedicate a semester to honing your technical outdoor rock climbing skills.

Rock Semesters

Spend a semester rock climbing and traveling through the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Greater Canyonlands of Utah, and breathtaking Patagonia. You’ll go into great depth to advance your climbing and outdoor skills for the entire semester while studying pressing environmental issues and participating in hands-on conservation projects.

Work with climate scientists to study the glaciers in Patagonia's wild Northern Icefields.

Trek Semesters

During an HMI Gap Trek Semester students focus on honing technical backpacking and backcountry travel skills.

In the fall students travel through the American West and Chilean, Patagonia. In the Spring students travel through Chilean, Patagonia.

Scholarships

High Mountain Institute Award

If you’re looking at one of the four High Mountain Institute programs to Patagonia, consider applying for financial aid. Your application must include tax forms from the last two years and will be awarded based on SSS (school and student services calculator) used by National Association of Independent Schools, which HMI is apart of. In addition to tuition and other travel costs, High Mountain Institute also provides discounted gear rentals to financial aid recipients.

Value

$1,000 - $15,000

Learn More

Related Programs

Program Reviews

4.89 Rating

based on 96 reviews

Leave a Review

Rating Spread Gap Year

5 rating 88.54%
4 rating 11.46%
3 rating 0%
2 rating 0%
1 rating 0%

Housing 4.75
Support 4.9
Fun 4.85
Value 4.9
Safety 4.85

Good for Adventure travelers, Students

Showing 41 - 48 of 96 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.

What was your funniest moment?

Surprising the day’s multi-pitchers when they came back from a long day climbing with a Jeopardy-themed scavenger hunt involving the whole group. They had to look for all of us in the dark in order to get a prize!

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.

What was your funniest moment?

Every interaction with the group, I laughed more with these people than with any other group I’ve known

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.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

We had the chance to run a canyon while backpacking in Jacob’s Chair, Utah, a few days after a big storm. It was something I had never done before, never anything like it, but it was awesome! Hiking through the canyon, swimming through the pools that had formed, rappelling down, and finally emerging at the end was unforgettable.

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!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

Bring mio for your water and don’t spend too much time on your phone on transition days! Time with your fellow students is so precious.

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.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

I would tell future students to make the most of every day. Even on long hiking days, your cook group is going to have a great time hanging out that evening, and every chance you get to see a big horn sheep or another really cool plant/animal in the places you travel is a special opportunity. The days start to go by fast, and you'll want to spend every minute of it enjoying the time you have.

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.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?

I have never skied before, and there was a ten day expedition that used telemark skis to help navigate snow in the backcountry. I rented skis from HMI, and instructors took us to local ski place in Leadville to practice. However, the expedition was hard as the cold and this new skill were mentally draining. Because of the supportive people and looking inside myself for strength, I overcame the traveling and difficulties that come with living outside in the snow. I look back greatly at this moment because I pushed myself the most during the semester that I would not have been able to do without HMI.

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.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

The most surprising thing I did with HMI was traveling through Gravel Canyon in Jacob's Chair National Monument. It was an incredibly long day and we left camp before the sun rose and got back well after it set. We scrambled over boulders, wandered through slot canyons, and had to repel to the next section of the canyon three different times! It was intense and difficult at times, but also incredibly fun and massively rewarding. We were all surprised at how far we had come with our hiking, endurance, and technical repels and had an amazing day.

Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I'd always wanted to do some kind of wilderness expedition or trip - but it just never ended up happening when I was younger. When I realized I could take a gap year to go do something awesome in the backcountry I was pretty much hooked - HMI particularly appealed to me because of the environmental studies/conservation curriculum which appealed to my curious, academic side as well as my desire to go adventuring!

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

I had to figure out travel to and from the program myself, and get gear. HMI was incredibly supportive before and during this semester, though: There was a comprehensive gear list to work off of, there were lots of staff who were incredibly receptive to the (many) questions I had going in, and during the semester the instructors of my semester were always open to questions and provided support when I needed it.

View Entire Interview

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

First: bring a wildlife book or guide of some kind! And generally bring your curious spirit. There's SO MUCH you can learn just by asking questions out there and looking for the answers, and it's totally worth making the extra effort to understand the landscapes around you.
Second: you're going to spend a lot of time with a small group of people. Be open to them all during the whole semester. It feels great to be given a clean slate during the semester, and even better when you can reciprocate that for everyone.
Last, and perhaps most important: This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. Approach it every day with gratitude and wonder and an open heart.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

The wilderness and conservation semester (HMI's heaviest backpacking semester) is essentially a series of 2-week-long expeditions. In the backcountry, most days mean waking up, cooking breakfast on the WhisperLite and packing a lunch, and then packing up camp to leave for a hike to the next campsite. When you get there, you set up camp, hang out and explore depending on the length of the hiking day, cook dinner, and then turn in for a night under the stars, usually exhausted and incredibly glad for the warmth of your sleeping bag. There are usually some layover days where we do day hikes or play group games sprinkled into the expeditions. Then, between expeditions, we stay in a hostel, clean our gear and get it ready for the next expedition, reconnect with family and friends, and rest up.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

I was quite nervous about spending so much time with so small a group, and also about the climbing portion of our semester.
I shouldn't have worried about the group - the community is facilitated well by instructors, and I think HMI attracts interesting, kind people so we really got along. There were obviously some moments of conflict, but we worked through them, and if I needed time alone I could usually take a moment when we got into camp to journal or nap or whatever I needed.
In terms of the climbing, I felt like I was incredibly good hands - the HMI staff are really qualified and competent and great teachers, so the climbing portion ended up being for me a real chance to conquer some fears.

What should I bring with me?

You should bring small games and things like that. Playing cards was a huge icebreaker for us, and playing party games like Salad Bowl and others was a lot of fun.
Bring plenty of bandanas - you'd be amazed at the multitude of uses they have!
Bring books related to the places you'll be in - I thought it was totally worth the extra weight to be able to read about the landscapes we trekked through.
Bring a packable daypack - the bigger the better! We use them for all kinds of things, and being able to fit more stuff in them is very helpful...

Maya Shyevitch

2019 Alum

Caitlin Durcan

2015 Alum

About High Mountain Institute

The High Mountain Institute's (HMI) programs lie at the intersection of where nature and minds meet. With courses traveling through Patagonia and the American West, students embark on an incredible three-month journey to some of the world's wildest places. With options to choose a rock climbing or wilderness travel focus, students explore these...