Curriculum
Q. What topics will be covered in the Mountain Leadership School (MLS) course?
A. The MLS curriculum focuses on the technical camping skills and the people skills you need to lead safe and enjoyable day trips and backpacking trips in the area. The lessons include:
- Personal management – staying warm, fed, and hydrated during your trip.
- Organizing a group – group roles, stages of group development, delegation of group resources, and time management.
- The leadership mindset – being aware, anticipating risks and problems, communicating, balancing goals, accepting responsibility.
- Camp skills – selecting camp sites; knowing regulations; setting up and breaking down camp, kitchens and latrines; and practicing Leave No Trace camping.
- Navigation and trip planning – using a map and compass, planning and finding a route, planning for contingencies.
- Mountain craft – weather and lightning, maybe even some geology, botany, or history.
- Learning about yourself as a leader – knowing how to be gentle or forceful and when each is appropriate, deciding what kind of leadership styles you can use effectively.
Q. What happens on the "classroom" day?
A. The MLS experience begins on Wednesday with a full day of classroom activities, including:
- Meeting your group – seven or eight students and two staff facilitators.
- Learning from brief talks – group dynamics, leadership styles, accident prevention, Leave No Trace principles.
- Checking your group gear – setting up tents and familiarizing yourself with camp stoves.
- Making sure you have the right equipment.
- Beginning to lead – facilitators will appoint the first leader and co-leader and they will distribute group gear and plan the first day's hike.
Q. What are my responsibilities when I take a turn as the group leader?
A. Thursday through Sunday, you will hike and camp in the White Mountains, and leadership of the group will rotate among the students. During your time as student leader, you must solve all the problems of outdoor leadership from planning and navigating the day's route to setting up camp at the end of the day. Your challenges will include:
- Communicating with and motivating your co-leader and the other people in your group.
- Being attuned to the group's safety and needs.
- Exercising your skills through role-play scenarios arranged by facilitators.
At the end of your shift as student leader, your facilitators will organize a feedback session to consider what you did, what you were trying to accomplish, and how you might have handled things differently. Your fellow students and facilitators will also tell you how they reacted to your leadership. One of your responsibilities as a student is to be open and candid in your self-assessment and in your feedback to other student leaders.
Facilitators
Q. Who are the facilitators?
A. The facilitators at MLS are all volunteer members of the AMC and are supported by AMC staff. They want to share their love of the outdoors and their leadership experience with new leaders. They include business people, teachers, outdoor educators, and firefighters, and they have hiked, rock-climbed, kayaked, and led trips all over the world. They are all certified in Wilderness First Aid and many are Wilderness First Responders or EMTs.
Preparation
Q. What should I do to prepare for MLS?
A. Take a look at our preparation page for details.
Q. What gear do I need to bring with me?
A. If you apply and are accepted, you will get a confirmation packet including a comprehensive equipment list. (You can review the list online as you learn about preparing for MLS.)
Scholarships
Q. Are scholarships available?
A. Limited scholarships are available through AMC chapters for volunteer AMC trip leaders. If you are interested, you should contact your chapter chair or the backpacking/activities chair in your chapter.
MLS Overview | Be Prepared for MLS | FAQs
