AMC Outdoors, November 2001

A peach glow bathes the hills as I motor up New Hampshire's Route 16 on a Wednesday morning in June, through Conway and Glen to the AMC's Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. The day marks the start of the Mountain Leadership School's 43rd year, a history that serves as a testament to its effectiveness, say instructors, all of whom are volunteers.

The 42 students file into Joe Dodge Lodge for opening remarks. The day's agenda begins with a general overview. Andy Cohen, the 37-year-old outgoing MLS director from New Jersey, promises "a very powerful, constructive experience." Students, assisted by instructors, will actually take turns leading their groups. Mistakes are expected, even encouraged, says Cohen, since those mishaps "lead to education."

"You'll feel what it's like to be a successful leader," he says, before adding with a laugh, "You'll definitely smell it by the time Sunday comes around."

What sets the AMC's MLS course apart is the "experiential component," says Michael Tarmey, a former director. The concept is a straightforward one — sample the various trials and tribulations of trip leading in a controlled setting in order to acquire the knowledge necessary to make critical decisions during "real life" events. Tarmey sets down four guidelines for the course: "Do what's asked of you. Learn what you do not know. Teach what you've learned. Have fun." Sounds simple enough.

We then break into six groups and meet the students with whom we will spend the next four days. Our group is an older, eclectic bunch: a lawyer, a supply manager, a doctor, two teachers, a grad student, a writer. Most have some leadership experience, and all have more overnights under their belts than I do.

The instructors, or "facilitators," are Jeff Hogan, a 38-year-old Connecticut outdoor fanatic who is also the incoming director of MLS, and Peter Broderick, a 45-year-old project manager from Rhode Island. We introduce ourselves — Jef Davis, 37, from Worcester, Mass.; Eva Borsody Das, 59, from Philadelphia; John Simmons, 35, of Newport, R.I.; Laurie Wolko, 42, from New York City; Farzaneh Behroozi, 28, from Jamaica Plain, Mass.; Mark Kern, 56, from Media, Pa.; and myself. Each one of us offers a glimpse of what we hope to accomplish, and what our concerns are. Self-deprecating humor rules the moment. Sheepishly, I admit to my affinity for hot tubs.

To help break the ice, we start with a couple of group games. The first, "Pint of Blood," encourages us to work together as a human conveyor belt transporting an imaginary pint of blood, and ourselves, over an imaginary river. In the second, "The Fishing Trip," we must determine the importance of several items for a group shipwrecked on a deserted island — first individually, then collectively. The brainstorming session is an eye-opener, with everyone debating the relative merits of a sleeping bag, windbreaker, compass, first-aid kit, and other items. The discussion is lively, but civil, much to Hogan's amusement.

"This is a very interesting group," says Hogan with a grin that we'll see many, many times in the next few days. "Very interesting." He doesn't elaborate.

 Leader of the Backpack intro  |  Invitation to Adventure  |  Nuts and Bolts  |
  Everyday Interruptions  | Turn Me Loose  |  Safety, First and Foremost  | 
The Road from Here  |  Tips for Leaders