Our instructors are outdoor professionals as well as educators, so we are able to provide not just experiential opportunities to our participants, but are able to effectively teach the outdoor skills necessary for success

In addition to our team of professional educators, MOI is backed, trained and operated under the guidance of the outdoor professionals of MICA Guides. For over 20 years, MICA Guides has helped thousands of visitors explore and challenge themselves with zero major injuries or incidents.

Our off-grid campus and surroundings at the headwaters of the Matanuska River provide us with an ideal setting for Place Based Education.   Our location provides a classroom filled with challenges and opportunities for teens to put aside modern devices and tools, participate in building camp, navigate the backcountry, cross rivers and glaciers, climb rock and ice, cook for a group, prepare meals for their new community, assess outdoor problems on their own and make decisions with their team.  

We use adventures such as hiking, ice climbing on a glacier, backcountry navigation and river crossings to not only learn skills but to develop confidence, self-reliance, teamwork and communication skills.

We believe that nature is the ultimate teacher. It provides the perfect classroom filled with natural challenges and natural rewards. At MOI students will learn from the mountains, rivers, and glaciers that surround our campus to build a deeper connection with the outdoors. 

Our instructors value the power of the group and leverage restorative practices during our classes and meetings to create a strong community where everyone feels valued and can take risks in a supportive environment.

Our Base Camp overlooking the glacier provides the basics of shelter, food and some comforts to learn and work together.  Each team of students is able to contribute to improving the camp for their own comfort and that of future classes.  

Building and cooking with fire, hauling water, setting up shelters and planning meals together are key elements of the day to day learning opportunities.  

Thanks to support from MICA Guides, we are able to keep tuition affordable with most courses averaging $50/day.

While this tuition may simply be paid by students or parents, as part of the overall learning goals of our program, we encourage students to earn their tuition through their efforts. Students may seek sponsors, organize a fund raiser or simply work. 

MOI is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations are tax deductible.  

MOI Instructors provide opportunities for risk taking in order for youth to develop resilience, leadership skills, and competence in the outdoors. We put students in these supported yet vulnerable educational situations while participating in our adventures.

Our goal is for a student to leave our program feeling more confident and capable.

More about Risk.