2023 Intro to Adventure Course Dates
Course 1: June 23 – July 2 (Full)
Course 2: July 10 – July 19 (Pick up July 9, around 6 PM)
Course 3: July 21 – July 30 (Full)
Pick up in Anchorage and Palmer will be the evening before the start date listed.
The end date is the day you will be returned to Anchorage, early evening.
Short Course Dates
Dates and availability vary. See details here.
Cost, payments and policies
Operation of the Matanuska Outdoor Institute is heavily subsidized by MICA Guides. As one of the leading adventure tourism companies in Alaska, the success of MICA Guides and their support of MOI allows us to make these opportunities available to almost anyone with tuition averaging $50/day per student.
While this tuition may simply be paid by students or parents, fund-raising by the student is encouraged. MOI is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations are tax deductible.
Intro to Adventure Cost and what’s included
Tuition is $500 per student for the Course.
Tuition includes:
- Transportation from and to Anchorage or Palmer at the start and end of the Course.
- All instruction, permits, entry fees and local transportation that is planned as part of the program.
- “Group Gear” such as kitchen equipment, technical gear, tents and shelters, emergency equipment, climbing equipment.
- All meals and snacks from lunch on Day 1 through and including dinner on the last day of the Course.
Tuition does NOT include:
- Your round trip travel to Anchorage or Palmer, Alaska.
- Any expenses you may incur for extra snack or specialty foods, laundry, showers, souvenirs etc.
- Emergency evacuation or medical care beyond that administered by the staff of MOI.
- Accommodation and meal expense in Anchorage before and after your Course with MOI.
Short Courses Cost and what’s included
Tuition varies per course.
Tuition includes:
- Transportation from and to Anchorage or Palmer at the start and end of the Course.
- All instruction, permits, entry fees and local transportation that is planned as part of the program.
- “Group Gear” such as kitchen equipment, technical gear, tents and shelters, emergency equipment, climbing equipment.
- All meals and snacks from during the Course.
Tuition does NOT include:
- Your round trip travel to Anchorage, Alaska.
- Required personal equipment per the supplied gear list.
- Any expenses you may incur for extra snack or specialty foods, laundry, showers, souvenirs etc.
- Emergency evacuation or medical care beyond that administered by the staff of MOI.
Cancellations and Refunds
We strive to be reasonable people. Requests for refunds based on legitimate life issues such as sickness, illness, death, major life challenges will be considered for 100% refunds up until 14 days prior to the start date. We will ask for and verify proof of such a crisis prior to issuing any refunds.
Cancellations for other reasons can be made with 100% refund prior to 30 days before the start date of the course. After that refunds will be considered and prorated on a case-by-case basis.
No refunds for any reason within 14 days of the start date of the course.
About Fundraising
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.
Students may also raise more than the tuition amount to offset the expense of the required gear and clothing needed for the course purchased through our program.
Where we are
Our Base Camp is in Glacier View overlooking the Matanuska Glacier. Our classroom is the Alaska backcountry. Our location is approximately 100 miles northeast of Anchorage. All semesters start and end in Anchorage and we supply transfers to and from the city to start and end the semester.
The community of Glacier View has few amenities. There is no place to shop for groceries. The only establishments are three restaurants, one coffee cart and a gift shop. Once you are at Glacier View you are on the edge of the wilderness. Our campus is off grid and removed from all amenities.
What to Expect
You’ll be challenged. A lot of learning can happen when you’re out of your comfort zone. Your instructors will meet you where you are, help you plan where you’re going, and motivate you along the way. There will be long days of learning and physical activity.
You’ll learn to do without some comforts. You’ll learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Sleeping in a tent, hiking long distances, carrying a load.
You’ll be part of a community. You can expect a lot of personal attention, our student to staff ratio is a maximum of 7:1. But more importantly will be your commitment to the well being of your crew.
Your course with MOI is not a vacation. The days are long, packed quite full and often go into the evenings. Your personal “down time” will be limited.
You will be disconnected. We admit that our devices are valuable tools. But they can also be a huge distraction. We encourage you to be present with your crew. Your opportunities to connect will be limited to two one-hour windows for the duration of the Course.
There are some rules. We’re not a kids summer camp. But you will be part of a community and you will have an obligation to help manage risks. There are not a lot of rules but you should know that on our campus and in the backcountry there can be no use of tobacco or marijuana in any form, no other recreational drugs, or alcohol.
Risk
Without risk life is just pretty boring. Everything we do out here has inherent risk. Much of what we do is try to understand those and build systems, processes and programs around mitigating these factors. But we will never, ever be risk free. Part of our institutional philosophy revolves around the importance of accepting risk.
The Matanuska Outdoor Institute program and activities take place in the outdoors at our Base Camp and the “backcountry” of Alaska. There are significant inherent risks of these activities and while we strive to mitigate these risks we cannot eliminate them.
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. (“Major” defined as any incident resulting in death or long-term disability.)
Risks range from slips, trips and falls to encounters with wildlife, to hypothermia and COVID.
We look at health risks as we do all other risks that we manage, from climbing ice walls on a glacier to interacting with wildlife. We take steps to mitigate these risks but accept that we cannot eliminate them entirely. The most common illnesses in the backcountry are intestinal resulting from poor hygiene practices. We manage this risk with strict protocols for handwashing and kitchen cleanliness. For airborne viruses such as flu and COVID, we mitigate by being outside in the fresh air. Other than sharing tents for sleeping, we are rarely indoors and not often in a vehicle. We do not require masks but our protocols may change with changing health agency recommendations.
While we do recommend that all participants are fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID, we do not insist on this because the consequences of illness during our course are not very high.
Quite simply, if a student gets sick for more than a couple days, or if it’s something that we cannot manage resulting in further risk to the student, they will be sent home possibly resulting in inconvenience or expense to the parents. And the student will miss out on a great experience. Examples of this include a fever that cannot be brought down or diarrhea resulting in dehydration.
Like all risks of this program, students and their parents must recognize and accept these risks and commit to taking steps to manage for the sake of their student and the rest of the team.