Thank you for your interest in the Pinnacle Scholarship Program! Here you’ll find information about the program and forms to complete. If you have any questions, please contact BJ Allen, Director of Student Services, at [email protected].
PINNACLE STUDENT APPLICANTS
Congratulations on being nominated as Pinnacle Scholar! Follow the steps below to submit a complete application.
1. Review the OBCA Pinnacle Scholar Handbook. Here you’ll find information about what to expect on course and other information.
2. Discuss this year’s course with your mentor - Alpine Backpacking & Rock Climbing, July 13th-26th, 2021
5. After you have submitted the above documents, you will hear from your course advisor.
6. After Course: There are two parts to your post-course follow-up. The first is a simple post-course survey within a few weeks of course end, this can be completed online. The second will be a 6-month reflection either via a phone interview with an Outward Bound staff member or survey.
Course Information:
A crew of Pinnacle Scholars will attend an Alpine Backpacking course, starting on July 13th and returning on July 26th, 2021.
High Sierra Alpine Backpacking expeditions travel on and off-trail to explore lesser-known backcountry. The course will challenge new and experienced backpackers as your crew travels above 9,000 feet and completes high mileage days. The length of this course, together with its single focus on backpacking, allows for longer travel distances and additional opportunities to implement feedback from Instructors and crew.
Expect to learn technical skills like navigation and fine-tune leadership skills like effective communication and conflict resolution. Your group will learn and practice with the granite domes, alpine lakes, and starry skies as your classroom.
The Sierra Nevada range is California’s backyard and a wonderland of wilderness, waterfalls, lakes, and peaks. It’s an enormous range – spanning more than 400 miles from north to south, and 70 miles east to west. Courses take place in the southern and western parts of the Sierra: Ansel Adams Wilderness, Yosemite National Park, and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.
Summer in the Sierra is mostly sunny, with occasional rain and cold evenings. Snowfall is unlikely, though June courses may traverse atop lingering winter and spring snow. Summer temperature tends towards the 70s to 80s during the day, dipping into the 30s to 50s in the evening and night. These regions are the ancestral lands of the Northern Paiute, Western Mono/Monache, Me-Wuk (Central Sierra Miwok), Eastern Mono/Monache, and Tübatulabal nations.
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