WEMBA Alaska Venture

WEMBA Alaska Venture

Your development as a backcountry traveler will begin with the basics. Learning to “live well” and to care for yourself, your fellow expedition members, your equipment and the environment in a variety of conditions are the foundation for advanced backpacking and the focus of our core curriculum. Early on, you will master camping, cooking and basic travel skills. In addition to navigating unimproved trails, and slopes of loose scree, you will also encounter and learn to negotiate patches of snow and ice. You will spend time practicing the skills necessary to live and travel responsibly in the challenging terrain. The hiking distances covered daily will vary, giving everyone a chance to get used to the heavy packs, and team travel.

As your experience builds, you’ll move into more technically demanding terrain, and you’ll be exposed to more advanced navigation techniques as the expedition continues.  There will be days set aside for more physically and mentally challenging objectives. You will probably move camp 4-5 times.

Group dynamics and leadership are integral parts of the Venture. You will learn how to live and work closely with your course mates while you travel through the mountains. Having tolerance for adversity and uncertainty, willingness to work hard, and respect for your classmates will be critical to the success of the expedition as a whole.

Read Vidya Murthy’s (WG ’18) account of her Alaska Venture experience here: https://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/wemba-alaska-testimonial/

“I learned a lot about myself both in terms of breaking past mental barriers of what I am comfortable doing (physically) and how my leadership style tends to default when I am feeling very stressed and inexperienced in the tasks at hand.” – WEMBA Participant, 2019

“This expedition helped me “re-ground” myself by helping me become more aware of my own capabilities. It showed me that by being intentional about my leadership, I can have a bigger impact than if I “wing it”. I also learned quite a bit about living / traveling in snow that was fun and engaging.” – WEMBA Participant, 2019

Info Session Deck

Training

There is high rigor during this expedition.

Costs & Equipment

The cost of the expedition is $3500 and includes all mountaineering gear.

Snapshot

  • Participant fee: $3375 ($3500 with $125 subsidy)
  • Number of seats: 10
  • Availability:  PHL 44 & 45 and SF 44
  • Dates: TBD
  • Info Session: Slide Deck