Located just five miles west of Leadville, Colorado, is the High Mountain Institute (HMI), a nonprofit educational institution where high school students enroll to improve their minds, skills, and character. Here you’ll will experience the best that nature has to offer, thanks in part to the High Mountain Institute being situated at the foot of Colorado mountains in the Upper Arkansas Valley.

That’s right, at the High Mountain Institute, the locale is just as important as the scholastics. Students are treated to a selection of week-long and semester-long programs that focus on three factors: academics, wilderness, and community. The best example of this successful combination is the Rocky Mountain Semester, the flagship program of the school, which last four months and takes the place of a high school student’s traditional fall or spring semester of junior year. And when they’re not working on their academics in the great outdoors -- they will spend time learning everything from history to science while sitting in the grass -- students will enjoy small class sizes (about six to 12 students) on campus.

As mentioned, community is also an important part of the lessons you’ll have at the High Mountain Institute. Students live in groups of six to 12 in five cabins, each of which has its own living room, wood stove, and lanterns. (The classrooms, showers, and library can be found in the main building.) Because of the small size of the campus, students constantly build relationships with their instructors and each other. They can also enhance their skills by cooking for the campus and taking turns chopping firewood to fuel the wood stoves around campus.

Of course, time spent at High Mountain Institute isn’t all about academics or house chores, it’s also about enjoying the wilderness. Students will go on expeditions to everywhere from the Colorado mountains to the canyons of Utah and learn essential skills for backcountry living (such as, cooking outdoors, woodworking, and making different kinds of shelter). Best yet, students will also learn how to ski and rock climb from experienced instructors.

While applications for the Rocky Mountain Semesters (autumn and spring) are due March 1 of your sophomore year, High Mountain Institute does accept rolling admissions thereafter. There are also plenty of shorter programs to catch your interest, including courses in wilderness medicine, avalanches, and leadership training.

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