BOSS Apprenticeships

The Boulder Outdoor Survival School is dedicated to the instruction and preservation of traditional living skills and the development of people through experiences within the natural world.

BOSS is not for everyone. What we are not is just as important as what we are, so please take a minute to read this.

Since 1968, BOSS has operated in one of the most beautiful and remote parts of the USA: the area surrounding the small town of Boulder, Utah. It is here where we begin and end all courses, using the surrounding public lands as our classroom.

Want to work in the outdoor industry? Or do you already have a job as a guide but want to learn what it takes to work for BOSS? This section explains our policies and procedures regarding staff recruitment and development.

BOSS offers a number of ways for people to apply for discounted rates on its courses. For more information on these or to download an application form, please see below.

So who exactly goes to "survival school?" Normal people? The kind of people you'd want to hang out with? Well, if you're anything like our alumni, you'll be happy to know that the people who go to BOSS are normal, healthy people looking for an adventurous experience and you'll probably fit right in.

There's a survival mantra at BOSS that advises people "Eat to live, don't live to eat." In a survival situation, choices for food must be based on caloric (and perhaps psychological) benefit more than taste. However, you'll be happy to know that students on BOSS courses aren't expected to dine on maggots and roadkill (unless they really, really want to).

Weather is. That's about as much as we can tell you. It's not "good" or "bad" - it just is, and we work with it depending on the situation we find ourselves in. As a result, our courses and lesson plans adapt to current conditions, trying to make the most of whatever Mother Nature gives us.

One of the major factors affecting your enjoyment and learning during your participation on a BOSS course will be your degree of physical fitness. We strongly encourage all of our students to arrive in good physical condition and offer the following words of wisdom as you consider how to best prepare for your course.