Though this is an advanced class, no skills or prerequisites are required to enroll. We will take you from not knowing anything to being comfortable in the outdoors with the skills and mental strength you will have learned in this program. The Colorado Woodsman Class Is our most extensive and immersive experience. This course will challenge and test you but you will walk away a changed and better person that will allow you to view the world in a different light. You will spend 50 days with us which, we feel, is the best way to train you for a real life survival situation or the ultimate Colorado woodland experience.
You will be totally immersed in this outdoor experience, yet will remain in a reasonably controlled environment. Our goal is not to break you, or to get you to “tap-out” of the training class, but to lift you up until you succeed. It is also the first step you can take to become an instructor for The Survival University (TSU) and Colorado Mountain Man Survival, LLC. One does not have to become a survival instructor to take this course, but if that is the path that you choose, we will help you succeed.
Although this 50 day immersive class is held in Colorado, it will prepare you for situations in any region, in any climate. Once completed, you will gain the confidence AND the skills to venture out into the backcountry, anywhere in the world, without worrying about anything Mother Nature throws at you.
Other than gaining a solid foundation into becoming a survival instructor in an ever growing industry or with becoming a proficient outdoors-man, this class will ready you for other careers in outfitting, guiding, outdoor leadership and many other outdoor professions. You will be able to put 500+ hours of training on your resume, as well as, the receipt of a nationally recognized Wilderness First Responder Certification from Offgrid Medic LLC. A WFR Cert is the gold standard and required for many outdoor industry jobs and no other survival school can offer you that certificate in addition to 500 hours of training on your resume.
You will not be trained by a single instructor, but rather a team of experts in their field to include tracking, counter tracking, modern navigation, camouflage and concealment, wilderness medicine, flint knapping and more. Of course we will teach you all of the necessary core survival skills such as fire making, knot tying, shelter building, water procurement and purification, hunting, trapping and many more skills. We won’t just show them to you once, but these cores skills will be revisited, reproduced and driven into your mind until you have them mastered. Every day you will be tasked and tested with the skills until you know them like the back of your own hand.
At the end of this course you will receive a written and physical test. Should you want to become an instructor candidate for TSU, you must pass this test. Though we will do everything in our power to help you make this happen, some may not pass, but all will join our brotherhood of Colorado Woodsmen. Either way, you will become part of the TSU family.
Upon completion of this class you will gain:
A nationally recognized Wilderness First Responder Certification from Offgrid Medic LLC.
Skills that will make you more prepared and more valuable than most, in difficult situations.
Have the confidence and the skills to venture into the back-country with little gear.
Receive free or discounted prices to future related courses and re-certification’s. Discounts to guest instructor events may not apply. You aren’t just purchasing a class;
you are purchasing a lifetime membership of perks and benefits.
If you choose to take the path of becoming a TSU Instructor Candidate and perform an internship with TSU, you may also be able to:
Become an onsite intern/apprentice to actually teach classes by our side so that you can gain the confidence and initiative to go out and teach on your own, at your own location. An internship is required so that we are sure that you maintain a good attitude, have the ability to teach and will represent TSU at our high standards. However, permanent job placement or school ownership is not guaranteed.
Receive discounts on gear and be able to purchase any of our available gear at wholesale cost and gain free or discounted prices on any approved sponsor gear. Receive coaching on how to start your own satellite school, as well as, tips and techniques to boost your social media performance to gain your own clients.
TSU will market and promote you after your internship. You will have to provide your own school location and social media materials, but we will do the rest.
The option to start your own franchise or satellite school under the TSU name and teach core classes until you demonstrate the ability to teach more advanced classes. Make money doing something you love. Profit split is better than other schools out there. Make up your own calendar and be able to choose your own discounts and sales on your classes.
Our teaching style is about quality over quantity. We will start out by teaching you core survival skills to include wilderness medicine and build up to touch on more advanced techniques. Not only will you learn what it takes to get back home but we will also teach you what it takes to stay in the wilderness for as long as you want. We will teach you about fires, shelters, water purification, food procurement, wild edibles, tools, knots, signaling, self-rescue, and real navigation with a map and compass, until it is burned into your head.
Later in the course we will move on to advance tactics like flint knapping, primitive hunting tools, field butchering, skinning, hide tanning, tracking, counter-tracking, camouflage and concealment and other pertinent “military” style tactics. The final days of the course are scenario based where we will test your skills in a controlled, but difficult environment where you can put most of the learned techniques into play.
You will be training with us in the woods for 50 days straight. We will allow you breaks to rest and resupply, but will encourage you to not enjoy the comforts of modern society while you are with us. By avoiding this temptation, you will challenge yourself in this totally engrossing experience and bring your skills, knowledge and survival psychology to its maximum potential.
Instructors:
Lead Instructor – Jason Marsteiner
Guest Wilderness First Responder Instructor – Mark DeJong (Offgrid Medic LLC)
Guest Mushroom Expert – Mushroom Mike (State Certified)
Guest Wild Edible Instructor – Cattail Bob
More Instructors to be announced for 2020
Location: This class will be held at our location in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. We are at an elevation of about 9400 feet and have over 3000 acres of private land to play on, making us one of the largest survival schools in the world. You will stay in our camp for the duration of the class and live in primitive shelters. To pass this class, it is required that you do not use modern shelters during your stay and be able to demonstrate the ability to proficiently perform the most common tasks. Leave your tent and hammock at home! A large wall tent will be provided for storing gear, a bear box for food, fire pits for cooking, wood for burning and port-a-potty is located on site.
Itinerary:
Week 1: Modern Outdoor Skills / Wild Plant Walk / Wilderness First Responder
Week 2: Wilderness First Responder / Core Survival Skills
Week 3: Core Survival Skills
Week 4: Advanced Primitive Living Skills / Navigation
Week 5: Using Wild Plants / Advanced Primitive Bushcrafting
Week 6: Wild Mushroom Walk/ Tracking
Week 7: Bow Making and Challenges
Graduation Requirements: In addition to having to pass the WFR Certification test during the first few weeks of class, you will be given both a physical and written test at the end of the training class. The written test will be the easiest of the two, as the physical test will be you against Mother Nature in a day scenario based test. You must show proficiency and understanding of all course curriculum and ability to perform physical tasks required to be able to survive in the wilderness under unsavory conditions. Our standards and expectations are high, but it is our goal to see you succeed. Your failure is just as much ours and we do not intend to fail.
Food and Water: We will butcher and process cultivated animals during the training and teach you how to make jerky in addition to other survival food, but you will provide your own food for most of this course. Water will be provided for you, but you should come prepared with a water purification system of your choice. Local grocery stores are within a short driving distance and you will be provided time to restock and resupply food. Local eateries are also nearby, but we will encourage you not to visit these establishments as it will take away from the whole engrossing experience. If you do choose to eat at local eateries, leftovers are not allowed in camp, as it will be distracting to others that choose not to leave.
Supplies: There is a Walmart and several hardware stores within a short drive so you will be able to purchase items that you may have forgotten or that need replaced. We will provide you with a recommended gear list. We do have a web based store available and would appreciate it if you supported Colorado Mountain Man Survival LLC by purchasing equipment through our store.
Transportation: Transportation will not be provided by Colorado Mountain Man Survival LLC unless it is to and from the airport or bus station. We encourage you to drive your own vehicle to our location.
Survival Gear needed: You will be spending 50 days with us in our camp. You will need to bring durable gear, as we will not provide you with any. If your gear breaks, you will have to visit a local store to replace it. Though it is not required, we suggest you bring backups for items like your bushcraft knife and ferro rod, and sleeping bags that will sustain possible drastic and sudden weather changes.
Minimum Required Gear:
Fixed Blade Knife between 4-6″ – preferably a bushcraft style (Your knife is your most used and valuable tool. If you need recommendations, please contact us)
Folding Saw
Hatchet / Machete
Lensatic Compass
Small Mill File
Multi-Tool
Rain Poncho
Sleeping Bag (0-20 degree bag depending on time of year)
Bivvy
Flashlight and headlamp w/ extra batteries
Large Roll of Paracord (at least 200’ recommended)
Outdoor Clothing, boots, and bug spray
Wet weather gear
Wool Socks
Stainless Steel Canteen (single walled)
Water Purification System
Fire starting kit; must have ferro rod
Cook Kit
Medium to Large Backpack
Medical Kit
Hygiene Kit
Airport and Bus Stops: If you are arriving by bus or plane, we can pick you up. Contact us to make arrangements.
This is a long term class that runs form July 3 to August 21.
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