The deadline to apply for our 2022 trips in Utah, Colorado, and Alaska is Monday, December 27. Applications received by the end of the day will be given equal consideration, and applications received thereafter will be treated first come first serve for remaining spots.
If you are interested in California, Washington, or West Virginia, you have until Monday, January 3.
How things look
In past years, about two-thirds of the applications received by the tenth day of the open application period have already been received, giving us a good indication of where we will end up.
Nearly every applicant who applies during the open application period will get a spot on a trip eventually, and usually their First Choice. However, some will have to be patient with us, and others may need to be flexible with their location or trip duration. We try really hard to find a spot for everyone, and I can only give you two pieces of advice:
- Apply sooner rather than later, and
- Portray yourself honestly and thoroughly in your application so that we can evaluate you fairly.
Utah
With the current numbers, we will probably run four sessions each of a 5-day, a 7-day, and another 5-day.
The 5-day trips will be full.
The 7-day trips will likely be full after we transfer over surplus applicants from Utah 5-day, Alaska, and Washington 5- and 7-day, which are oversubscribed.
If we’re turning away qualified applicants, I can increase capacity, and run five or even six sessions each of the 5-7-5 sequence. For this reason, Utah is a reliable bet location for all applicants.
Colorado
We will fill at least two Fundamentals sessions, and all applicants who selected this as their First Choice and who meet our basic fitness standards should get a spot. If we end up over-subscribed, we can add more capacity.
Alaska
These sessions will be sold out. Based on the quantity and quality of the current applicant pool, I will most definitely run four sessions, but I’m not yet sure if we can support six.
Applicants who don’t make the cut in Alaska will have the option of transferring to another location like Utah or California.
California
Last week Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park awarded me with a two-year permit that will allow us to have significant operations there. This creates some opportunities that we were not counting on when we opened registrations, and our schedule will likely get reworked. Specifically, we may run a 3-7-5 schedule instead of the current 5-3-7, and I may add a 12-day thru-hike of the Kings Canyon High Basin Route.
The Fundamentals trips have plenty of capacity still. With these beginner-level trips, this is often the case at this time of year — they almost always sell out, but the applications come in later, not in the depths of winter.
The 5-day trips will be full and have a waitlist, and the 7-day trips will be full.
Washington
It typically takes a year for a new location to catch on, but that’s not been the case with Washington — it has about two-thirds as many applications as our most popular location, California.
The Fundamentals courses have ample room.
The 5-day and 7-day trips will both be full with waitlists. Applicants who also expressed strong interest in Utah and California will likely be asked to transfer over.
West Virginia
Last but not least, we have West Virginia, which is one of our smaller operations but one of our favorites. The 5-day trip may sell out by January 3, but I’m expecting room still on the 3-day.