EXCLUSIVE: VERY HIGH Adventure Winter Trip That Supports Flint Youth!

These trips are designed with fundraising in mind! All proceeds from our trip will directly sponsor kids to get an opportunity to share the same experiences.

Winter is an excellent time to go out for a long weekend and discover the beauty of God’s icy wonderland. I know you may be thinking, “You’re crazy to camp in the snow!” but let me assure you that proper gear is everything and in all my years of winter camping I’ve never lost a toe to frostbite. Project Forty guides practice no trace camping and take every precaution to keep participants safe, yet still experiencing a challenging environment that will reveal your true character. Scary? Absolutely, but once you snowshoe into this unimaginable landscape, climb frozen waterfalls, and cozy into the thickest sleeping bag you’ve ever seen; you’ll agree that it’s worth the risk. Go where few men dare to travel and capture a moment you’ll never forget!

Training and Gear

To be fair, in order to have a successful adventure on Michigan’s Lake Superior coastline you’ll need some training.  This trip includes a day at Peabody Ice Climbing Club in Fenton, Michigan in order to get personal ice climbing instruction from your guides.  First we train, then we gear you up with the fun stuff like ice boots, crampons, ice tools, snowshoes, packs, and warm sleeping gear.  Your responsibility will be non-cotton layers, some gloves and a warm hat (okay, maybe a few more items than that, but we’ll do the heavy lifting).

Sample Trip Itinerary (Fully Customizable For Your Group Needs)

Wednesday:

3:00pm—Meet at Peabody Ice Climbing Club in Fenton, MI for a private lesson (this could be a separate day from the trip altogether)

7:00pm—Gear up at the Project Forty Base Camp in Flint, MI

midnight—Get some much needed sleep at the Project Forty Base Camp

Thursday:

4:30am—Depart Flint, MI

12:30pm—Arrive in Munising, MI (in the U.P. aye) and hike to Chapel Lake Camping area

7:00pm—Set up camp, eat dinner

10pm—Get some cozy sleep

Friday:

6:30am—Wake up, breakfast, gear up

10:30am—Hike the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail to Spray Falls

1:00-8:00pm—Climb and have fun on the ice!  (Lunch and Dinner on site)

10:00pm—Sleep like you have never slept before

Saturday:

6:30am—Wake up, breakfast, pack for climb

10:30am—Hike to HMR (200′ Ice Climb, featured on the cover of the guidebook)

1:00-6:00pm—Climb the beast and be numbered among the brave

8:00pm—Content with dinner

10:00pm—Sleep even more solid

Sunday:

6:30am—Wake up, breakfast, break camp

10:30am—Hike out to cars

2:00pm—Retrieve vehicle from start, pack up and head home

10:30pm—Return to Flint, MI

Safety

All Project Forty instructors have been trained in their focused discipline and carry a minimum 2 years experience as a Guide Partner, under direct supervision from a current instructor.  Climbing instructors are trained as Single Pitch Instructors (on rock) through the American Mountain Guide Association (AMGA), hold a certificate of completion for Guiding on Ice Terrain, and hold a Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) or higher.  All rappel sites are set up with redundant and equalized roped anchors, built off of solid, live trees.  Rappels are backed up by a second belay line controlled by an instructor.  Climbing for participants are all top roped from solid bolted anchors or well-rooted, live trees.