The Freshman Wilderness Experience is an extended pre-orientation program offered prior to the required New Student Orientation program through the University of Montana Outdoor Program and The Wilderness Institute. The experience consists of a 4-day, 3-night backcountry trip in the wildlands/waters of Western Montana led by UM students. The program is intended to provide incoming freshmen with an opportunity to make friends, develop a sense of place, and gain backcountry confidence as they begin their years in Missoula.

FWE is available to any incoming freshmen. Space is limited, however, and priority is given on a first come, first served, basis. Students looking for financial assistance to attend should apply for the Bryson Allen Wilderness Endowment Fund.

Students do not need prior backcountry or camping experience, however students need to be up for a challenge and able to carry a backpack (weighing ~50lbs) for 8-10 miles a day.

Yes, all incoming first-year students are required to attend the fall New Student Orientation program after participating in FWE.

You must be capable of hiking 5-8 miles a day with an up to 50 pound backpack on, gaining up to 2,500 feet of elevation over the course of the day. If you’re not sure you can do that, we recommend putting on your backpack, or a day pack, and filling it with books and going for a walk around your neighborhood. You may need to work up to that level of exertion – if you begin earlier in the summer practicing with short walks, low weight, and little elevation gain, you should be able to work up to carrying a fully-loaded pack up a steep mountainside by mid-August.

Even if you are an athlete, you may still want to practice carrying weight around in a pack because backpacking uses different muscles and stamina than your sport may require.

Everyone will experience some degree of pain and challenge on a backpacking trip. Sore legs, serious sweating, aching shoulder straps:  this is pretty common for everyone – plan on some element of “suffering” and you will be rewarded with a great view, a beautiful forest for a campsite, and a supportive group of friends to share the challenging moments.

If your physical fitness makes it impossible to complete the trip, it may be difficult or impossible to bring you out of the field due to limited staffing, distance to a trailhead, or need to accommodate the entire group.  Except in the case of significant medical emergencies, do not anticipate being able to easily or quickly leave a FWE trip.

You must be able to regulate your emotions and contribute to the group during our trip. Fear, anxiety, homesickness are all common experiences for many new college students.  If you are concerned that any of these issues might get in the way of you completing the FWE trip or positively contributing to your group, please discuss this with us prior to arrival. 

Similar to your physical fitness, if your mental fitness makes it impossible to complete the trip, it may be difficult or impossible to bring you out of the field due to limited staffing, distance to a trailhead, or need to accommodate the entire group.  Except in the case of significant medical emergencies, do not anticipate being able to easily or quickly leave a FWE trip. If concerns related to your mental fitness require the leaders to remove you from a trip, your emergency contacts will be notified and you may be liable for the costs associated with extra staff required to hike to your location to transport you back to campus.

You will be expected to follow the guidelines set by trip leaders. You are also subject to UM’s student code of conduct.

Students looking for more information are invited to explore the FWE website, email us at fwe@mso.umt.edu or call the Outdoor Program at (406) 243-5172.

Apply online to complete registration and payment, or contact the University of Montana Outdoor Program (406) 243-5172.

Before July 1 if you decided you cannot go on FWE, we will keep 20% of your registration costs. After July 1, we keep 100 percent of the fee unless we can fill your spot with someone on the waitlist. If we can fill your spot, we will refund you all but 20%.

There is no academic credit awarded for participation in this program. The goal is to give students a sense of place and community at the very start of the college careers. We do want the focus to be on community and exploration rather than grades.

Groups will consist of 10 freshmen and two student leaders.

All trips are co-ed, but students sleep in same-gender groups.

Engaging in group activities is expected as a part of the trip. This includes things like assisting with camp set ups, using the “buddy system” and preparing meals. 

Our FWE trips are led by University of Montana students who have experience both in wilderness first aid and in leading groups outdoors. Our leaders go through a spring training program and screening process to become eligible to lead FWE trips. Our FWE trip leaders are not professional guides; instead they are students hired for their good judgment and training both to recognize and manage problems in the field.

Curry Health Center at UM does not officially open until the week before the fall semester begins. If you need to see a health care provider once you arrive for your FWE trip, you will need to visit a walk-in clinic or one of our two local hospitals.

Please contact the Office for Disability Equity to request accommodations for the FWE.  They will work with you and the trip organizer to review the accommodation request and explore options.

Students with prescription medications must disclose their medication on their medical forms. Students are adults and can administer their own medications, but it is important that leaders be aware of all prescription or over-the-counter medications. In the unfortunate event of an accident, this information is essential.

As a University of Montana program, there is zero tolerance of drugs or alcohol during FWE. Anyone found in violation of this rule will be removed from the trip immediately at their expense and will answer to the Dean of Students.

Visit our Safety Management Section!

Trips will be based in Wilderness areas or rivers in western Montana. One component of the Freshman Wilderness Experience is fostering a sense of place — local trips are essential to this goal. Each trip will be in mountain ranges or on a river in the region.

Minimal storage will be available for personal belongings (backpack/duffle) while students are camping.

Food is provided. Leaders will be planning and providing the meals. This means it is essential that participants clearly outline their allergies and/or dietary restrictions on the medical form. Feel free to contact us to outline these concerns.

https://lnt.org/

One of the seven leave no trace principals we need to draw your attention to before the trip is “dispose of waste properly”. This principal applies to food scraps, packaging, toilet paper and feminine hygiene products. You will want to think about how you will contain your waste so you are properly prepared. For example, if you have a lot of zip-lock bags for packaging your food, you will be able to use these to pack out any greasy or wet food packages as you empty them. If you are a little squeamish about used toilet paper, you might want to get a roll of dog-poop bags amongst your group – one per person for the trip is probably sufficient. 

We will show you how to dig a ‘cat hole’ on the trail, but if you are a ‘want to know before you go’ kind of person, this site has lots of advice  http://sectionhiker.com/how-to-dig-a-cathole/

Peeing, pooping and menstruating while out in the woods deserves special attention.  Read more here to learn how to get organized with everything you might need to stay comfortable and clean on your trip.  https://andrewskurka.com/womens-guide-to-backcountry-hygiene/