Professional Wilderness Leadership Training in Alaska

Founded in 1999, the International Wilderness Leadership School (IWLS) offers immersive, women-only and co-ed outdoor leadership courses in sea kayaking, mountaineering, backpacking, and ski mountaineering and avalanche safety. Our programs focus on technical skill development, expedition leadership, and decision-making in remote environments across Alaska and the Yukon.

New Women-Only Courses

Our flagship women-only courses focus on developing technical skills, leadership confidence, and decision-making in remote wilderness environments.

Women’s Sea Kayaking

Women’s Backpacking

Women’s Mountaineering

Book with a friend and you'll both receive 15% off!

  • Trad climber placing gear and ascending a granite crack as part of climbing skills training.
  • Rock climber placing cams while leading a crack climb on granite.
  • Helicopter drop-off on a high mountain ridge
  • Kayaker paddling toward a glacier in calm, icy Alaska waters.
  • Whitewater rafters traveling down a fast-moving alpine river
  • Climbers gearing up at the base of a granite wall in Argentina Canyon
  • Hikers navigating a canyon wash surrounded by sandstone cliffs
  • Backcountry skier navigating a steep powder face during advanced heli-ski guide training in Alaska’s high-alpine terrain.
  • Backpackers traveling through a remote alpine valley in Alaska during a backcountry leadership training course.
  • Wilderness first aid students assessing a patient during a medical training scenario.
  • Mountaineers crossing a high-altitude snow ridge above the clouds.

 

Why IWLS

IWLS delivers women-only and co-ed wilderness training programs focused on technical skills, risk management, and leadership in remote environments.

Our programs take place in some of the world’s most compelling wilderness environments and are led by instructors with extensive real-world experience in expedition leadership and technical instruction. IWLS is known for rigorous training standards, practical decision-making, and a deep commitment to safety, professionalism, and learning in challenging terrain.