Outdoor Skills

The Outdoor Skills Program teaches the core values of Brewster Academy: respect, responsibility, and leadership through outdoor activities. The primary focus of the Outdoor Skills Program is climbing and hiking. Each trimester begins with an introduction to climbing in the Haines Climbing Barn. The introduction covers the basics of climbing and gives the student leaders an opportunity to teach the skills they have mastered.

As soon as all members of the group are proficient with climbing and belaying, we head to the local climbing areas of Rumney and North Conway's Cathedral and Whitehorse Ledges to expand the rock climbing experience of the group. In the winter, the group will go ice climbing and take advantage of the cold New England winters. The winter group also focuses on mountaineering and makes ascents of various New England peaks, including Mount Washington, Mount Manisfield, and Mount Adams. At the end of each trimester, a trip is planned to give students the opportunity to practice the skills they have acquired. These trips include skiing and ice climbing in Vermont, rock climbing, hiking, and kayaking in Acadia National Park, and climbing various alpine routes to the summit of Maine's Mount Katahdin. In addition to the skills taught within the Outdoor Skills curriculum, students in the program also have the opportunity to participate in wilderness medicine classes offered by Solo and rock and ice climbing seminars offered by the International Mountain Climbing School.

When you are at Brewster Academy, stop by the Haines Climbing Barn and see what we are up to. Any questions about the program can be sent to jonathan_fouser@brewsteracademy.org.

Jonathan Fouser

The Instructor

Jonathan Fouser brings a truly dynamic personality to the Brewster Academy Outdoor Skills Program. His love of teaching and outdoor activity is apparent in the curriculum that he designs for each trimester of the Outdoor Skills Program. Hardly a weekend passes that he is not outside teaching and spending hours on the cliffs of New Hampshire, pushing his students to be their best. He has spent a good part of the last 10 years climbing and hiking all over the world. His travels have taken him to the American West, where he climbed Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, and Mount Adams. He also spent time climbing and hiking in Nepal and working as a forest ranger with the Green Mountain Club in Vermont. Whether climbing, hiking, kayaking, or skiing, Jonathan brings sheer enthusiasm to each new experience.

In his own words

My involvement with the Outdoor Skills Program enables me to take full advantage of the magnificent setting of Brewster Academy. Teaching students in an outdoor setting is truly amazing and wonderfully fulfilling. I have had the opportunity to travel all over New England with my students and teach skills that cannot be gained in the classroom. I use the medium of rock climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing, hiking, and camping to teach my students about leadership, self-reliance, and responsibility.

I not only teach the technical skills that students need to travel and climb safely in the mountains; I also help them discover a spiritual side that backcountry travelers develop. Since most of our travels take place in a wilderness setting, my students develop a wilderness ethic that is based on respect.

The Outdoor Skills Program uses the magnificent setting of the New England wilderness to teach the core values of Brewster Academy: respect, responsibility, and leadership. Acting as the director of the Outdoor Skills Program has enabled me to combine two of my passions — teaching and wilderness exploration.