Do you have backcountry experience? Would you like to spend your summer in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains? The Frost Valley Adventure program is looking for trip leaders to lead our 4-week Advanced wilderness trip!

Qualifications: 

• 21 years old
• Current Wilderness First Responder or willingness to get before June 2020
• Experience working with youth and teens ages 9-15 in an outdoor setting, or a strong desire to gain experience in such an environment
• Able to hike 8-10 miles in rugged, uneven terrain per day with a pack weight one third of one’s body weight.  In good physical health overall is a must.
• Ability to work long hours, including evening and late-night programs under high stress
• Ability to be flexible to sudden changes in schedule, staff and campers
• Present a strong, positive model for kids and fellow staff members
• Possess excellent communication and group facilitation skills

General Description:

Adventure Trip Leaders will supervise and care for trip campers in loco parentis.  Trip Leaders must work well with a co-leader in a remote setting, away from Frost Valley YMCA resources and guidance.  The ability to foresee and prevent potential hazards and camper issues is crucial to leading a successful trip. Trip Leaders are responsible for preparing final logistics for each assigned trip and to ensure they have all of the equipment necessary to run a trip safely and successfully.  Facilitating a camper’s experience to be positive and insightful is also crucial to this position. The successful candidate truly enjoys working with children of various Frost Valley programs and desires to share their love for the outdoors. We send trips out to the Adirondacks and Catskill Mountains and activities include backpacking, hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, climbing and service elements. Our primary youth demographics are ages 10-17.

Responsibilities:

• Ability to identify and mitigate risk to ensure positive and incident free experiences for participants.
• Be an active member of a small community, including, but not limited to, giving your opinion in an appropriate manner, taking on delegated responsibilities and helping to maintain the physical, emotional and mental health of each team member.
• Complete and submit all required documentation including, but not limited to, daily logs, accident reports, vehicle logs, etc. in a timely manner.
• Plan and execute trips.  This includes teaching campers the specific hard and soft skills needed for and during each trip, as well as processing the trip at the conclusion of the experience.
• Ensure that Frost Valley Summer Camps achieves the highest standard and meets the mission and goals of both the Summer Camp Department and Frost Valley YMCA, as well as expectations of customers.
• Embrace the Frost Valley YMCA’s eight core values of Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Honesty, Community, Diversity, Stewardship, Inclusiveness.