Know more, carry less. BOSS students travel lightly and learn indigenous survival skills. BOSS has built a reputation around the world for its immersive, hands-on courses that teach people how to do more with less.

BOSS, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, is celebrating its 45th Anniversary this year.

“All of us at BOSS are thrilled to celebrate this milestone,” says Josh Bernstein, BOSS president and CEO. “We are grateful to the thousands of alumni who have spent time with us on the trail, learning how to do more with less, and we look forward to many more years teaching adventurous souls how to travel lightly on the land.”

Founded in 1968 in the small town of Boulder, Utah, BOSS has built a reputation around the world for its immersive, hands-on courses that teach people how to do more with less. Courses are 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 days long and are divided into five categories: Skills, Field, Training, Explorer and Custom courses. BOSS is best known for its Field courses, where students spend up to one month hiking through Southern Utah’s wilderness with expert instructors and little more than a blanket, a poncho, a knife and the clothes on their backs.

“Given the challenges offered on some of our trips, we recognize that BOSS courses are not for everyone,” says Bernstein. “But for the right person, with the right perspective and attitude, the wilderness challenge and expert instruction BOSS offers can be a life-changing experience.”

Over the past four decades, new courses have been added based on interest, including Skills courses where students hike less but learn more. This May 12-18, for example, BOSS will host the 9th Annual Slickrock Gathering, where students learn from expert instructors the art of primitive pottery, blacksmithing, hidetanning, flintknapping or bowmaking.

Full information about courses, including dates and prices, can be found on the school’s website.