Field Area

Durango, Colorado Boasts an Average 320 Days of Sunshine Per Year

Open Sky maintains two base camps: one in the mountains of Southwest Colorado and one in the canyon country of Southeast Utah. As the hub of operations, Durango strikes a good balance between accessibility to the backcountry and proximity to the necessities of civilization. Thus we are able to provide our students with a safe and effective wilderness experience.

Durango and the surrounding area enjoy an ideal four-season climate with moderate temperatures and over 300 days of sun per year. Our expansive course area covers all facets of the regional landscape, from jagged alpine peaks with wildflower-filled meadows to red-rock canyons and cacti. Occupying these two uniquely beautiful locations, Open Sky provides a dynamic and inspiring wilderness experience while building emotional strength and security. Open Sky is fortunate to have year-round access to abundant public and private land throughout the Four Corners region, allowing us maximum flexibility to operate our program.

Spring/Summer: Mountain Course Area

Among the ponderosa and lodgepole pine trees lies our spring and summer base camp in Colorado. This area is shaded, dry, and usually not too warm or too cold in the spring, summer, and fall. At an elevation of around 7,000 feet, crisp mountain air greets our students and guides every morning, with cool evening breezes helping to refresh and facilitate sleep at the end of the day.

Fall/Winter: Canyon Country Course Area

As the seasons shift from fall to winter, base camp migrates from the high country of Colorado to the canyon country of Utah. This high desert habitat is arid and mild from November through March, with average high temps ranging from 42º–67° F and average lows from 22–41° F. Snow accumulation at our fall and winter base camp camp typically does not exceed four inches.

Land Use Acknowledgment

We recognize and honor that the land on which we live and work is the traditional land of the Ancestral Puebloan, Ute, Diné, and other Indigenous and Native peoples.

We acknowledge that the very idea of wilderness exists due to historical and ongoing settlement that has caused, and continues to cause, benefit for settlers, including Open Sky, and untold harm to Indigenous and Native peoples.

It is our responsibility to acknowledge these truths: that white people killed and forcibly removed countless Indigenous and Native peoples from their sacred homelands.

We honor the lives of Indigenous and Native peoples, lived and lost, and their contributions to humanityand connections to this land.

At Open Sky, we engage in continued learning, recognizing that it is a privilege to act as stewards of this sacred land, as it supports immeasurable growth and healing.