Soulstainable Impact Academy
Soulstainable Expedition Impact · ROE / ENVS 397

Travel isan act ofcreation.

A field-based course that turns tourists into global citizens. Ski Hokkaido's powder, replant Ecuador's cloud forest or climb Croatia's limestone, and come home knowing exactly what impact you have on a place, and what you'll do with it.

See 2026–27 courses → Get the workbook
Impact-based learning

Understand your impact

You are important and you have a unique skill set. Travel opens you up to learn, to be humbled, and to take in the world. This course gives that feeling a structure, so it turns into action when you get home.

Tourist →

Ethical explorer

Trade “take only photos” for ethical tourism practices that leave a place better than you found it.

Classroom →

Field laboratory

Your classroom is a mountain range, an island, or a coastal community. You learn by doing, with a guide team beside you.

Extraction →

Regeneration

The question shifts from “what can I get out of this place?” to “what can I help grow here?”

Velebit mountains dropping to the Adriatic above Paklenica, Croatia
Velebit range · Paklenica
“Utilize impact-based learning practices to grow from tourists to well-rounded global citizens.”Core course objective
The Expedition Impact curriculum

Basecamp to summit

Every course follows the same route. You start by learning how to travel well, turn inward, then outward, and finish with a project you carry home.

Stage 1 · Basecamp

Groundation

The course intro. What impact means, and how a team moves well together.

  • Impact
  • Expedition behavior
  • Connection by disconnection
Stage 2 · Ascent

Intrinsic impact

The personal journey. Who you are, what shapes you, and where you're headed.

  • Exploring self
  • Your North Star
  • Place-based scene size-up
Stage 3 · Ridgeline

Outward impact

Engaging the world. Local enterprise, culture, land, and the stories that connect them.

  • Regenerative enterprise
  • Conversing with environments
  • Impact with place
  • Storytelling
Stage 4 · Summit

Impact project

Turn thought into action. Research a topic that links the place to your major, then present it.

  • Turn thought into action
90%Professionalism & presence
10%Impact project

You're graded on how you show up every day in the field: attendance, participation, respect, and expedition behavior. The final project is presented to the whole class.

Field toolkit

Skills for day one

Expedition behavior

The principles that make any expedition work, from a remote ridge to an unfamiliar city. They trace back to NOLS founder Paul Petzoldt, and we practice them daily.

TeamworkResilienceSelf-sufficiencyResponsibilitySelf-relianceNatural consequences
Connection by disconnectionPut the phone away and pay attention to where you are. It's the most radical thing a traveler can do.

Place scene size-up

Before you can make a positive impact anywhere, you read the landscape, the culture, and the energy. Six steps, in order:

  1. Observe before you actWatch first. No photos, no narrating, no consuming.
  2. Learn the local rhythmsMealtimes, rest hours, market days, seasons.
  3. Identify the unwritten rulesWho has right of way in the lineup, how you greet an elder.
  4. Locate your entry pointWhat do you have to offer, and what must you earn first?
  5. Read the environmental cuesNotice what's thriving and what's stressed.
  6. Check your own assumptionsThe most important thing you size up is yourself.
Students playing cards at a mountain hut table
Connection by disconnection
A local blacksmith working glowing coals in his forge
Conversing with a craftsman
A student sport climbing on Croatian limestone
Hvar limestone
Summit cross and marker stone on a rocky Velebit peak
Summit marker, Velebit
International courses · 2026–27

Pick your expedition

Every course runs for 3 credits through Western Colorado University's Center for Learning & Innovation. Groups are small and led by an experienced guide crew.

HKD · Hokkaido, winterECU · Ecuador, Spring BreakDAL · Dalmatia, Maymester
Yuki · snow 43.06°N 141.35°E · Sapporo
ROE / ENVS 397 · Winter sessionMax 14

Ride Hokkaido, Japan

Applications open · winter 2026–27

We time this trip for Hokkaido's snowiest stretch and ski most days. Around the powder: New Year's traditions in Sapporo, onsen soaks, heritage sites, and talks from the guides, snow forecasters and entrepreneurs who built lives here.

DatesDec 30 – Jan 8
Length10 days
GroupMax 14
REC cohortBackcountry skills, Avalanche 1 deep dive, cultural impact focus. Backcountry gear and experience recommended.
ENVS cohortOn-piste, all levels welcome. Field trips on Hokkaido's landscape and environment.
  • SapporoArrival, course briefing, New Year's Eve and toshikoshi soba
  • OtaruRyokan base, market tour, orientation
  • Kokusai · KiroroGuided skiing, avalanche course, storytelling workshop, guest speakers
  • Lake Toya · RusutsuRyokan night and a final night-ski session
  • Jozankei · SapporoOnsen town, farewell dinner, depart
What's included
  • All breakfasts, lunches and dinners
  • Lift tickets, ground transportation and lodging
  • Guide crew: Austin O'Brien, Matthew Ebbott, Monte, plus Hokkaido Expeditions guides
  • Not included: airfare, visa, gear, personal spending (~$500 suggested)
$5,419$4,879 program + $540 tuition (3 credits × $180)
Apply for Hokkaido →
Illustration of the basalt columns of Tangan rising above Ecuadorian cloud forest 0.23°S 78.33°W · Tangan
ROE / ENVS 397 · Spring Break2027

Rewild Tangan, Ecuador

Spring Break 2027 · interest list open

Spend spring break in the Andes helping a forest grow back. We live on a working hacienda in Tangan, below the basalt columns, and plant native trees on land scarred by recent fires with Don Ramiro, who has led this rewilding for almost a decade. Around the planting: volcanic rock climbing, farm life, Quito, and the Papallacta hot springs.

WhenSpring Break
Length9 days
FocusReforestation
Service workNative tree planting on fire-scarred land in Tangan. Your field hours count toward your grade.
Field skillsClimbing on volcanic rock, place scene size-up, and conversations with local farmers and guides.
  • Quito → PifoArrive, meet the crew, course briefing
  • PifoLocal crags, Quito city tour, welcome dinner
  • Tangan haciendaFarm life, climbing below the basalt columns
  • Tangan reforestationPlant native trees with Don Ramiro to regrow the forest
  • PapallactaSport climbing, then a soak in the hot springs
  • QuitoImpact project presentations, farewell dinner, depart
What's included
  • Lodging in Pifo and at the Tangan hacienda
  • In-country transport and group climbing gear
  • Trees and tools for the planting days
  • Guide crew led by Austin O'Brien, with local guides
  • Not included: flights to Quito, personal climbing shoes and harness, travel insurance
Coming soonProgram price announced soon + $540 tuition (3 credits × $180)
Join the interest list →
A sailboat on the Adriatic off the Dalmatian islands 43.17°N 16.44°E · Hvar
ROE / ENVS 397 · Maymester2027

Dalmatia, Croatia

$1,500 deposit due Dec 4, 2026

Sixteen days across Dalmatia: sport climbing on island limestone, sea kayaking between islands, hiking Paklenica's canyons, and learning how agriculture, tourism and history shape the places we visit.

DatesMay 12 – 27
Length16 days
Year2027
  • SplitArrival, city tour, Diocletian's Palace
  • Hvar IslandClimbing, island exploration, beaches
  • Zlarin & islandsSea kayaking
  • Paklenica NPHiking in the Velebit range
  • ZagrebCity tour, historical sites, depart
What's included
  • All in-country costs, lodging, designated excursions and activities
  • International travel insurance
  • Local partner: Peak and Paddle Croatia
  • Not included: airfare, gear, personal needs, independent travel
$5,026$4,489 program + $540 tuition (3 credits × $180)
Apply for Croatia →
Principles in action

Stories from the field

StoryTenerife, Canary Islands

Crush them with kindness

A crowded surf break, a territorial local, and a dropped-in wave. Three weeks of patience and etiquette turned a confrontation into an apology over a flagon of wine. Expedition behavior, tested.

ProjectAndean cloud forest, Ecuador

Rewilding Tangan

Working with Don Ramiro to protect basalt columns and native ecosystems, and moving a landscape from extraction toward regeneration. Join it on the Spring Break 2027 course.

ProjectMompiche, Ecuador

Clean water for local schools

Our proudest volunteer project: a clean water initiative across multiple schools in Mompiche, built with the community over repeat visits.

How to enroll

From application to airport

18+Years old at departure
2.5Cumulative GPA, good standing
24Credits completed (sophomore standing)
  1. Request the applicationEmail us and tell us which course you're after. We'll send the Western Colorado University application.
  2. Submit it for reviewReturn the completed application to the course instructor. Once approved, you'll get a welcome email.
  3. Pay your depositCosts post to your Western student account. The deposit locks your spot. Spots are capped, so earlier is better.
  4. Join pre-trip briefingsWeekly meetings with the instructor team and your cohort. Start the workbook here.

Questions

Do I get college credit?

Yes. Each course is 3 credits (ROE 397 or ENVS 397) through Western Colorado University. Tuition is $180 per credit and is included in the listed price.

I'm not a Western student. Can I join?

Course pricing covers undergraduate students and community members. Email us and we'll walk you through how to register as a visiting student.

Do I need to be an expert skier or climber?

No. Hokkaido's ENVS cohort welcomes all levels, and lessons are available. The REC cohort suits riders with backcountry experience. For Croatia and Ecuador, tell us your climbing background and we'll help you prepare.

What isn't included?

Airfare, visas, personal gear, personal spending and independent travel outside the program. Rental gear is available but limited.

What's the refund policy?

Deposits are non-refundable. Full refunds apply if the program is cancelled or you aren't accepted. Final payment deadlines are listed in each application.

For faculty & campus partners

Bring it to your campus

We design and run credit-bearing, field-based courses with universities, from mini-mesters to full expeditions. You bring the academic home; we bring the curriculum, the guide crew, the logistics and the risk management.

  • Ready-made syllabus with learning objectives and grading
  • Trip-specific risk management plans and in-country partners
  • Domestic and international options across climbing, skiing, surfing and trekking
Start a conversation →
A stone archway on an old fortress path in Croatia
Your next expedition

Go further.
Leave it better.

Grab the workbook, request an application, or ask anything. Emails go straight to Austin O'Brien, Guide Chief.

Request an application →
Palette