Archive for November, 2008

Welcome to Black Mountain Expeditions, I’m glad to have you here! Please take a moment to look around and leave us some feedback – I’d love to hear your input and suggestions as we build out both our site and our program. What information would you like to see? Are there any questions you would like us answer to answer? Where are our words unclear? You will likely see changes to the site as we hear from you.

In particular we are working through what information and what arrangement works best on our trip detail pages. Here’s the link to one of them:

http://www.blackmountainexpeditions.com/expeditions/high-sierra-and-beyond/

What can that page do better?

– Ryan Carlson, Director

Ryan Carlson, Black Mountain Expeditions Director.
New Hire

We are excited to introduce Ryan Carlson as the Director of Black Mountain Expeditions.  When people ask why we are just now expanding into this program area we answer saying that we have finally found the leadership to run a program that we are proud of. The very best programs in the country will always have the very best leadership on the country. With this in mind we’ve kept our eye on Ryan as he developed his skills and leadership and are now looking forward to his coming on board with our staff.

After earning his B.S in Outdoor Education, Ryan served seven years as the Director of Wilderness Ministry for Ohio Wesleyan University and the Coalition for Christian Outreach. In addition to steep mountain adventures all over the world Ryan has led expeditions in the Wind River Range, Joshua Tree, the White Mountains, Florida Everglades and Wyoming’s Absorka Range. He is a Certifying Instructor for the Wilderness Education Association and Master Educator with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. Ryan also holds certifications as a Wilderness First Responder, a Professional Climb Instructors Association Single Pitch Instructor and an ACA Canoe Instructor. Before moving to NC Ryan’s wife Annie served as Director of Experiential Education for a OH high school. Annie works with students at Montreat College and is a field instructor in the off season.

Names are important. We like ours because it implies a sense of place that is important to us. “Black Mountain” is the location of our home office and the spot where our summer camps have grown for the past 60 years. And “expedition” speaks  directly to the most important part of what we do.

Simply put, Black Mountain is our home and since 1945 we have had the privilege of sharing this place and the sense of adventure it fosters with young people from around the world.

The idea of an expedition, on the other hand, implies going out from our home in search of a larger world, larger challenges and greater growth.

“Expedition: noun, a journey or excursion undertaken for a specific purpose”