Dear prospective student,

	Director, Mark Brontsema
	Assistant Director & Workshop Instructor, Michelle Monette
	Climbing Instructor, Mark Bratlie
	Climbing and backpacking instructor, Sam Wells
	Climbing Director, Jayson Ohman
	Climbing Instructor, Chris Grundell
	Hiking Guide, Beth Suffolk
	Adventure Guide, Julie Keys
	Climbing Instructor, Denise Riggs

We at the Arizona Climbing and Adventure School (ACAS), want personally to tell you how pleased we are that you are considering joining us for a course. If you do come, you will look back on your ACAS course as one of the great adventures and learning experiences of your life.

Along with adventure will come challenges.
Indeed, the very purpose of ACAS is to help you find untapped resources within you; to let you discover that you have the ability to do more than you thought you could.

The number one concern our students have before coming is "not being able to meet the physical challenges of the course." We address that concern by encouraging a noncompetitive and nonevaluative learning environment. You set your own goals for the course. And you are the sole judge of your success. Upon completing the course, better that 95% of our students felt they benefited greatly from the experience.

Our Course's Focus On:
...• Transcending self-imposed limitations
...• Self-knowledge
...• Tenacity
...• Teamwork and responsibility
...• Promote skill mastery
...• Leadership skills
...• Self-reliance

Each course has a set curriculum; depending on which course you enrolled in, expect to camp, hike, make challenging decisions, rock climb and rappel off vertical faces; but don't expect your course to happen in any routine way or on any particular schedule. The itinerary, the route, the staff and the weather will all work together to make your course unique and challenging.

Our courses are a blend of theory and practice. We utilize a variety of time tested teaching principles from the, Project Adventure (PA) and Paul Stoltz's Adversity Quotient. It is through this blend that adventure learning begins to take form and meaning - there is a reason for activity; there are connections between the adventure and our personal lives. Helping you make these connections is our greatest challenge.

Each course offers you the opportunity to "live the model" - a chance to risk, to trust, to try and to learn. Our courses and workshops are designed to allow you to learn by doing. You will be asked to be an active participant, to experience adventure based programming firsthand.

And found in the midst of all this learning is fun! It is our belief that when work and learning are fun, creativity, productivity and achievement peak. When what we are doing challenges and engages us, then the learning is making an impact. You will find that our courses and workshops can leave a lasting impression on you.

Expect your course to be dramatic, exciting, educational and fun, but be prepared for it to be even more. Your ACAS experience is still ahead of you. The itinerary has yet to be finalized; you and the uncontrollable forces of nature are about to write the story.



Be ready for anything. Get personally invested. Get excited. Get ready for one of the truly great outdoor experiences of your life!

We hope you look forward to being with us as much as we look forward to having you!


Sincerely,

Mark Brontsema, director
Michelle Monette, assistant director
Sandi Bellis, office manager
Mark Bratlie, climbing instructor
Jayson Ohman, climbing director
Jim Sanders, production manager
Julie Keyes, adventure guide
David Brontsema, business development
Monique Rene - climbing instructor
Denise Riggs, climbing instructor
Sam Wells, climbing instructor
Elizabeth Suffolk, hiking guide
Jordan Morrison, climbing instructor
Chris Grundell, climbing instructor
.........and the rest of our great staff!

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"Triumph and disaster are equal imposters" – R. Kipling

Director, Mark Brontsema's colorful 28-years in the climbing and adventure-based profession started with Exum Mountain Guides in Moose, Wyoming in 1977. In 1981, Mark enrolled in the National Outdoor Leadership School and pursued climbing as an instructor in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, North Cascades, Grand Canyon and Alaska. In 1993, he had the opportunity to be with the Colorado Outward Bound School.

Mark has had the opportunity to climb, sea kayak and backpack in some of the most remote areas of the Western Hemisphere. Mark has participated on international expeditions – from cold Alaskan mountains and oceans to the vertical pinnacles of Yosemite and Tierra Del Fuego. He has also been the director of Youth Wilderness Challenges, a community education and substance abuse prevention program of the Cave Creek School District and a Sierra Club outing leader.

While mountaineering, Mark has endured and survived some of the harshest weather conditions the planet has to offer. Over the years, he has had a number of successful ascents, as well as his share of injuries, losses and major failures.

In 1987 Mark was swept off a vertical rock face by a snow and rock avalanche on a remote mountain in Tierra Del Fuego and suffered 14 fractures to his right leg. One of his team members perished in the avalanche. Mark spent three days alone on the mountain with severe injuries enduring high winds and freezing temperatures before being rescued. After two years of physical therapy, he returned to rock climbing and continues to provide students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed at the sport. Mark's endurance, patience, humor and experience is seconded only by his ability to teach and lead.

Mark holds certification in Team and Trust Building, Wilderness Therapy, Rock Climbing, Sea-Kayaking, Mountaineering, Outdoor Leadership and Wilderness First Aid from the Colorado Outward Bound School and the National Outdoor Leadership School.
- by Michelle Monette

Mark has written an ANA (Arizona Newspapers Association) award winning column for three years - On the Edge – about his outdoor adventures which can be read by clicking here.