Upper School Trips 2022-2023

Still Accepting Trip SIgn-UpS

• The Backcountry Ski/Board Trip, is held on Mt. Baker and participants will stay at the Mountaineers Baker Lodge and work with professional guides from Cascade Mountain Ascents. Trip attendees will participate in their AIARE Level 1 Avalanche course, the first step in Avalanche awareness, assessment, and rescue in January and follow up with our Backcountry experience over mid-winter break. Students will learn skills in outdoor leadership, decision making, team building, risk mitigation, and resource management and meet with our guides to discuss hazard assessment, snow conditions, weather, and tour plan each day. We will utilize the vast Backcountry terrain that the Baker Backcountry has to offer. No lifts for us, as we earn some of the best turns in North America on this trip as each day consists of 4,000+ ft of human-powered vertical gain in "tour mode" and an equal amount of descent in "ski mode."

• 9th-12th grade (ability dependent)

• 7-14 students

Trip Prerequisites:

Complete the Trip Survey

Students will need to be interviewed by the trip leaders before acceptance to ensure preparedness. Students interested in signing up for this trip should consider themselves to be a proficient skier or snowboarder who is fit enough to climb for several hours with enough left in the tank to turn around and safely ski/board a black diamond level run in varied conditions. There are no lifts in the backcountry; participants must carry their avalanche safety gear and manage their touring equipment, energy, and food intake. While helpful, students do not need “out of bounds” experience in the backcountry or prior exposure to avalanche safety or ski/board touring equipment to participate. SAAS will provide avalanche safety equipment (beacon, probe, shovel) and assist in coordinating any ski/split board touring equipment rentals. Students must participate in weekly lunch meetings leading up to each portion of the trip. 

Early SIgn-Up Deadline October 25

• This trip includes 16 hours of community and service, adventure, sightseeing, and the opportunity to speak Spanish and learn about Costa Rican culture. We will travel to San José, and then on to the Osa Peninsula where students will work with in-water sea turtle monitoring and mangrove reforestation. Subsequent activities include learning to make chocolate, a birding tour, a permaculture workshop, a hike to a waterfall, and an outrigger canoe excursion with swimming at a secret beach. 

• 9th-12th grade (ability dependent)

• 14-21 students

Trip Prerequisites:

Spanish Language Students in grades 9-12 are eligible for this trip. 
We will hold one parent/student meeting and approximately 3 lunchtime meetings with students prior to the trip.

• On this river focused adventure, juniors will break into large groups and either canoe Labyrinth Canyon (Green River) or raft the Upper San Juan River. Students will participate in all aspects of multi-day wilderness expeditions through field studies, river skills, navigation, camp life, and hiking. We will be supported by Canyonlands Field Institute (CFI). We will spend 4 days on the river and the first and last day all together in tipis at the CFI Field Camp. 

• 11th grade

• Up to 50 students

• This trip will expose students to African American History and Culture through museum visits and cultural excursions in Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Along the way, we will visit many Historically Black Colleges and Universities, developing an understanding of their history and importance while also helping students see them as exciting college choices. Once we arrive in Washington DC by plane, we will commute to all locations via charter bus until we reach the end of the trip in Atlanta, GA, at which point we will fly back to Seattle. Interested students should demonstrate an interest in African American history and culture and a desire to explore an HBCU as a college choice. We will have pre-trip meetings in the winter/spring and a code of conduct and expectations meeting that students will be required to attend. 

• 10th - 12th grade students

• 18 -24 students

• The group will travel by bus, plane and ferry to make their way up along the inside passage to Skagway, Alaska.  From there, the group will make their way to Lake Laberge, just outside of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Camp in pristine wilderness on the frozen shores of Lake Laberge with your classmates. Go ice fishing, dog sledding, hangout around the campfire! Join the Seattle Academy tradition of the senior class trip; a time to celebrate, reflect, engage in fun activities, and spend time together.  

• 12th grade students

• No limit

New Orleans Trip Application 2023

• The New Orleans trip provides a meaningful service-learning experience through volunteer work, integrated cultural tourism, and daily reflective discussion. We spend the first week volunteering in the greater New Orleans area rebuilding homes and assisting community projects. Week two is spent volunteering in the rural communities along the Southwest Louisiana coast, restoring wetlands. We visit a variety of historical and cultural museums, the French Quarter, kayak down the Mississippi River while eating delicious authentic southern food. 

• 10th -12th Grade

• 14-18 Students 

Complete the Interest/Experience
Application Form

• The group will travel by van to Smith Rock State Park, near Bend, Oregon. There, we will spend 5 days camping, climbing, and exploring the high desert area. Spend 3 days on the rock, challenging yourself physically and mentally. Enjoy building deep connections with your peers by learning to communicate and trust one another. Join us on this on this inaugural climbing adventure!

• 9th -12th Grade

• 8-10 Students 

• The great outdoors meets humanities, this trip teaches the ancient art of fireside storytelling to those who crave adventure and nature. Students will camp together at Bogachiel State Park and build a foundation in short story creation and delivery through outdoor lessons and individual work time. They will then break into two groups and backpack into the Enchanted Valley region of Olympic National Park where they will have time to finalize their story before delivering it to the group on the final night.

• 9th -12th Grade

• 10-15 Students 

• Participants will take a breathtaking charter sea plane flight into Tauton Lake, the headwaters of the Stikine River. We will then spend 14 canoeing The Upper Stikine can camping and exploring along the way. The river begins its rapid descent from the high alpine lakes of the Spatsizi Wilderness Plateau, deep in Tahltan Traditional Territory. This expedition feels like paddling multiple rivers in one trip as the river winds through four distinct wild landscapes before plunging into Canada’s 'Grand Canyon' of the North. Experience BC's true rugged beauty on this 300km journey through delightful class 1-3 rapids along the way.

• 9th -12th Grade

• 10-13 Students