The site contains photos, videos, stories and links related to Skinner Brothers Wilderness Schools of Pinedale, Wyo.  This school was founded in 1956 by Monte, Bob, Courtney and Ole Skinner.  Four of six sons of legendary mountain guide Clem Skinner.  Skinner Brothers operated at their camp at Burnt Lake for 50 years.

This site contains photos, videos, stories and links related to Skinner Brothers Wilderness Schools of Pinedale, Wyo.  This school was founded in 1956 by Monte, Bob, Courtney and Ole Skinner.  Four of six sons of legendary mountain guide Clem Skinner.  Skinner Brothers operated at their camp at Burnt Lake for 50 years.



There were three main ‘sessions’ taught at Skinner Brothers:  The Wilderness Session, the Leadership Session and the Open Session.  The ‘Brothers’ trained thousands of young people in Horse Packing, Mountaineering, Wilderness Survival and, most importantly, life skills.





The Wilderness Session



This was the main training session, encompassing all of the disciplines taught at the camp.  This session included a basic wildness skills curriculum, a Survival Hike, a Horse Packtrip, a Rock Climbing excursion and a rafting adventure on the Green River.  There were two Wildness Sessions each year.  The first ran from mid-June to mid-July.  The second from mid-July to mid-August.





The Leadership Session



The leadership session was generally attended by ‘graduates’ of the Wilderness Session.  Leadership campers had a more in-depth climbing experience, including not only rock climbing, but also mountaineering training on ice and snow.  A longer packtrip allowed the campers a more immersive experience in horse packing.  This session also included a trip to the Green River for white-water rafting on self-made wooden rafts.





The Open Session



This session had rock climbing and mountaineering as its central focus.  After a brief ‘shake-down’ trip to learn basic rock climbing, campers then began a 21-day expedition into the mountains.   After learning advanced rock-climbing techniques, campers would learn mountaineering techniques on Mt. Baldy.  Then they would hike into Titcomb Basin to climb the highest peaks in Wyoming, including Gannett Peak.





Hunting and Fishing Trips



Skinner Brothers was not only a summer camp, but also a professional outfitting business.  Every year, the Skinners and their employees would guide adults into the farthest reaches of the Wind River Mountain Range, in pursuit of Trout, Elk, Moose or unrivaled natural beauty.





Beyond Wyoming



The Skinner Brothers also led expeditions across the Globe. Their trips included adventures to peaks in Alaska, Mexico, South America and even the 1988 “Cowboy’s on Everest” expedition to the world’s highest mountain.





Graduates of Skinner Brothers have gone on to success is virtually every walk of life.  The lessons of self-reliance, hard work and fortitude through adversity carry with them.