SERVICES
Take the High Ground Outdoor Events
Take the High Ground
Leadership doesn't show up until the conditions get hard.
You can learn a lot about your team in a conference room. You learn everything about them on a mountain.
What it is
Summit Ridge Leadership designs outdoor experiences that put your team in real conditions — physical, unpredictable, and demanding — where leadership either shows up or it does not. There is no hiding on a trail. There is no delegating a decision when the group is tired, the terrain has changed, and someone needs to step up.
These are not team bonding activities. They are leadership development experiences that happen to take place outside.
What It Looks Like
Full-day hikes and multi-day backpacking experiences in demanding mountain terrain, built around the leadership challenges your team actually faces. Land navigation. Pace and endurance. Keeping a group together when conditions get hard. Managing the person who pushes too fast and the one who falls behind. Making decisions with incomplete information and no safety net.
Every experience is facilitated — not just guided. There is structure, reflection, and direct connection between what happens on the trail and what happens at work. Your team will not just share an experience. They will learn something about themselves and each other that a conference room never could have surfaced.
Led by Someone Who Has Been There
These experiences are designed and led by Ryan Hill, whose background includes leading people through genuinely demanding environments — military deployments, high-altitude terrain, and complex organizational challenges. He knows what pressure reveals about leadership because he has been in it. This is not a ropes course. There are no trust falls. It is real terrain with real conditions and a facilitator who knows how to draw the leadership lessons out of both.
Who This Is For
Executives and team leaders who want to develop their people in an environment that actually tests them. If your team spends their days managing complexity, pressure, and other people — putting them in a physical environment that demands the same things will accelerate their development faster than almost anything else.
Best for leadership teams of 6 to 20 people.
What Is Included
Summit Ridge designs and facilitates the full experience. Experiences are primarily based in Colorado with select regional options available. Route selection, logistics, facilitated debrief sessions, and direct connection back to your team's specific leadership development goals. You show up ready to move. We handle the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of outdoor experiences does Take the High Ground offer?
Why would we choose an outdoor leadership experience over a traditional classroom program?
Is this designed for groups or can individuals sign up?
What is the ideal group size?
