Hypothermia is the number one killer in the backcountry and knowing how to get fire when you're wet and cold is one of the most critical survival skills that you can learn. Plus, fire allows you to cook your food, purify your water and gives you a psychological boost. If you can become proficient at friction fire here in northwestern Washington, then you can succeed at it almost anywhere else in the world. So we're hosting this class during the middle of the rain season to show you how to succeed at fire during the hardest of conditions.

Don't worry, you don't need to be a fire expert to take this course. You don't even have to have any friction fire experience for that matter. We keep this class small to provide plenty of individual instruction for all sorts of skill levels. The instructor to student ration will be 5:1 at the most. 

Topics that we'll teach:

  • Proper fire construction and maintenance. Specifically in wet weather.
  • Getting coals using both dry and wet wood.
  • Where to gather kit materials and how to process them correctly.
  • Other practical fire starting methods to add to your backcountry kit (flint steel, shepherd's lighter etc.).
  • Wet weather tinders. How to both find and prepare them.
  • The focus will be on bow drill but we will also go over hand drill as well.