Program Structure
Intake
If the teenager does not want to go or the parents for some reason want to keep the partication a secret, the program offer
what they call in-house enrollment, which means that they can arrange for an youth transport firm to get the teenager from
his or her own bed in the middle of the night using the means, this line of business is known for. See this article about Teen Escort Companies at Secret Prisons for teens.
Level system
They operate with a level system with 4 levels.
Orientation Phase: The detained teenager is brought to the base camp, where he or she will live until they have
been broken and have agreed that they are being banished from their own family. They will also undergo examination and start
an exercise program because most teenagers sent to the program does not have a chance to prepare themselves for an intensive
wilderness program, when the parents have done it secretly.
Pre-Course: When the detained teenager has accepted his or her fate, this phase centers about building a team out
of the teenagers detained at the base camp. The exercise program is also continued, so they are ready to hike.
Course: This phase consist of a two week hike. The teenagers are forced to work together as a team and break self-imposed
limits under constant pressure from staff and the group. At the end of this phase they have to use a wooden structure called
the Alpine Tower (On the homepage of the manufactor it is stated that Ascent in Idaho has such a wooden struture).
Transistion: The last phase is about repairing the conflicts arising between the detained teenager and the family
based on the banishment. The family will participate in a 3 day workshop. They also has be surrender to so-called transistion
agreements in order to leave the program. The phase ends with a graduation.
