Celebrating our 20th Anniversary of Winter Semester in 2024!

Join us on a journey from the heart of the winter wilderness to the spectacular maritime coastline, as we intimately follow the seasons from January to June. For 5-months we will traverse northern New England under our own power on a climate forward journey.  Kroka’s Full Circle Winter Semester combines two months of backcountry skiing expeditions with homesteading, hand craft, a traditional wilderness canoe journey down the Kennebec River and out to sea, and a final bikepacking trip from the coast of Maine home to Kroka.

Beginning in northern New England in January we travel using methods seldom practiced by modern people on a self-supported ski expedition. As the snow melts we will travel to the Maine Local Living School to practice earth-living-skills including ash basketry, knife hafting and paddle making. As snowmelt courses into the rivers of New England and spring wakes the land, we will begin a month-long journey by canoe down the Kennebec River and out to sea, finally returning to Kroka by bike.

On the heels of the hottest summer on record and  unprecedented natural disaster impacting our local communities, Kroak is committing to a Winter Semester that traverses the mysterious and beautiful wildernesses of the Northeast without the use of private vehicles. We will weave together deep observation with action, the past with the present and future, and academic studies with active hope.

You will develop sound judgment for healthy risk-taking and competency in the technical adventure sports of backcountry skiing, whitewater canoeing, mountain bikepacking, and maritime navigation. You will engage in rigorous experiential curriculum encompassing the humanities and natural sciences. You will emerge from the program empowered and inspired to transform what you have learned in nature and community into altruistic action.