Skip To Main Content

2026 CA Upper School Interim Catalog

upperschoolinterim (PDF)
2026 CA Upper School Interim Catalog
  • Experiential Education
  • Upper School
2026 CA Upper School Interim Catalog
Abby Page

Interim at Colorado Academy provides opportunities to get out of the classroom to learn by doing, and each trip is dedicated to building new connections through a wide range of experiences. Interim trips span the gamut from artistic pursuits to community engagement and wilderness expeditions. Immersion in a unifying trip concept broadens students’ skills, knowledge, and awareness, and creates community outside of students’ typical social circles.

Interim Goals:

  • To practice physical and emotional resilience
  • To cultivate student agency through trip planning and leadership
  • To practice community values and service to others
  • To learn via exploration and personal initiative
  • To collaborate and problem-solve

Here are the practical details parents should know:

All Upper School Interims take place during the week of May 25, 2026. Most Interims run Tuesday through Friday, but several away trips are Monday through Friday. Please note the dates of each trip when selecting your preferences. Parent/guardian involvement in the Interim selection process is essential and requires approval.

REGISTRATION & TRIP ASSIGNMENT

After reviewing trip descriptions, students in Grades 9, 10, and 11 will register during Advisory on March 12. Each student should put their choices in order from 1 to 28, and students will sign the bottom of the form to acknowledge that they have discussed the Interim options with their folks at home. The registration form is due March 18. Trip assignments will be announced following Spring Break and are determined by factors including the student’s ranking of each trip, a balance of genders, sports conflicts, and age. 

Seniors sign up for Interim in person during advisory on March 4. Seniors will be placed in one of three groups, based on how their previous Interim trip matched with their preferences (students who didn’t receive a highly-ranked choice in previous years will be in the first group).

At this time, we do not need any of the trip-specific waivers signed. We will collect those after Interim placements have been completed.

IMPORTANT SPORTS NOTE

We acknowledge that students may have conflicting commitments such as club sports, athletic competitions, or family events when considering participation in school trips. However, due to logistical and organizational considerations, we are unable to accommodate individual students' special arrangements or personalized travel plans that deviate from the group itinerary. Therefore, students are not permitted to create individualized itineraries that would result in their arrival late or departure early from the trip. Thus, we ask students and families to pick trips wisely and with an eye to full participation.

Baseball may have championship games during the entire week of Interim, so Baseball students may need to be pulled off their Interim trips in order to compete; we ask that Grades 9–11 Baseball players sign up for a local trip, and Grade 12 Baseball players could choose to stay in their away Interim after a conversation with their coaches. 

Thank you for reviewing all these materials and discussing possible options with your child. If you have any questions that I can be helpful with, please do not hesitate to email me at abby.page@coloradoacademy.org.

2026 CA Upper School Interim Opportunities:

Alpine Adventures

  • Trip Leaders: Payton Ritchey & Autumn Amici-Lester
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Estes Park, Colo.
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: Kent Mountain Adventure Center

Alpine Adventures—hosted at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park—is the ticket to a wide variety of outdoor recreation. Over the course of the week, students try their hands at rock climbing, high-alpine hiking, and bouldering, and they even test their mettle against one of the most exciting via ferratas in the United States!

Back to Top

Art in the WILD

  • Trip Leaders: Karen Donald & Eric Sheldrake
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 3 days)
  • Location: Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colo.
  • Level: Medium Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)

Immerse yourself on an outdoor art adventure. We camp in Great Sand Dunes National Park to explore both astronomy and photography. During the day, we hike into nature with our cameras and find inspiration in rivers, mountains, and sand. In the center of an International Dark Sky Park, we use DSLR cameras to capture some of the best stargazing opportunities in the world, experimenting with LED light wands and dramatic costumes while recording the breathtaking landscape.

Back to Top

Browns Canyon Rafting Trip

  • Trip Leaders: Ian Marzonie, Octavia Betz, Moriah Miles, Pat Moore
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Buena Vista, Colo.
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion; students must be able to swim) 
  • Vendor: The Adventure Company

Embark on a thrilling three-day rafting adventure through the stunning landscapes of Browns Canyon National Monument. Students will paddle nearly 35 miles of intermediate whitewater, try inflatable kayaks, and enjoy riverside camping under the stars for two unforgettable nights. Days are filled with exciting rapids, scenic floats, short hikes, and hearty meals prepared by expert guides, while evenings bring campfires and time to relax by the river. No prior experience required—just a spirit of adventure and a readiness to embrace life on the river.

Students MUST be able to swim in order to join this Interim.

Back to Top

Chip Off the Ol’ Block

  • Trip Leaders: Kimberly Greeley & Sandy Valerio
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Marble, Colo.
  • Level: Medium Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
  • Vendors: Beaver Lake Lodge and Cabins; Greg Tonozzi, Marble Sculptor

The tiny town of Marble, Colorado, located at the southern end of the Crystal River Valley that runs north to Carbondale, was once a bustling marble-mining community whose quarries produced much of the marble that was used in government buildings in Washington, D.C., the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and statues all over the world. Remnants of some of those sculptures can still be seen on the property we’ll be working on. 

During our week in Marble, students will learn how to sculpt marble using a hammer and chisel, as well as with power tools. Each student will get their own block of marble to sculpt their own unique creation to bring home. No sculpting experience necessary! 

In our down time, students can read, play games, hike, and explore Marble. 

Back to Top

Colorado Trail Backpacking 

  • Trip Leaders: Tom Thorpe & Vincent Trinquesse
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Bailey, Colo.
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day, in the outdoors, with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendors: Colorado Mountain Expeditions

Did you know the Colorado Trail stretches nearly 500 miles from Denver to Durango, crossing six wilderness areas and some of the most spectacular terrain in the Rockies? On this trip, students will experience the trail’s stunning opening sections on a multi-day backpacking expedition through sweeping meadows, quiet forests, and high-country viewpoints. Along the way, students learn essential backcountry skills—navigation, camping technique, cooking, and Leave No Trace practices—while gaining confidence and resilience on the trail. Each day brings rewarding miles and breathtaking scenery, and each night offers the simple joy of camping beneath Colorado’s star-filled skies. This trip is perfect for students eager for adventure and ready to explore one of the nation’s most iconic long-distance routes.

Engineering Crash Course

  • Trip Leaders: Márcio Forléo & Alex Castro
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Low Intensity (Sitting, standing, light walking)

Curious about engineering but not sure where to start? This four-day crash course introduces students to the fundamentals of engineering through hands-on projects in CA’s Innovation Lab. Participants will learn how to safely use a variety of power tools, explore the basics of 3D printing and digital fabrication, and develop problem-solving skills through creative design challenges. By the end of the course, students will have built several small projects while gaining confidence working with tools and technology in a collaborative lab environment. This course is designed for beginners and is not intended for students who have previously taken an engineering course.

Back to Top

Exploring the Canyonlands

  • Trip Leaders: Mike Davis & alumni 
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 5 days)
  • Location: San Rafael Swell, Utah
  • Trip Dates: Monday, May 25–Friday, May 29
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: Mike Davis Adventures!

This is a physically demanding Interim experience that takes you into the heart of wilderness in southeastern Utah. This involves scrambling and climbing over difficult terrain, as well as rappelling off cliff faces. While Canyonlands and Moab are popular spots for exploring the Utah desert, far fewer hikers venture to the San Rafael Swell, home of slot canyons and rock art.

Back to Top

Fastpacking: Advanced Backpacking Ultralight Trip

  • Trip Leaders: Steven Langford & Michael Huntington
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Dominguez Canyon, CO
  • Level: HIGH Intensity (10+ miles per day with weight)

***This is a high-intensity Interim for students who have backpacked before and desire to push themselves physically and mentally.

Come explore the remote wilderness of Dominguez Canyon. This beautiful desert canyon sits in our own backyard south of Grand Junction. Students will backpack 40 miles in total over 4 days. We will learn how to pack light and move fast, all while exploring canyons, waterfalls, arches and artifacts from people long gone from the area.

Back to Top

Flavor Explosion: From Basic Ingredients to Gourmet Creations

  • Trip Leaders: Valerie Maté-Hunt & Kate O’Donnell
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Low intensity (sitting, standing, light walking)
  • Vendor: Witherspoon Cooking Group

Ready to take your cooking skills to the next level? Join us for a hands-on culinary adventure that can transform you from a microwave master to a kitchen wizard! Led by the talented instructors at Witherspoon Cooking Group, this Interim is all about exploring the art of cooking with simple ingredients and turning everyday staples into mouthwatering masterpieces.

Back to Top

Fly Fishing the Front Range

  • Trip Leaders: Stuart Mills & Jordon Mills
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Elevenmile Canyon, Colo.; The Dream Stream of the South Platte River
  • Level: Medium Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)

“I am haunted by waters…” -Norman Maclean

We practice casting and tying on flies. We talk about river etiquette and the nuances of river current. We fish the South Platte River in majestic Elevenmile Canyon, angling for beautiful brown and rainbow trout. We also fish the “Dream Stream,” one of the most famous stretches of gold medal water in the American West.

Back to Top

Foodie Heaven

  • Trip Leaders: Julie Wei & Careen James Barnett
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Low Intensity (Sitting, standing, light walking)
  • Vendor: Create Kitchen

Indulge in a delicious culinary experience, develop lifelong skills, and experience the joy of cooking and eating a wide variety of impressive, wholesome meals. You will learn to prepare gourmet meals and basic cooking techniques that will give you the edge in the kitchen. Our program will teach you how to prepare dishes from five continents. You’ll receive a complete collection of all the recipes you learned, so you can recreate your culinary masterpieces at home and impress your friends and family with your newfound expertise. Get ready to cook, eat, and experience the joy of creating unforgettable meals!

Back to Top

Modern Warrior Training: Self Defense Life Skills

  • Trip Leaders: Taja McKinney & Suzie Jekel
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level:  High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: We are Safer Together

Stop wondering 'what would I do?' and start knowing. This hands-on Interim prepares you with real martial arts skills and safety strategies to navigate challenging situations and defend against physical assault. You'll spend most of the week mastering fundamental techniques: powerful strikes, effective blocks, and escape moves designed for real-world scenarios. Through dynamic partner drills, you'll build physical strength, sharpen your reflexes, and develop the awareness to identify risky situations before they escalate. We'll address dating violence prevention and practical strategies for responding to harassment and assault with both verbal de-escalation and physical defense. The week culminates in a realistic scenario where you'll face a simulated attack and use your training to escape effectively. You'll leave with genuine capability: martial arts techniques you can rely on, the mental composure to make smart decisions under pressure, and the confidence that comes from knowing you have the tools to protect yourself when it matters most.

Back to Top

Pathways: Career Quest

  • Trip Leaders: Jon Vogels, Emma Kane, Sara Purviance, Sonia Arora, Martha Smith
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level:  Low Intensity (sitting, standing, light walking)

Pathways is a week-long experiential program designed to help students clarify interests, explore career possibilities, and connect learning to life beyond CA. The week begins with creating goals and connections at CA, where students engage in guided goal setting, self-reflection, and career charting to identify strengths, values, and areas of curiosity. On day two, students visit a local college to tour academic programs through a career-focused lens and participate in student panels that offer real insight into majors, pathways, and campus life. The final two days place students in the community through job-shadowing experiences, matched using the CA Pathways database, where they observe professionals in action, ask questions, and gain firsthand exposure to potential fields. This trip empowers students to think intentionally about their next steps while building confidence, perspective, and real-world connections.

Back to Top

Peeps Can Climb: Shelf Road

  • Trip Leaders: Jared Katzman & Brian List 
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Cañon City, Colo.
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: Kent Mountain Adventure Center

Get ready to persevere up some peaks via rocky crags. Prepare your plate for some gourmet campfire cooking—pasta and peach cobbler, anyone? Established as one of the very first sport climbing spots in the USA in the 1980s, Shelf Road is famous for vertical limestone walls. Come climb and be part of its vivid history. No climbing experience is necessary, and experienced climbers can push their limits with various single-pitch routes.

Back to Top

Raft the Colorado

  • Trip Leaders: Leo Procise, Abigail Smith, Madison Slater, Forbes Cone
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Fruita, Colo.
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: Rimrock Adventures

Don’t miss out on this iconic rafting trip on the Colorado River, winding through the Ruby and Horsethief Canyon sections, beginning in Fruita, Colo. and ending across the border in Utah.

Back to Top

Reel to Real: Film Studies

  • Trip Leaders: Ross Holland & Elliot Chase
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Low Intensity (Sitting, standing, light walking)
  • Vendor: Alamo Cinema

You may love going to the movies, but you probably don’t have a real vocabulary with which to talk about, analyze, or critique them. After introducing students to the language of film (shot types, camera movement, editing, etc.), we visit local cinemas to watch both classic and contemporary films.

Back to Top

Ride the Wild: Horsepacking 

  • Trip Leaders: Ali Kittle & Abby Page
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 5 days)
  • Location: Pagosa Springs, Colo.
  • Trip Dates: Monday, May 25–Friday, May 29
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: Colorado Pack Company

Saddle up for an unforgettable five-day adventure in Pagosa Springs, Colo., where students immerse themselves in the world of horses, mules, and backcountry travel. We will be learning skills necessary to participate in (and ideally lead) backcountry horsepacking. Part of those skills include horse care and first aid, trail maintenance, packing necessities, equitation, and equine safety.

Important Information:
To participate in this trip, students must be comfortable around horses and have completed at least one trail ride prior to the trip. 

Back to Top

Rivers & Roads: Beginner Fly Fishing & Front Range Hiking 

  • Trip Leaders: Haley Helvey, Hilary Burke, Jonathan Scholl
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Front Range, Colo.
  • Level: Hybrid Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day with some days of high exertion)
  • Vendors: Various

Join us for a trip split between learning to fly fish and exploring the Front Range of Colorado on foot! 

Back to Top

Sugar Rush: Baking

  • Trip Leaders: Allie Bronston & Katherine Snow
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Low Intensity (Sitting, standing, light walking)
  • Vendors: Rebel Bread Teaching Kitchen and Local Bakeries 

Are you a Great British Bake Off fanatic? Have you ever wanted to bake your own bread or learn how to make amazing sweet treats to share with friends and family? We’ll spend our mornings enjoying tours and tastings at local bakeries, and then head to Rebel Bread’s new Teaching Kitchen for baking classes in the afternoons. 

Back to Top

Summer Camp Throwback!

 

  • Trip Leaders: Melissa Zaremba, David Smith, David Colodny, Kyle Gillette
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Granby, Colo.
  • Level: High Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion)
  • Vendor: YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch

Get ready for four unforgettable days of adventure, challenge, and fun in the Colorado Rockies! Students stay in a cozy lodge-style bunkhouse at YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch, enjoying hearty meals in the dining hall before heading out for action-packed days. Each day holds a range of activities from high ropes to crafts to hiking to archery. Live out your summer-camp dreams with this amazing Interim!

Back to Top

Survival Skills Bootcamp: Navigating & Surviving Colorado's Backcountry

  • Trip Leaders: Jonathan Ender & Sydney Finkbohner 
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Medium Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
  • Vendor: Eric Ross with Sierra Mechanica

The Colorado backcountry can be unpredictable and challenging. Learn how to find your way, interpret the landscape, read and use analog and digital maps and compass, prepare for safe and fun exploration, avoid common mistakes, and what to take with you.  During this class we will cover: how maps work, topographic maps, and 2D-3D mapping with digital and tabletop exercises; how compasses work, and digital and mobile navigation applications with field navigation exercises; and trip planning, the rules of survival, and the gear and best practices that will keep you alive.

Back to Top

Take to the Stage

  • Trip Leaders: Maclain Looper, Keneth Usongo, Kait Kozak
  • Trip Type: Away
  • Location: Aspen/Basalt, Colo.
  • Level: Medium Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
  • Vendor: The Arts Campus At Willits (TACAW)

Spend a week fully immersed in theater, performance, and media production at TACAW, the vibrant, net-zero performing arts campus nestled in the Roaring Fork Valley. Students will collaborate on a creative production—from script writing, set design, rehearsal, and performance—drawing on TACAW’s diverse programming in theater, dance, film, comedy, and music. Alongside hands-on workshops and instruction, students have the opportunity to attend live shows and performances at TACAW, explore the arts communities of Basalt and Aspen, and engage their creativity in a supportive, professional-grade arts environment. This trip is ideal for students passionate about theater, media, storytelling, and building real-world production experience—with a breathtaking Colorado mountain backdrop as inspiration.

Back to Top

Throwing Rocks at Houses: Curling

  • Trip Leaders: Michael McLaughlin, Amanda Zranchev, Ben Hoffman
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Rock Creek Curling, Lafayette, Colo.
  • Level: Medium Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day)
  • Vendor: Rock Creek Curling

Join us for a week of sliding, sweeping, and strategizing as you learn and compete in the increasingly popular winter Olympic sport of curling!

Back to Top

Ukulele Building

  • Trip Leaders: Emily Pérez, Liang Chen, Chloe Long
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Low Intensity (Sitting, standing, light walking)
  • Vendor: Orthwest Studios

The mighty ukulele is one of the most versatile, portable, and fun instruments around. Whether or not you know how to play a ukulele (or any stringed instrument) this is your chance to hone your woodworking skills and learn more about how instruments work by building a ukulele to call your own. 

Back to Top

Wilderness First Aid

 

  • Trip Leaders: Mike Stanitski & Liz Sarles
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Denver, Colo.
  • Level: Hybrid Intensity (Active 5+ hours per day in the outdoors with periods of intense exertion and some days low intensity)
  • Vendor: Desert Mountain Medicine

Instructors from Desert Mountain Medicine will teach you how to respond to wilderness-specific medical situations and take care of yourself and others in the backcountry. We'll spend the first three days of the week on campus with DMM instructors, earning Wilderness First Aid certification and gaining essential skills to handle injuries, illnesses, and other emergencies in the outdoors. On the last day of the week, we'll go on a hike during which you'll practice your new skills in handling some injury and illness scenarios.

Back to Top

Wonderful World of Glassblowing

  • Trip Leaders: Andrea Eckler, Alecia Maher, Stephanie Langill
  • Trip Type: Local (Denver-based all week)
  • Location: Lakewood, Colo.
  • Level: Low Intensity (Sitting, standing, light walking)
  • Vendor: The Furnace: A Glassworks

The art of glassblowing is a fun and challenging adventure in which students can shape objects to their desire, exploring various shapes and vibrant colors to make their visions come to life. Students work one-on-one with professional glass blowers to learn to heat and shape molten glass and to understand the intricacies that are involved in safely creating beautiful works of art.

Back to Top

Yoga Retreat Getaway

  • Trip Leaders: Lisa Todd, Stephanie Turner, Liza Skipwith
  • Trip Type: Away (away from Denver for 4 days)
  • Location: Red Feather Lakes, Colo.
  • Level: Hybrid Intensity (Moderate activity up to 3 hours per day with some days of high exertion)
  • Vendor: Drala Mountain Center

Escape into 600 acres of pristine forest, meadows, and mountain valleys at Drala Mountain Center—a sanctuary nestled in the Colorado Rockies where yoga, meditation, and nature meet. Over four days, students will practice daily yoga and mindfulness sessions tailored for all levels, explore gentle hiking trails amid pine-scented woods and alpine views, and engage in quiet reflection, journaling, and restful downtime in a peaceful, contemplative setting. With thoughtful vegetarian-friendly meals, cozy lodging options, and the chance to visit the sacred Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, this retreat offers a rare opportunity to recharge both mind and body. Whether you’re new to yoga or seeking sanctuary from a busy schedule, this trip provides space for growth, self-care, and inner calm.  

Back to Top

 

  • Interim Program
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to LinkedInShare to PinterestShare to EmailPrint this page