Safety First and Foremost.
As a leader in wilderness therapy, we at WinGate believe that a wilderness program should make use of every safety feature available and employ every safety protocol necessary to run an effective and safety-driven program. We don’t believe in short cuts or merely getting by when it comes to safety.

If you’re considering another wilderness program besides WinGate, there are questions you can ask in order to uncover any short cuts they might be taking with regard to safety. We have provided these questions below, in set categories. We’ve also provided answers with regard to the WinGate program. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to ask us.

 

General Safety Practices and Protocols.
How often will you be putting my child in a vehicle and driving them around?
In the United States, motor vehicle traffic deaths are far more numerous than any other kind of accidental death. One of the most dangerous things a wilderness/outdoor/adventure therapy program can do is include inordinate amounts of travel as part of their curriculum. Acceptable levels of vehicular travel include from the airport to the program office and then out into the field.

WinGate’s only exception to airport/office/field transportation is the rare medical transport. That’s it.

 

Do teens participate in risky activities such as rappelling, mountaineering, canoeing or white water rafting? Or, is there prolonged hiking during which water intake is restricted?
Many insurance companies require a higher level of liability coverage for programs that conduct these types of activities. By definition, that means they are aware of the fact that a wilderness/outdoor/adventure therapy program conducting such activities has been found to have more liability for accidents and injury than a program that doesn’t.

WinGate does not offer any of these risky activities.

 

Do you ever camp in public campgrounds, or in close proximity to other campers who are not part of your program?
There is no limit to the trouble at-risk adolescents can get into if they are near public camping areas such as those found in State and National Parks and Recreation sites. It is irresponsible for a therapy program to allow students such access to random outside individuals.

WinGate maintains its remoteness from outside influences, operating on the western side of the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument. This region is vast—one of the largest in the world—with public activity occurring on the eastern Escalante side. Although we have quick access to our area, we rarely see any outside people, and our students NEVER have access to such individuals.

 

Is your program coed?
Some insurance companies are moving away from insuring coed wilderness programs. Many sundry problems can easily be avoided by keeping gender groups separate. Some programs conduct coed operations because it’s less expensive to do so. This is one of the many shortcuts other programs tend to take.

WinGate is not a coed program.

 

 

Communication
At WinGate, we believe in what we call “Absolute Communication.” This means that a field instructor can communicate with the office and their direct supervisor at any time, from anywhere, under any circumstance. Continuous, reliable communication from the field to administration is the single most important safety issue for any wilderness program. WinGate has set the standard for the entire industry with our “Absolute Communication.”

 

Do you have two separate forms of communication, both of which work from anywhere in the field?
Again, in an effort to take shortcuts, some programs try to get away with using one good communication device and one that is far less dependable or one that works in only some parts of the field. Not only is this practice unwise, it is illegal in the state of Utah.

WinGate utilizes three satellite devices in each one of our groups: One Inmarsat Satellite Phone one Iridium Satellite Phone—phones that operate on separate satellite arrays—and one SPOT GPS Personal Locator operating on a third satellite array. The SPOT is a GPS tracking device that allows staff to signal administration that the group is okay. It also has a Help feature enabling staff to inform administration in the unlikely event that the other satellite phones or arrays have become inoperative. We are not aware of any other wilderness program that takes such extreme safety precautions.

 

Do you use satellite phones in each one of your groups, at all times?
Surprisingly, some wilderness programs don’t use satellite phones at all. Many don’t have them in every group. Some will trade out equipment to the next area before the group moves on, leaving the group without communication for short periods of time. Any amount of time without effective communication devices is too much time.

WinGate groups each have two operative satellite phones at all times, 24/7. Even on short day hikes, staff is required to carry the phone box with them.

 

Do you ever rely on staff’s personal cell phones as primary or secondary communication devices?
Some programs rely on cell phones even though their groups travel across the state as part of normal operations. If you’ve traveled across any state—especially Utah—then you know cell phones do not always work. That is not Absolute Communication. WinGate does not allow instructors to use personal cell phones as part of our program’s communication protocols.