Mark Westfall – Spokane, WA

I am currently a freshman Business Administration major at Gonzaga University. I began taking Simply-Survival’s courses the summer after my junior year in high school. I have been involved in athletics my entire life, lettering twelve times in high school. Second only to athletics in high school was my love for the outdoors. That passion continues today. I enjoy fly-fishing, hunting, backpacking, mountain biking, skiing, snowshoeing, mountaineering, and anything else that will get me into the backcountry. I have always been interested in learning about and developing my wilderness skills. When my dad offered me a spot in the Summer Course, I was very excited. This class was my first experience with Greg Davenport and Simply Survival. The two courses that followed were greatly influenced by my great desire to learn more from Greg and his team of survival experts.

Prior to my training with Simply-Survival, I had done a fair amount of backpacking and backpack hunting. I had also done a lot of fishing and mountain biking. Before that first summer class I had already climbed Mt. Hood. Since then I have summited Mt. St. Helens and have plans to ascend Mt. Adams and the South Sister in central Oregon. With hindsight, it makes me nervous to think about some of the things I did prior to my survival training.

Seven Day Summer Course:

This was my first experience with Simply-Survival. I would recommend it as the first class to take for anybody wanting survival training. In this class, my eyes were opened and I learned that survival was much harder then I had anticipated. I now realize just how far from reality my preconceptions about survival were. This trip helped me hone my improvising skills while teaching me Greg’s unique three-step approach to survival (which includes his five survival essentials). I walked away from this course with a vast increase in my survival skills and an elevated confidence in my ability to overcome a wilderness crisis. In addition, it gave me an incredible feeling of comfort and self-reliance (in the wilderness) that I had never experienced before. Now, when I walk in the great outdoors, I see things COMPLETELY differently. I feel more in tune with nature!

Winter Course:

This course was the perfect augment to the summer course. When I enrolled, I was very curious about what Greg and the Simply Survival staff would cover in this four-day class. I was amazed at how easily Greg’s three-step approach could be applied to the winter environment and at the same time shocked at how much more difficult it is to meet your needs in the winter. I firmly believe everyone should be trained in summer and winter conditions. It is amazing at how much different the art of survival is to learn in the different seasons.

The Advanced Wilderness Navigation class:

This course was so much fun! It was the most laid back of the three I have taken. The focus is solely on navigating in the backcountry. We learned point-to-point, terrain, and celestial navigation skills (all with and without a map and compass). Greg innate teaching style made these complex skills easy to understand and even easier to use! I recently participated in a regional Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corp) “Ranger Challenge” competition at Washington State University against hundreds of other cadets. One event in this competition was a field navigation course. Along with my partner, I received the highest score of the entire competition. I give full credit for that success to my Simply Survival training. They prepare students for nearly every navigation contingency possible.

About the staff:

Greg and the Simply Survival staff are phenomenal. I am struggling to find words that adequately describe their outstanding teaching skills, their stellar professionalism, and their sincere companionship that accompanies each course. I haven’t even the slightest negative thought regarding any element of Simply Survival. These guys have extensive survival training background, and it shows. I highly recommend that you take all of the courses with these survival experts.