Basic survival course in the Ticino Park

Test yourself, learn how to cope with stress and survive without everyday comforts with a two-day survival course in the Ticino Park.

Experienced instructors will teach you how to orient yourself and how to build a fire. You will cook in the forest together with your fellow adventurers and sleep in the emergency bed you have built.

You will learn to cope with unexpected situations and experience a weekend of true nature adventure. Pack your rucksack and join us in the forest!

What we will do

We will meet in Vergiate (VA), at the time selected when booking. Once the group is formed, we will hold an introductory briefing, during which we will attend a short lesson on how human beings act and react in unexpected situations.

The first practical test will consist of traversing passages a la marinara and a la tirolese without a harness (tying a rope between two trees), up to a height of 2 metres. We will also arrive near a 4-metre high Tibetan bridge, learning how to tie knots to form an emergency harness.

This will be followed by the orientation phase. After a short theory lesson in which we will learn how to read maps and follow a compass, we will be put to the test by reaching a point on the map, measuring azimuths and planning a route.

Around 13:00 there will be a short lunch break. We can have a packed lunch or what the farmhouse near the base camp has prepared for us.

At 14:00 we will resume the activities of our survival course. We will learn how to light the white signal fire and build an emergency shelter that will be our shelter for the night. Before dinner we will proceed with mechanical water purification.

We will learn how to cook in the forest and cook together the food we have brought from home. We will also learn how to recognise edible plants from dangerous ones and can try our hand at finding them in the forest.

We will spend the evening in the base camp, chatting with our fellow adventurers, after which we will go to sleep in the shelter we have built. The following morning, we will learn more about orientation and cartography and will be assigned a new destination to reach.

The experience will end once we have returned to camp, around 12 noon the next day.

Who it is aimed at

The experience is suitable for everyone from the age of 11. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.

The route is accessible to those who suffer from vertigo.

Other information

The activity is available throughout the year on the dates indicated in the calendar (continuously updated).

Important: remember to provide the guide with the participants' names and tax code for the daily insurance card (included in the fee) at least 42 hours before the start of the activity.

A certificate of good health or fitness for work (also photocopy) must be presented on the first day.

The experience will lead to Level I certification, which can be used within the association by those who wish to continue on the path to becoming an instructor.

Recommended clothing

• Hard-wearing trousers with external cargo or military pockets
• Military amphibian-type shoes or hiking boots
• Shirt or durable long-sleeved shirt
• Clothing appropriate to the climate
• Cotton sports socks and synthetic or wool long sports socks

Don't forget to bring

• 50 l backpack
• Tarp
• Change of clothes
• Food you would like to cook in the evening
• Lunch (optional)
• Sleeping bag
• Leather working gloves (recommended)
• Notebook and pencil
• Portable first aid (recommended)
• Insulated blanket (recommended)
• Metal water bottle and saucepan
• Cutting tool with self-locking blade (recommended)
• 3 lengths of 4/5/6 mm diameter synthetic rope in 1 m, 3 m and 5 m lengths