Laurel Holding
First Year at BOSS: 2000
Current Position: Master Instructor
I came to BOSS because:
I had an interest in anthropology and archaeology, a passion for the outdoors, and a desire to live more simply. The BOSS program seemed to be very challenging and to expect a lot from its students, which appealed to me. I wondered if I would be tough enough to survive.
I teach at BOSS because:
First, I believe the BOSS experience becomes more relevant and valuable with every passing year. People get so much out of it—of course I want to be a fly on the wall for that. Also, preserving and practicing these “primitive” skills and crafts has a deeper purpose. They help us understand who we are as humans, where we came from, and what it took for us to survive. In turn, we gain perspective on our present and future. (We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us!) Second, when I am out in the canyons and forest I feel at home. There is nowhere I would rather be. Finally, after more than 20 years with BOSS I consider my co-staff like a second family. A second family full of hilarious, down-to-earth humanimals. So I continue to sweat it out because of my connection to this wilderness, to these skills, and to these people.
About Laurel Holding:
She is a professional butcher and an avid bowhunter, and has taken Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk and Dusky Grouse with her bow on Boulder Mountain. Laurel has a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University.
