Meet Al Travaglini.
Founder and lead mentor of Altitude Academy. Outdoor guide, experiential coach, and believer that people become themselves fastest at the edge of what they already know.
Why Al built Altitude Academy.
Al Travaglini has spent over a decade guiding outdoor experiences in the Sierra Nevada. He is an AASI Snowboard Level 3 Instructor, with additional certifications as a Freestyle Specialist Level 1, Adaptive Snowboard Level 1, and Children's Specialist 2 — credentials that reflect years of teaching everyone from first-time riders to competitive athletes, and from kids taking their first lessons to adaptive students pushing what they thought was possible.
Across those years, Al has mentored hundreds of participants — on the snow, on the trail, and in guided one-on-one conversations. His philosophy, in his own words: "My goal is to provide us with opportunities to grow, deepen the connection with ourselves, and create meaning and an elevated sense of being in our lives. Through adventure, discussion, play, and challenge, we can develop wisdom that elevates us into becoming the best versions of who we can be."
Altitude Academy exists because Al couldn't find a program that combined real outdoor experience with deep, structured personal growth work — so he built one. The result is a practice where the mountain is the classroom, and the curriculum is you.
[Draft bio — final version to be reviewed and approved by Al before launch. Prior career details, formal education, and personal story still TBD.]
Experience
10+ years
guiding outdoor experiences
Participants
Hundreds
mentored to date
Certifications
- • AASI Snowboard Level 3 Instructor
- • Freestyle Specialist Level 1
- • Adaptive Snowboard Level 1
- • Children's Specialist 2
Based
North Lake Tahoe, California
Sierra Nevada · year-round sessions
How Al mentors.
01
Listen first
Every person arrives with their own terrain. Al spends the first sessions understanding where you actually are — not where you think you should be.
02
Challenge, don't push
Growth comes from challenge you chose to accept. Al creates situations where you get to practice who you're becoming — not situations where you're told what to do.
03
Reflect, then integrate
Experience alone isn't enough. Every session ends with guided reflection — the step that turns what happened into what you learned.
Work with Al directly.
Ready to start? Apply for the next Summit to Self cohort, or reach out about in-person sessions and private mentorship.