Summit to Self
A 12-week online mentorship cohort for teens and young adults ready to ascend their own inner mountain. Small groups of 5. Led personally by Al Travaglini.
What it is.
Summit to Self is a 12-week small-cohort mentorship program for teens and young adults, built on a simple premise: personal growth happens fastest when you have a guide, a community of peers at a similar stage, and a structured practice that asks you to show up each week.
Participants work through curriculum on self-awareness, emotional regulation, communication, confidence, resilience, and leadership, not as abstract theory, but as honest self-examination alongside four others at a similar stage. Al leads every session personally.
This is not a self-paced course and not a lecture. It's a commitment to 12 weeks of consistent practice with a small group that will notice if you disappear, and that's the point. These are the years when the skills of a life get shaped, and they get shaped fastest in community.
For participants under 18, enrollment is completed by a parent or guardian. Parents don't join sessions. Summit to Self is your space, but guardians receive a welcome orientation about structure, expectations, and what to look for as the 12 weeks unfold.
The 12-week arc.
Every week builds on the last. Here's the full structure, week by week.
A note on evolution: The 12-week arc is a living curriculum. Each cohort's content is refined and extended based on what came before, so returning participants and new ones alike encounter fresh material, deeper questions, and updated practices. No two cohorts run identically.
- Week 1
Foundation
Building trust and setting the culture of the group. The cohort meets, norms are set, and the trust that everything else rests on is established.
- Building trust
- Setting group culture
- Weeks 2 – 4
Getting to Know Ourselves
We turn inward. Mapping identity, learning to read our emotional responses, and becoming aware of the narrator in our own head.
- Identity & self-awareness
- Understanding emotions
- Self-talk & mindset
- Weeks 5 – 6
Learning to Build from Repetition, Successes & Failures
Confidence and resilience are skills, not personality traits. We practice where they actually come from, and how to get the reps in without breaking.
- Confidence fundamentals
- Resilience & failure
- Weeks 7 – 9
Interacting with the World Outside Us
Turning the inner work outward. How we talk, how we show up in rooms, and how we invest in the people around us.
- Communication skills
- Social confidence
- Relationships
- Weeks 10 – 11
Getting to Know Our Own Power
Leadership presence and aligned direction. Leading from values, and replacing willpower with a clear sense of why you're moving at all.
- Leadership skills
- Purpose, direction & motivation
- Week 12
Integration & Celebration
Consolidate the work, build the practice that carries forward, and close the cohort with reflection, recognition, and a plan for what's next.
- Integrate
- Looking ahead
- What's next
What you get.
- Weekly 75-minute group session with Al and cohort
- Weekly 45-minute 1:1 mentorship call with Al
- Structured weekly curriculum and reflection prompts (~60 minutes on your own time)
- Private cohort channel for ongoing conversation between sessions
- Access to recordings of every group session
- Lifetime access to the Altitude Academy alumni community
Is this program for you?
A good fit if you...
- Are curious about yourself and open to guidance from a mentor
- Want to grow alongside a small group of peers at a similar stage
- Are willing to show up weekly for 12 weeks, do reflection work, and be present
- Are ready to be honest about what you're working through and hear honest feedback from peers
Not the right fit if...
- You're being pushed into it and aren't interested in showing up
- You can't commit to the weekly schedule for 12 weeks
- You're looking for therapy or clinical mental-health care (Summit to Self is mentorship, not therapy; we'd refer you out)
- You want quick hacks or a motivation boost instead of real, structured work
Questions we hear a lot.
- Who is Summit to Self for?
- Teens and young adults ready to do structured inner work with a mentor and a small group of peers. Participants under 18 are enrolled by a parent or guardian. No outdoor or coaching experience needed.
- How long is the program?
- 12 weeks, fully online. We meet weekly as a group and your teen has a weekly 1:1 with Al.
- How many people are in each cohort?
- Maximum 5 participants per cohort, always. No exceptions. This is non-negotiable and the reason the program works: every voice is heard every week.
- What's the weekly time commitment?
- About 3 hours per week: a 75-minute group session, a 45-minute 1:1 with Al, and roughly 60 minutes of reflection and curriculum time on your own schedule. You get out what you put in.
- Do parents join the sessions?
- Summit to Self is the participant's space. For teens, parents complete the enrollment and receive a short welcome orientation about the structure, expectations, and what to watch for over the 12 weeks. Al is available for parent check-ins if anything comes up.
- Is this the same as therapy or counseling?
- No. Summit to Self is mentorship and skill-building, not clinical mental-health care. If a teen is working with a therapist, the two can complement each other well. If what your family needs is therapy, Al is happy to refer you to a qualified professional.
- What's the cancellation and refund policy?
- Full refund if you cancel more than 20 days before the cohort start date. 50% refund if you cancel between 10 and 20 days before the start date. No refund within 10 days of the start date. The same policy is displayed on the Stripe checkout page before you pay.
- Is there an in-person component?
- Summit to Self itself is fully online: there's no in-person event tied to the cohort. If your teen wants in-person experience in Lake Tahoe, that's what our Ascents are for, and the themes they work on in Summit to Self are often practiced and extended there.
- What happens after the 12 weeks?
- Your teen keeps lifetime access to the alumni community and can join future Altitude Academy Ascents at a discount. Many Summit to Self alumni return for follow-up programs as they grow.
- What if the cohort fills up?
- You can join the waitlist for the next cohort. New cohorts start every few months.
“Al has a way of getting through to teenagers that most adults simply don't. After 12 weeks my daughter was initiating conversations with us she'd never been willing to have before.”
“We did a family Ascent in Lake Tahoe and it opened up conversations between me and my teenager that we'd been avoiding for months. The mountains help, but Al is what makes it different from a ski trip.”
“I was at a crossroads between junior and senior year of college. What I got wasn't career advice; it was learning to trust my own thinking. That shift changed everything else.”
Ready to begin?
Ready to begin the next cohort? Secure your spot now, or start with a conversation if you want to talk through fit, questions, or how Summit to Self could work for you. Parents enrolling on behalf of a teen are welcome to reach out too.
Secure Stripe checkout · 5-person cohort · 12 weeks · Next cohort starts Starting soon · Full refund 20+ days before start, 50% refund 10–20 days before start