A.R.T.O.S.
Autogenous Rescue Training and Outdoor Survival
ARTOS Survival is a Northwest Montana based survival school set apart. Our courses empower the adventurer with knowledge and skills aimed at effective and practical preparation and operation in the field and, if things don’t go as planned, high performance survival, medical, and self-rescue techniques for emergency situations. Whether spending a day on the trail, bugging out for days at a time in the backcountry, or planning for the worst in an urban setting; whether light on gear or carrying a full loadout; whether playing recreationally or operating professionally, our courses are designed for you. This is not “survivalism”. This is not just hobby bushcraft. We train to save lives. Our open-to-the-public courses mainly take place in and around the Flathead Valley of Northwest Montana. We also hold some of our courses in North Idaho. Take a look below at the three pillars of our training.
Efficacy
Build a toolkit of proven skills, tactics, and philosophies that will keep you alive and help get you home following an emergency situation. No matter how you spend your time, from day hiking to multi-day adventuring to operating in the field, the skills we rely on should be able to be applied safely, quickly, and reasonably easily. The content of our courses is not meant to impress with gimmicky tricks, but is designed to work, plain and simple, every time.
Knowledge
If you encountered a patient with a traumatic injury or medical emergency in everyday life, would you know what to do? What if it happened in a wilderness setting? How would your actions differ between the two situations? Would you know how to properly use the items in your first aid kit or would you be doing more harm than good? Does your first aid kit have the appropriate equipment of adequate quality and quantity to get the job done right? Would you know how to improvise materials from your environment if you didn’t have the applicable items in your first aid kit? Would you know whether or not you need to evacuate? Could you evacuate your patient without causing further injury? Do you have an understanding of the body’s functions so you can effectively provide for its needs? Can you recognize the resources, both inanimate and human, to source what you need and delegate tasks as a leader? Ignorance is deadly. Reliable knowledge is critical.
Application
One of the most important aspects of emergency and outdoor survival is preparedness. This not only means packing the appropriate, high-quality gear for any given outing or assignment, but also fostering the mindset to ensure you retain your situational awareness and keep your wits about you in a high stress environment. No two things are more deadly than complacency or quitting. Of course, physical training and making a plan are also essential. The question is: can you and will you actually implement these preparations? And, if so, will your preparations be useful or detrimental? The preparations, skills, and knowledge we train in must be practical and serviceable.
Meet Your Instructor
Patrick Norton
Patrick is most at home working and playing in the outdoors and teaching survival and emergency medicine. He is a former wildland firefighter, an EMT specializing in wilderness medicine (WEMT), and a certified medical instructor. He is also a certified wilderness field instructor. He has taught and led survival and medical courses for a diverse clientele from the mountains and deserts of California to the boreal of Alaska. On the other hand, his origins are in the urban centers of the San Francisco Bay Area. It goes without saying, that he has extensive experience in a variety of different environments and an understanding of the distinguishing requirements, concerns, and dangers associated with operating in them. He is dedicated to using his experience in the field and in the survival training industry to develop and provide the most effective and practical training curriculums to the public, government organizations, and private businesses.
2026 MONTANA COURSE DATES ARE LIVE!
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Courses to build your skills, knowledge, and confidence
ARTOS offers a variety of instructional, hands-on courses from our Wilderness Survival Standard (WSS) series to wilderness medicine certification courses. Alternatively, our Wilderness Survival Immersion (WSI) series of courses thrusts participants into backcountry adventures full of realistic field exercises to enable them to test their preparation, skills, and mindset. We are always working on releasing enhanced level curriculums in our current course progressions as well as all new, subject dedicated courses such as Climate specific Survival, Wilderness Navigation, Wild Plant ID and Use, Survival Food Procurement, and more. Our open-to-the-public courses mainly take place in and around the Flathead Valley of Northwest Montana. We also hold some of our courses in North Idaho. Sign up using the course pages linked below or use the contact form at the bottom of the page to schedule private or custom courses for your group or organization. We travel!
artos
wilderness survival standard (WSS)
The WSS course is the ARTOS Survival standard. This is a combination of our 2-day Essential Wilderness Survival and 2-day Wilderness First Aid courses packed into just three days! Learn and train hands-on in all the critical skills and principles of wilderness survival. From shelter building and fire craft to rescue signaling, water sourcing and treatment, and more, this is the foundation on which all other ARTOS Survival courses are based. This course involves physical activity, long training days, and a willingness to get your hands dirty. This course is more of a challenge than either of our standalone 2-day courses. 2026 Course Dates: September 18-20
all-ages
Introduction to wilderness survival
This all-ages 1-day class will give you some introductory knowledge on survival philosophy, skills, and gear. We will go over the essentials in a more abbreviated, family friendly way than our 2- or 3-day survival courses with some fun demonstrations and hands-on activities throughout. Great for kids! Sold out. Please check back soon for more course dates.
wilderness survival
Essential Wilderness survival
This is the survival skills component of our Wilderness Survival Standard (WSS) course taken over two days. We will cover all the aspects of wilderness survival covered in the WSS course without the Wilderness First Aid certification. Students will train in the most efficient, effective, and practical real-world skills and principles to survive the vast majority of dire wilderness situations. Combine this course with our Wilderness First Aid Course to earn your WSS certificate and patch. 2026 Course Dates: October 3-4
wilderness medicine
wilderness first aid Certification
At ARTOS, we believe a wilderness survival skillset is not complete without, at minimum, basic backcountry emergency medical training, since many times the emergency includes or is, in and of itself, a medical emergency. In this class, complete with lots of hands-on scenarios, you will learn all about how to respond to an injury or illness in a wilderness setting where help may not be anywhere in sight using manufactured and improvised methods. You will leave this class with an official Health & Safety Institute WFA certification. Combine this course with our Essential Wilderness Survival course to earn your WSS certificate and patch. Sold out. Please check back soon for more course dates.
Other Future Course Offerings
Environment specific survival: desert, jungle, maritime, etc.
Low-signature and covert survival
Urban preparedness and survival
Survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE)
Wilderness medicine scenario-based skill building workshops
Wild plant and fungi identification and use
Survival food procurement: trapping, tracking, hunting, fishing, foraging, processing, and cooking
Scouting and reconnaissance
Bushcraft and primitive skills
Wilderness tool and weapon craft
Wilderness First Responder/WEMT
Instructor trainee program
We also offer many conventional medical courses such as First Aid, CPR/AED, Stop Life-Threatening Bleeding (similar to Stop The Bleed), Basic Life Support for medical professionals, and more for your group or organization. Send a message below to inquire.