Living it up in the Great Outdoors
By BENJAMIN K. SCOTT
very fall, some 60 cyclists from Colorado College can be found huffing and puffing up Independence Pass on their way to Aspen. This bike ride along timberline is one of about 50 trips sponsored each year by the Outdoor Recreation Committee, a student-run group that provides other students with a unique and inexpensive opportunity to take advantage of the region's expansive wilderness.
At an average cost of $5 a day, which covers transportation fees, the ORC schedules trips during block and spring breaks. The group also offers weekly rock climbing, kayak-rolling and bicycle maintenance classes, lectures and slide shows on environmentalism and natural history, as well as an "adopt-a-skier program" for children with special needs. And for the past two years, the ORC has co-sponsored the CC Winter Festival, a friendly competition held on Steamboat's Howellson Hill.
Although there are some traditions such as the Aspen Bike Trip, the character of the program changes each year to reflect the interests of the students on the committee. "We've just begun to offer kayaking trips and lessons," says Dorothy Phillips, coordinator of the Leisure Program. "Five years ago, we didn't have rock climbing, and now it's a big part of the program." Phillips, who assists the students with logistics and record keeping, is an important resource for the ORC. "It's the hardest part of my job," she says, "but it's also the part I love the most."
Each year, senior ORC members select applicants to participate in the leadership training program. Trip leaders are trained by outside professionals in first aid and CPR, avalanche safety, orienteering and other technical skills. But leadership, teamwork and other interpersonal skills are also stressed. This year a series of lectures was added to help leaders introduce their groups to the history, geology and ecology of the places they will visit.
In a culture as litigious as ours, it might surprise some that students are given the opportunity to run a program as ambitious as the ORC. "Our safety record is unbelievable," says Phillips. "We've never had a major problem on any of our trips."
"The school trusts us," explains Sara Wight '97, ORC co-chair. "I think safety is mostly a matter of common sense, and we make sure all our leaders have that. We're not going to take anyone out in a lightning storm."
Once they complete the training sessions, new leaders lead at least one Freshman Outdoor Orientation Trip, or FOOT expedition. These treks have steadily grown in popularity. Thirteen years ago, five FOOT trips were offered. Next fall, the ORC plans to offer 18. "We've never had to turn anyone away," says Phillips. "If there are a handful who don't get to go, we'll offer a trip during second block break."
The trips are designed to be intimate, with two leaders accompanying 10 students, and Phillips says they can have a powerful impact on participants. "It's really the first fun thing new students get to do once classes have started. They're homesick, and they've fallen in love and flunked their first exam. All of a sudden they can go out in the wilderness for five days with students who have been through exactly the same thing and forget about everything else. I've heard students say that their FOOT trip was their first real chance to bond with other people at school. They form lasting friendships through these trips."
Student leaders have a great deal of freedom planning ORC activities. According to Phillips, most take their responsibilities seriously and put a lot of thought into their trips. "I don't think I've ever heard a student return from a trip and say it was a waste of time."
Any interested student can design and lead a trip, provided they are accompanied by an ORC-trained guide. "Not many people realize this," says Wight, who has guided students in the Canyonlands and the Sangre de Cristo mountains, as well as on a hut-to-hut cross-country ski trip. "One of the problems I'm trying to work on as co-chair is the perception that the ORC is a kind of clique. The committee does decide how its money will be spent, but the committee is really the entire student body. Anybody who comes to a meeting has a vote."
As another service, ORC runs an equipment rental room, open to the entire CC community. Located in the basement of Cossitt Hall, the rental room was originally designed to rent basic equipment to students for FOOT trips and other activities. These days, however, so many students arrive on campus with their own tents, boots and sleeping bags that the ORC has started stocking cross-country skis and kayaks. "Each year we also try to invest in something that will not necessarily make us more glamorous, but will definitely make us safer," says Phillips. Recent purchases in this category include avalanche beacons and additional first aid kits.
"One of the best resources we have is the ORC room," says Michael Valentine '98. "We need to work toward developing and expanding it." To that end, the committee is hoping to establish an ORC library and expand its collection of topographical maps, reference books and trip information. ORC members hope that drawing students to the rental room and library will get them involved in other activities sponsored by the committee. Says Valentine, "We have so many incredible skiers at this school, so many incredible climbers and kayakers. We need to get more of these people involved."
Already a proven success, the ORC program has a bright future and will continue its mission to offer affordable access to the outdoors.
"I think we do a lot of good things for the school," says Wight. "There is always someone new who just saw a flyer, decided to come along and ended up having a good time. When we're driving home from a trip and everyone wants to stay longer, I know we are doing a good job."
Benjamin K. Scott is a free-lance writer who lives in Colorado Springs.