NIC’s Outdoor Pursuits program has been conducting winter sports clinics as well as trips to ski resorts and supplying affordable discount passes to students and community members all fall and winter season. The most recent excursion was to Schweitzer Mountain for “College Daze” on Feb. 4 for a fee of $10.
The program’s first ski clinic of the season took place on Dec. 7. All through February the group will be offering opportunities for students to ski and snowboard as well as attend many more clinics on everything from boots to avalanche safety. Upcoming events of February include Introduction to back country skiing on Feb. 11, back country touring on Feb. 11 and 24 as well as various dates through March. The trips have a cost of ten dollars and participants must supply their own gear; rentals are available in the Outdoor Pursuits office in McLain Hall. More information on these events as well as contact info can be found on Cardinal Sync under the Outdoor Pursuit’s tab. Transportation is always included for these trips.
“Our goal is to offer this recreation at the most affordable cost possible,” said Terry Brinton, assistant coordinator of Outdoor Pursuits. “If we were to pencil it out, we lose money on our trips, but that’s [profit] not our goal.”
The group has been working on student growth and risk taking as a platform for the program to help promote healthy activities and behavior around the community. In the winter months Outdoor Pursuits has offered skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing and snowboarding, as well as snow shoeing and white water rafting. The cross country skiing and snowboarding has been centrally around Fourth of July Pass, whereas avalanche education and back country skiing they travel to lookout pass and the Silver Valley.
“Our mission is student growth,” Brinton said. “I think [people will gain from these experiences] maybe some self-confidence, a closeness with nature, awareness of environmental issues, social skills and student developments, even on just basic trips we take.”
Outdoor Pursuits rental program is mainly concerned with providing supplies that are not readily available around the community. They supply things such as split boards and back country skis as opposed to common equipment like slope skis.
Outdoor pursuits stresses that if students don’t know what they do or are interested they are more than welcome “even if they are just curious. We are really just trying to get people in the doors,” said Brinton.
