To say that senior Breanna Grover is an outdoor enthusiast is one thing. To fully explain the depth behind this label requires a few more words.
The outdoor-oriented Grover has been rock climbing since seventh grade and
mountaineering for the past five years.
She has also tried ice climbing, snow camping and backpacking, to name a few of her broad interests.
She started rock climbing as part of an after school program at Eugene’s Shasta Middle School and eventually began to climb at Smith Rock.. As her skills increased, she expanded her locations.
“Once I kind of outgrew Smith Rock, I started taking trips down to Joshua Tree and Yosemite,” she said.
These two Californian national parks require more planning and a longer drive than trips to Smith Rock, but Grover said they are worth the trip. She’s made multiple treks to both locations and spent about three weeks last summer climbing in Yosemite with a group of friends.
“Aside from extremely aesthetic climbing, it’s a gorgeous place,” Grover said.
Her interest in mountaineering has also increased her travel opportunities. She discovered the sport in high school and has since done most of her mountaineering in the Oregon Cascades. Her first mountaineering experience was on Mount St. Helens; her first full climb was Diamond Peak.
“Mountaineering is both an outward experience and an internal experience,” she said. “It’s about getting up high into the mountains and having a vantage of the world many people never see. It’s also about testing your physical limits and pushing yourself to exposed places that test you mentally.”
Raised in Eugene, Grover came to the University with an interest in the Outdoor Pursuits Program. Now a seasoned OPP veteran, Grover has taken most of the program’s
courses. Her favorites: Ice Climbing and Glacier Rigging and Rescue.
Though many students in the program have taken a multitude of OPP classes, Grover is unique in that she helps instruct them.
She also works for the OPP as program assistant. She helps teach students map and compass skills, tips for dressing for the outdoors and environmental friendliness techniques in the OPP’s introductory-level Wilderness Survival course each term. She has also helped lead Rock Climbing III, Principles of Outdoor Leadership and backpacking courses. This spring, she will add mountaineering to the list.
“Teaching is actually something I’m really passionate about and might want to do as a career,” she said. “I love taking people out and seeing them experience something for their first time.”
Grover’s OPP counterparts appreciate her hard work and dedicated personality.
“She’s very detail oriented and responsible,” Coordinator Michael Strong said. “If she has a good idea, she’ll let you know. She thinks on her feet and is always trying to improve things.”
Outside of teaching, climbing and mountaineering, Grover’s courses have also helped her become more aware of the environmental aspect of outdoor pursuits.
“An interest of mine that goes along with my outdoor recreation activities is an interest in the environment, about the rocks that I’m climbing and the trees I’m walking through,” she said.
After graduation, Grover will take her
outdoor pursuits to a new level with international travel. She and a friend will travel to Australia and New Zealand and include a stop in Nepal for a trek in the Himalayas. For now, Grover will keep busy with outdoor pursuits and her responsibilities with the OPP.

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