In the Oregon Outdoor Program, there is no limit.
Rafting north of the Arctic Circle, mountain biking in Nepal or diving off the coast of Baja are all possibilities in the program that established itself in 1967 as one of the nation’s first outdoor programs.
The Outdoor Program is for anyone willing to initiate a trip in a cooperative format.
“The philosophy of our trips is unique,” Coordinator Dan Geiger said. “Trips are not led in a guide-outfitter style, but a co-op census style.”
The trips are open to anyone who wishes to participate, including students and community. Trips are led not by paid guides but by “trip initiators,” who take a two-day training class and can post any trip that their hearts desire.
“It’s a great way to meet people and get connections to get outdoors,” said Kat Smith, a trip initiator. “It suits everybody and you don’t have to be a student.”
The 24-year-old Smith just became involved with the trips this summer, and recently initiated her own outing: a six-mile white water rafting excursion down the McKenzie River.
“I thought it was a beautiful day,” she said. “I love seeing other people have a good day. Water is very healing and (the situation offers) a chance to reconnect with people.”
For trip initiator Steve Carper, who also joined the rafting expedition, the Outdoor Program has been an essential part of life since 1996. Carper was a temporary employee at one point and was introduced to the program by a friend who invited him out on a rafting trip.
“I can’t imagine a relationship without it,” Carper said. “When I’m away from it, I miss it. You meet different personalities and people of all ages where everybody contributes.”
The Outdoor Program is also cost-effective. Guides are not paid to lead trips, and commercial permits aren’t required either. Rental equipment is the only major expense, so trips cost about $15 for interested students.
The program, which offers more than 175 trips a year, is driven by four basic components. First, the co-op trips are the core of the program, which is primarily funded through student incidental fees.
Co-op trips include everything from rafting and hiking to skiing in the winter and even rock climbing.
“There is no limit,” Geiger said. “Over the years, we’ve had some remarkable trips.”
Some of those trips include Geiger’s recent rafting expedition to the Yukon Territory on the Firth River. It was the first Outdoor Program trip above the Arctic Circle, and it lasted for 11 days and covered 80 miles.
“It was incredible,” said Geiger, who was subjected to 24-hour daylight. Among the occasional hiking trips that left at midnight, Geiger and his crew saw all kinds of wildlife, from grizzly bears to some 2,500 caribou.
Other adventurous trips in the Outdoor Program’s history include the first mountain biking trip from Tibet to Nepal and the first ever descent along Nepal’s Carnali River.
The second component of the Outdoor Program is its events. The year-round events include “how-to” clinics and seminars about emergency ski repair and river rescue. The Bannf Mountain Film Festival and ever-popular fall and spring equipment swaps that draw between 500 and 700 people are among the Outdoor Program’s larger events.
“It’s like a big garage sale or flea market of equipment,” Geiger said. Geiger said he also enjoys the laid-back atmosphere of the swap that allows anyone to come without registration or paperwork.
The Outdoor Program’s Resource Center, which sits in the EMU’s basement, is the program’s third component. Maps, guidebooks, magazines and some small equipment are all made available for students to check out for free.
The final aspect to the Outdoor Program is the rental program available at the Barn, the program’s equipment shed. The rental program allows students to check out virtually any kind of equipment they could need, from rafts to backpacks, for a fee.