Adventure is Out There!

Opportunities & Experiences With the Outdoor Program 

While being away from SLU for too long makes my skin crawl, I can’t help but love the magic of the Adirondacks. I’ll often sit in class dreaming about being there: hearing the call of a loon as I canoe on Lake Placid, the feeling of warmth on my skin atop Azure, or the powerful quiet emanating from the High Peaks Wilderness around me. If only there was an easy way to get there… 

Luckily, there is! St. Lawrence’s well-established Outdoor Program (OP) has been working for years to get SLU students in environments like this. The OP aims to teach outdoor leadership skills, including environmental ethics, as well as empower St. Lawrence students through experience. They achieve this through implementation of their core values: inclusivity, maintaining a judgment-free zone, and having an ethic of caring. In this way, they’re able to seamlessly engage students with both each other and the world around them. The OP offers trips of all kinds and is geared toward all skill levels. These include climbing, mountain biking, backpacking, canoeing, skiing and more. In addition to hosting trips, the OP offers free access to the Canoe Shack and Munro Family Climbing Wall. 

The OP vehemently believes that the outdoors is a space for all. This is clear in both their values and actions. Recreating in the outdoors is a privilege that has historically only been available to privileged groups — gear is often expensive and certain activities are only accessible in specific regions of the world. The OP works to bridge these accessibility gaps.  

The OP’s gear room in the basement of Newell Field House has outdoor gear that students can rent out completely free of charge. This includes high-quality sleeping bags and pads, stoves and even bikes & Nordic skis. These allow for increased access to outdoor spaces. 

This fall has already been a success for the program – as of September 20, 45 unique students have been on OP trips or clinics, according to the OP director Anna Carpenter. This doesn’t include the first-year students who attended pre-orientation trips or students in Outdoor Studies courses.  

Molly Rodewald ’28 discussed how the OP has helped cultivate her SLU experience as a whole saying, “The OP has been one of the most helpful resources in my first month here at SLU! From pre-trips to canoeing on the Little River, the OP has allowed me to meet so many new people while also creating the opportunity for me to get off campus and into the beautiful Adirondacks. Thanks to the OP, I now recognize so many friendly faces around campus, and I am so grateful for their welcoming presence!” 

Trips that have already gone out this year include canoeing on Lake Placid, mountain biking, white-water kayaking clinics, and backpacking trips. As a student guide for the OP, I’ve had the pleasure of leading three trips already: a canoeing pre-trip, a hike up Cascade and Porter, and an overnight backpacking trip up Whiteface Mountain.  

Winter and spring break trips were just announced, and they are adventures that you won’t want to miss. These are longer excursions led by the professional instructors at the OP. This year, two will count as .5 credit courses – a snow science course in La Grave, France, and a River Dynamics & Safety course in San Juan River, Utah. The other is a two-week backpacking trip in Patagonia, Chile.  

For those who are curious about the array of upcoming trips or want to sign up for one, the OP tab of the St. Lawrence website includes a calendar with descriptions and sign-up links. Here, you can also sign up to receive emails announcing upcoming trips. Additionally, the OP’s Instagram, @sluoutdoorprogram, offers direct links to trip sign-ups! It’s never been easier to explore the outdoors!