Seiji wood
Sports Editor
The Outdoor Adventure Center (OAC) is a great way for all current and incoming students at ISU to get involved with outdoor recreation and have fun while doing it.
The OAC, located in the bottom floor of the Pond Student Union Building (PSUB), allows students to enjoy various outdoor activities, which include overnight trips throughout the region. Some activities include rock climbing, white water rafting, kayaking, horseback riding and caving. The activities come at a reduced price for ISU students.
“We encourage folks to come in,” said Bob Ellis, OAC’s outdoor recreational coordinator. “It’s a great opportunity to possibly change your life. We just did a week-long trip on the main Salmon River.”
The Salmon River trip cost $290 and Ellis said those who went ate “like kings” while rafting the central Idaho river.
“If you went with a guide service, it’d cost you about $2,000 or maybe even more,” Ellis said. “That’s just one example of how the OAC keeps costs of their trips low and manageable so students can participate.”
Getting involved with the OAC is simple. Incoming students may have received a tour of the OAC with the ambassadors or with the Bengal Bridge program. If students didn’t receive a tour and would like to get one, the best way is by visiting the OAC’s on-campus location, which is located at the bottom of the stairs right under the main entrance to the PSUB.
“If any student comes in, we’ll give them a tour, if that’s what they’re looking for,” Ellis said. “It’s an easy and friendly environment.”
The OAC isn’t a club, so that allows students to choose which trips they’d like to attend and which trips they don’t.
Even if students don’t go on trips with the OAC, they can still rent equipment for their own activities through the OAC. They have everything you might need for a week long rafting trip to rock climbing gear, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and even cross-country skis during the winter season. Rentals also come at a reduced price for ISU students.
The OAC isn’t just a place to go on trips or rent equipment, however. They also offer classes and students can major or minor in the program.
“I came back as a nontraditional student years ago,” Ellis said. “I signed up for a trip, next thing I know I’m working here as a student. I graduated with a degree in the program, and they gave me a full time job.”
They have classes related to the activities they offer such as rock climbing, kayaking and river rescue and safety. Those are just a few of the courses offered at ISU. Students can sign up for fun or for credit.
Ellis said the OAC looks forward to more students getting involved with them, whether that’s with joining them on future trips, using their rentals, or taking classes in the program.
