My time at the Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) is sadly coming near its end- I will be back at Penn State in less than a month! What a whirlwind these past two months have been: every single day I am doing a different job. The support role allows me to see the aspects of a course from a bit of an outside perspective. I work closely with the Course Director to make sure that every patrol is set up for success before, during and after course.
While supporting courses I have done everything from teaching belaying and assisting with rappelling at rock climbing camps to cooking for 50 students and instructors to driving the whole patrol to get milkshakes. It is not always glamorous though. Some of my other duties regularly include: driving to the Denver airport more times than I care to count, doing 12 loads of laundry in a day and repairing torn sleeping bags.
(Looking out over the Arkansas River near Buena Vista, CO. This is the standard view while assisting with a rock climbing camp at Turtle Rock.)
I have spent 8 days in the field so far, with a 15-day course coming up in the next week! My first crew was a rambunctious group of ten 14-16 year old boys. We spent a week exploring the Mt. Massive Wilderness and successfully summited 14,421 foot Mt. Massive halfway through course! They learned to cook, navigate off-trail, and pick a great campsite. I taught lessons in Leave-No-Trace, group living standards, overcoming fears and more.
I am excited to expand on my lessons with a longer course as I head into the field with my 15-day backpacking course. My patrol is yet again all male, but my two female co-instructors and I have plans for games, peak attempts and a final trail run challenge to use all of the students’ boundless energy!
(My first patrol descending the ridge of Mt. Massive in late June)
My days off at COBS hardly feel like days off-in a good way! I have summited 14,000 foot mountains, rock climbed hundreds of feet up cliffs, seen a show at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater and explored the nearby ski towns. One of my favorite days off was a trip to Hanging Lake, a beautiful turquoise pool near Glenwood Springs, CO.
(Me after the Royal Flush- a 6 hour, 1,500 foot rock climbing route overlooking I-70 outside of Frisco, CO. Don’t worry Mom- I wore my helmet the whole way up!)
This internship has been a dream come true- I work in one of the most supportive environments I have ever been in. In this community of other explorers and environmentalists, I have found teaching and technical mentors as well as life-long friends. I am excited to take the culture of feedback, the eternal sense of adventure and the love of inspiring students back to my community at Penn State and to my future jobs, whatever they may be.