Outdoor Pursuits

Outdoor Pursuits is a Rec Center program at CU Boulder that provides a gateway for students to experience the great outdoors. Our climbing gym offers belay and technique classes, inclusive climbing events, theme nights, and an annual bouldering competition. Our challenge course offers group teambuilding both on and off our ropes course. Our trips and courses get students outdoors, learning a variety of skills while appreciating our beautiful local Colorado environment. And our rental center offers students affordable gear to outfit their next adventure.

Outdoor Pursuits employs about 75 student staff, providing professional development, skill development, and a variety of leadership opportunities. Student Trip Leaders will learn to plan a backcountry trip including itinerary, navigation, gear needs, meal plans, and emergency plans. Working with a co-leader, they will lead a group of students into the outdoors and guide them through learning to live in the outdoors, to be good environmental stewards, and develop new skills such as backcountry skiing, climbing, or paddling. Our challenge course facilitators learn to guide their groups through stages of team development on our low and high ropes course, becoming proficient in both the soft skills of group development and the hard skills of facilitating high ropes adventures. Climbing gym staff have the opportunity to build their skills and specialize as a gear specialist, learning how to maintain and repair outdoor equipment; climbing instructor, providing a supportive environment for beginners to learn climbing and belaying skills; or routesetter, designing the complex full-body puzzles that are our climbing routes. Outdoor Pursuits has a team of 5 student coordinators, who assist in the administration of our programs in a leadership role, gaining valuable professional experience.

Student Spotlight:

Sabrina Lasica first got involved in Outdoor Pursuits before the first day of her freshman year even began, on one of our Incoming Student Trips.  This was one of her first introductions to outdoor trips and she continued to get more involved throughout her next four years. Joining our team in spring of 2020 as climbing gym staff, she continued to expand her skills and became a trip leader and climbing instructor, eventually becoming a leader for our extended backpacking and multisport trip for incoming students, CU in the Rockies – coming full circle and introducing incoming freshman to the outdoors just as she had been a few years before. In fall 2021, Sabrina was promoted to a leadership position as Student Rental Center Coordinator. In this role Sabrina took on a great deal of responsibility including training new staff on rental center operations. She worked with professional staff members to create a new position of gear specialist, and led this small team of staff in learning new skills in gear repair, having a huge positive impact on our program.

Sabrina believes, “leaders facilitate growth in others and help expand people’s views and beliefs. Leadership is an act of empathy and kindness as well as strength and skills”. 

For more information, visit our site at https://www.colorado.edu/recreation/outdoor-pursuits

To apply for a student staff position, visit https://www.colorado.edu/recreation/employment#Outdoor