Outward Bounding

Here I am, in Oregon having just completed my first section of training for Outward Bound. To begin, Oregon is BEAUTIFUL! The Redmond area is bio-geographically very similar to prescott, meaning it A) a desert and B) has a very home-y feel about it.

From the get go Outward Bound's Odin Fall's base camp has been exceptionally warm and welcoming. Great company, free food and a place to pitch a tent are only a few of the reasons this place has become my favorite place to work (and I haven't even started yet).

Proceed by a quick three day rock climbing section, our first section of training took place in the Three Sisters Mountains, only an hour and a half away from base but in an environment that couldn't be more different. With peaks from 9,000 to 10,000 feet we spent the whole of our week long training camping on snow left over from the winter (sadly it will all melt off before we bring students up on courses...). During that week we took turns teaching classes and had the opportunity to climb several peaks in the area. The whole experience proved to be a great review of mountaineering skills and an excellent introduction to how Outward Bound runs it mountain courses.

Although at first intimidating (strangers are scary :) ), the twenty new staff in training quickly proved to be competent and of a caliber of people that is hard to come by. There are more than a few I would feel free to call my friends, a title I am typically reluctant to dole out.

Overall, it has been an amazing experience that is far from over, we leave in two days for a six day trip down the Deschutes River that will finally conclude my new staff training here at OB. During the next two days I hope to escape to smith rock and get reacquainted with my old friend, welded tuft... (ie lots of climbing)

After that it's nose to the grindstone, working to pay the bills, and all that... (or so I understand....)
Best wishes to you all,

Ryan