Celebrating 50 years of Coug Adventures
Thursday, October 28 | 4-7 p.m.
Outdoor Recreation Center, Pullman | Available via livestream
Joins us for stories, refreshments and dreams for the future.
Through decades of trips, educational programs, gear rentals, and more, the ORC has given students the resources they need to learn, lead, and connect outside, creating thousands of outdoor enthusiasts in the process.
ORC Canoe on top of Vehicle
Rainier Mountaineering
Growing Over the Years
The center started in 1971 with $600 in funding from ASWSU. Called the Outdoor Activities Program in its early years, the ORC began with a small office in the Physical Education Building run by a quarter-time graduate assistant and student volunteers. The rental “shop” consisted of a single metal cabinet with a few supplies, and the trips were free and largely unguided.
From those humble beginnings, ORC has evolved into a hub of outdoor adventure on campus that leads classes and trips for hundreds of students every year. These days, ORC:
- Offers over 100 classes, clinics, and trips each year.
- Manages and rents over $250,000 of outdoor equipment to students, with about 1200 rentals per year.
- Promotes environmental stewardship via Leave No Trace and has issued about 175 certifications annually since 2011.
- Hosts a free Palouse Outdoor Festival that introduces 100-200 students to outdoor opportunities in the Palouse each fall.
- Manages the Climbing Wall and offers over 100 clinics per year that bring in 22,000 participants.
- Manages the Challenge Program and Coug Bikes program.
- Met students on campus, at the trailhead, and online during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue facilitating outdoor education and foster belonging.
- Hosts a popular annual Photo Contest that typically attracts over 200 entries.
You can read more about ORC’s history and impact in the WSU Magazine.
Our Future
Improving Access and Increasing Diversity in the Outdoors
In addition to facilitating trips and skill-building clinics, in recent years ORC has invested in multiple initiatives to improve access to outdoor recreation for underserved and underrepresented groups.
ORC partners with Cougs Rise to engage low-income and first-generation students in outdoor activities, worked with Access Center to launch adaptive climbing and kayaking, and created women’s programs to make female-identifying students feel welcome and comfortable in the outdoors.
ORC has also partnered with organizations to provide custom programs, including a Native American Students Programs stand-up paddle boarding and campout event and rafting and kayaking programs for the School of the Environment.
Give to future adventures with the ORC
Throughout its 50 years, ORC’s programs have created space for thousands of Cougs to expand their leadership skills, push their limits, and forge connections in the outdoors.
With your support, ORC can continue to offer those transformative opportunities to all Cougs.
Giving to the ORC helps expand access to outdoor adventures so that all students, regardless of their ability, experience, or financial status, can explore the outdoors.
Your dollars can support a variety of tips and skill-building opportunities:
- A $50 donation: Covers a student’s registration for most day trips (for example, stand-up paddle boarding or kayaking on the Snake River, an introductory backcountry skiing course at Moscow Mountain, a Palouse Falls paddle, or a Learn to Climb class).
- A $100 donation: Covers a student’s registration for an overnight trip, such as Beginner Backpacking, Women’s Backpacking, and the Priest Lake Kayak Tour.
- A $250 donation: Pays a student’s registration for multiday programs like the Wallowas backcountry ski and hut trip, Cascades mountaineering, and wilderness first aid course.
- A $500 donation: Covers a student’s registration for an extensive trip such as the eco adventure at Yosemite, southwest desert kayak tour at Lake Powell, backpacking in the Grand Canyon, and the San Juan Islands sea kayak.
- A $1,000 donation: Could sponsor a small group trip or a custom program, or provide funding for two students to embark on an extensive trip.