Outdoor Pursuits, one of the services offered through ThunderWolf Recreation Facilities and Services, aims to inspire, equip and embark for those who want to get outdoors and explore Pueblo and Southern Colorado.

“We want to inspire people to go on adventures, we want to equip them with all the gear and the right facilitators and the right transportation, and we want them to go do it whether it’s with us or on their own,’ said Scott Robertshaw, associated director of student recreation at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Outdoor Pursuits is a program designed for students to get involved with the community through recreational activities such as hiking, mountain biking, camping, paddle boarding and more.

In addition, students and community members can rent equipment with a co-op membership. Students, alumni and others can rent tents, sleeping bags, jackets, kayaks, canoes and mountain bikes for a low cost per semester.

All in all, the service strives to create activities on-and-off campus for students.

“Outdoor Pursuits fits into ThunderWolf Rec because our mission is to engage and energize our members and guests in meaningful and supportive well-being activities throughout campus, within the Pueblo community, Southern Colorado and beyond,” Robertshaw said. “If they’re a student here, we want them not just to be active on campus but to be active in the community and around it through outdoor recreation.”

Learning the ropes

At its core, Outdoor Pursuits is designed to give students a grasp on participating in various outdoor activities.

By teaching key skills, students can then go out on their own and participate in such recreational opportunities such as standup paddle boarding, hiking, mountain biking, etc.

“Basically our primary target is the student,” Robertshaw said. “We want them to come check out gear in our equipment rental area. We want them to try our rock climbing wall. We want them to go on our trips whether it’s a day trip or an overnight trip like camping at the Sand Dunes. They should engage in those kinds of activities and gain those skills so then, after they’ve gone stand up paddle boarding with us, then they can come rent that standup paddle board with us.”

With the skills and knowledge readily available, students can rent necessary materials at a discounted price.

Then, those students are able to go on excursions themselves. And, they can do so safely.

“Then they can take that paddle board, and a life jacket, and those correct instructions and go on to the lake and do it the next weekend on their own,” Robershaw said.

Whereas more experienced adventurers may be ready to pursue various activities, Outdoor Pursuits teaches basic concepts to help get them started.

Students can learn what equipment is needed, how to change flat tires, how to start rock climbing and how to go about purchasing equipment once they’ve learned the basics.

Between 1,000 and 1,500 students take part in various activities throughout each school year.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Robertshaw said. “The rec center numbers are pretty awesome, too. At one point, we had 80-percent of the population come through the rec center.”

Future leaders

Outdoor Pursuits also teaches other valuable traits such as leadership and management skills.

Employees at Outdoor Pursuits, and in the rec center in general, come from varying majors and programs to help run the services.

“You don’t have to be a rec major to work at Outdoor Pursuits,” Robertshaw said. “I have an accounting major who is an Eagle Scout and he loves it. I have nursing students and grad students. We do have some rec majors, and at one point it was all rec majors. But we’ve kind of grown out of that. We have a diverse group of interests and backgrounds.”

Along with Robertshaw, there are 15-20 work study employees at Outdoor Pursuits.

The time spent working there helps build these students into well-rounded professionals.

“They gain group skills,” Robertshaw said. “People are graduating with awesome information. Then, they’re on project teams at work and some have leadership skills and some don’t. When they get to the real world, employers are saying, ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be an effective team member.'

"Outdoor Pursuits staff members know that.”

Staff members learn to facilitate outdoor activities. They run the challenge course, lead guided hikes, teach and learn to become strong leaders in the process.

All those skills are taught on trips, through shadowing and every day tasks.

The main lesson learned is how to operate as a team rather than an individual.

“When we go on hikes, it’s not Scott wants to go left and this person wants to go right,” Robertshaw said. “We all go to the waterfall together and we come back together.

“It’s a lot of compromise there.”

Additional services

Outdoor Pursuits allows for an inexpensive way to rent equipment for all sorts of excursions.

The rental opportunity is a co-op program in which students, alumni or community members can purchase a membership.

Student memberships begin at $40 per semester. Alumni and partners pay $60 for a semester and other community members pay $80.

“You buy a membership and you can rent a cooler one day, a kid carrier for the back of your bike the next day and a canoe the next day,” Robertshaw said. “It’s a one-time thing rather than going to other places.”

Though there are other rental places in town, Outdoor Pursuits isn't geared toward competing or hurting those businesses.

Outdoor Pursuits tries to offer alternatives or services not offered otherwise. One such service is mountain bike rentals.

“We’re the only place that rents mountain bikes in Pueblo,” Robertshaw said. “We support local bike shops and try not to buy bikes from anywhere else.”

Robertshaw and company also offer programs at the challenge course for team development.

Companies, local high school or college athletics teams, or other groups can use the challenge course to build team skills.

“That is a big part of our operation,” Robertshaw said. “Our students are really good at working with groups.”

Families, companies, teams and individuals can also go on guided outdoor trips through Outdoor Pursuits.

“We take people hiking, standup paddle boarding or mountain biking,” Robertshaw said. “We do custom trips for companies, families or individuals depending on what they want to do.”

The rock climbing wall is also available with a membership fee or a day pass.

Birthday parties, individual sessions and regular sessions on the wall can also be booked.

Get out and explore

On a broader scale, Outdoor Pursuits wants to help bolster Pueblo and Southern Colorado’s outdoor enthusiast community.

Along with local businesses geared at such excursions, and groups like Recreate Pueblo, Outdoor Pursuits wants to encourage people to take part in all that Pueblo has to offer.

“We have a ton to offer,” Robertshaw said. “We have a river, a lake, mountains, mountain biking, camping and one of the busiest state parks in Colorado. We want to support recreation as a unit.”

Robertshaw hopes to get students who may not normally pursue these activities to try them.

“If you’re a student at CSU-Pueblo, you should at least try an Outdoor Pursuits event,” he said. “You should just try at least one and see if you like it.

“That’d be awesome.”

Other programs

CSU-Pueblo students staff and faculty can also participate in learning search and rescue.

The team trains together, attends certification courses and partners with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.

ThunderWolf Rec also offers intramural sports, like basketball, volleyball, flag football, outdoor soccer, flag football and more.

Fitness classes are free to members, and small group and personal training opportunities are available for additional fees.

The rec center offers four racquetball courts, a two-court gymnasium, indoor track, 25-yard lap pool, two-story rock wall and more.

For membership fees, and hours, visit csu-pueblo.edu/student-recreation/index.html.

LLyons@chieftain.com

Twitter: @luke_lyons14