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Oregon Rafting & Rock Climbing for Women

Photograph (above) taken by Abby Taylor
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LOCATION
Pacific Northwest
EXPEDITION TYPE
Rafting
Rock Climbing
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Service
PRICE
$5,195
PROGRAM
Adult, Single Gender
AGES
30+
LENGTH
15 Days
SEASON(S)
Summer
SKILLS

TECHNICAL

  • Basic Paddle Strokes
  • Belaying a Climber
  • Campcraft
  • Knots
  • Leave No Trace Methods & Ethics
  • Map and Compass
  • Navigation
  • River Reading

INTERPERSONAL

  • Camaraderie
  • Character
  • Leadership
  • Positive Risk Taking
  • Resilience
  • Sense of Social Connection
  • Service
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This course offers students an opportunity to challenge themselves while exploring amazing wilderness areas.

The first days of your trip will be spent building critical competencies in teamwork and outdoor skills. Amidst towering geologic formations at the world-famous Smith Rock State Park, you will learn climbing techniques, as well as use of basic gear, knots, and rope systems to keep you safe. Along the wild and scenic Deschutes River, your team will learn paddling methods, river hydrology, raft captaining, and self-rescue techniques. The course emphasizes leadership, character development, and an ethic of service. Whether navigating rapids, hiking long distances to reach climbs, or keeping calm when exposed to heights, wilderness travel can be challenging. But with appropriate pre-course preparation and using tools we provide, adults of various ages and body types can be successful. You do not need to have any previous experience but arriving as physically fit as possible and excited for the opportunity for personal development will enhance your experience and allow you to take full advantage of the expedition.

NOTE: This course requires that students submit proof of "Up-to-Date" COVID-19 Vaccination status as defined by the CDC. For questions regarding this policy please see this page or call us at 866-467-7651.

UPCOMING COURSES

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For detailed information on course availability statuses and what they mean, click here.

COURSE # DATES DAYS AGE COST
WOWV-242 8.1.22 - 8.15.22 15 30 and up $ 5,195 APPLY NOW

Thank you for your interest in Outward Bound! 

This course starts within the next week. Please call us at 866-467-7651 to assess the possibility of applying for this course!

APPLY NOW
This means a course has several open spots and is actively processing applications.

APPLY NOW – Almost Full
This means there are three or fewer currently available spots left on a course. To secure your spot click Apply Now to begin an application!

JOIN WAITLIST
Once a course has reached capacity, three waitlist positions become available. To join a course’s waitlist, click “Join Waitlist” to begin the application process. A $500 deposit is required. This $500 deposit includes a $150 non-refundable application fee and a $350 tuition payment. The $350 tuition payment is refundable only if you cancel your waitlist application or if an open position does not become available. If a position does become available, the applicant will be applied to the open position and the Application and Cancellation Policies of the Regional Outward Bound School will be followed, including forfeiture of the $500 deposit if you cancel 90 days or less prior to the course start date. 

Waitlist applicants are encouraged to complete all required admissions documents while awaiting an open position. Positions may become available up to two weeks prior to the course start date. Applicants may only apply to one course. We recommend applying to a course with open positions instead of a course that is accepting waitlist applications. If you have questions, please call 866-467-7651 to speak with one of our Admissions Advisors.

CALL TO APPLY
This means a course is very close to its start date. Although it is unlikely to secure a spot this late, you can call the National Admissions office at 866-467-7651 to discuss your options.

COURSE IS FULL
When a course has reached maximum capacity, meaning all spots and the three waitlist spots are occupied, a course will read “Course Is Full.” This means applications are no longer being accepted.

CLOSED
As a course nears its start date, the availability status may read “Closed.” In this event, a course roster has been finalized and applications are no longer being accepted or processed.

Classic Courses

Do you ever want to unplug, step away from the daily grind to take on new challenges? Are you ready to conquer harder skills and remind your senses (or discover for the first time) what it’s like to crest a mountain peak, hear the echoes at the edge of a vast canyon or feel the rush of white water spray on your face? Take a break from your routine, radically change your surroundings and test your tenacity. Put some “firsts” in front of you and find moments of unexpected discovery along the way. Experience Outward Bound as an adult and prepare for an injection of adventure, awareness and adaptability that sticks with you long after you unpack your backpack.

  • Build skills, form connections: Meet like-minded peers and make connections as you work through priorities and adventures together, learn outdoor skills at the hands of expert Instructors, and earn every good night’s sleep.
  • Value strengths and strengthen values: Re-discover your inner strength, renew your natural leadership abilities and practice adapting to new environments. Tap in to your trust and compassion as you tackle obstacles with a support crew standing beside you.
  • Demonstrate mastery: As you awaken your wilderness skills and dig deep to rise to the physical and mental challenges, the bulk of the expedition’s leadership and decision-making responsibilities transfer from the Instructor to the crew. Work together to achieve team goals, solve problems and succeed both individually and together.
  • What you’ll learn: Watch, try and share more difficult outdoor skills that you’ll master on your expedition. Discover and then remind yourself that there’s more in you than you know. Having taken the risks, learned from and adapted to all sorts of new situations and environments, you’re ready for whatever life hands you going forward.

Return home with newly expanded wilderness abilities, an energized outlook, a rekindled allowance of empathy into situations and relationships and an eye toward the future.

womens only rafting trip in the pacific northwest
Photo courtesy of Anne Morrison
rafting trip for women in pacific northwest
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
rafting trip for women only
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
women float down river on rafting trip with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
woman captains raft on expedition with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
rafting camp for adults
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
women navigate rapids on rafting expedition with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
a group of women navigates whitewater on rafting trip with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor
woman smiles on raft on outward bound rafting course for women
Photo courtesy of Anne Morrison
camp on rafting course with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Abby Taylor

Rafting

Students will travel on the river in four to six-person paddle rafts, and learn to “captain” (maneuver) their paddle raft team through Class II to III rapids. After lessons in basic river travel and safety, students will learn to read currents, anticipate obstacles and scout rapids. Students will also learn river hydrology, swimming in currents, and paddle techniques. There may also be an opportunity for short day hikes.

woman ties rock climbing rope on course with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Ari Kosal
woman smiling while rock climbing on outward bound course
Photo courtesy of Radha Vyas
woman looks up while belaying a climbing on course with outward bound
Photo courtesy of Radha Vyas
woman rock climbs on outward bound course for women in the pacific northwest
Photo courtesy of Radha Vyas
woman reaches while rock climbing on outward bound course for women in the pacific northwest
Photo courtesy of Radha Vyas
woman smiling while rock climbing on outward bound course for women
Photo courtesy of Andy Croy
woman perched high on a rock on outward bound course for women
Photo courtesy of Ari Kosal
woman navigates rock while climbing on an outward bound course for women
Photo courtesy of Radha Vyas

Rock Climbing

Students will receive individual instruction and test their skills against the vertical cracks, steep faces and boulders of Smith Rock State Park. Among the skills students will learn are: basic climbing equipment, rope management, wearing harnesses, tying knots, belaying and rappelling techniques, and movement on rock.

Service

Service to others and to our environment is a core value of Outward Bound and is integrated into each course. Groups follow Leave No Trace ethics as they engage in acts of service while leading and supporting fellow participants. Designated service projects are coordinated with land managers like the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service to collaborate on land restoration projects. Additionally, students may have the opportunity to work alongside select social service agencies like nursing homes, hospitals, and organic farms. Students see the impact of their actions firsthand, and may develop a desire to continue service in their home communities.

Solo

In order for profound learning to take place, students spend time reflecting on their experience, and Solo is that opportunity. The Solo experience provides an important break from the rigors of the expedition and gives students the opportunity to reflect on their Outward Bound experience. With sufficient food and equipment, students will set up camp at sites of their own, using the wilderness skills learned during the first portions of the course. The amount of time students spend on Solo is based on course length, weather, student condition, age, and Instructor preference. Solo campsites are chosen to offer as much solitude as possible (yet be within emergency whistle-signaling distance of other group members). Most students spend their Solo time journaling, drawing, reflecting, thinking and resting as they process lessons of the course to focus on their goals for the future. Instructors check on each participant at regular intervals, as safety is always a top priority.

Personal Challenge Event

Courses typically end with a Challenge Event—an individual final physical push. This typically takes the form of an endurance run or triathlon-style challenge

Outcomes

Outward Bound promotes character development, leadership, and service in the most engaging classroom possible … the wilderness. In real time, students experience the effects of their decisions on themselves and the other members of their group as they work to complete difficult tasks necessary for wilderness travel. Instructors challenge students to try new things and step outside their comfort zones, as well as provide feedback that students implement on course and when they return to their communities. Adult courses offer a unique opportunity to disconnect from everyday life and reconnect with one’s self and others. Regardless of age or life stage, Outward Bound believes that everyone can benefit from opportunities to experience challenge, adventure, and to work within a supportive environment to gain a greater sense of self.

Course Area

Deschutes River, Oregon 

The Deschutes River is part of the national Wild & Scenic Rivers System, flowing north from the Oregon Cascades to the Columbia River and then on to the Pacific Ocean. Courses generally travel anywhere from fifty to one hundred miles along the Lower Deschutes. The rapids on the Deschutes are rated to class IV, mostly class II-III. The group camps each night along the banks of the river.

Smith Rock State Park, Oregon 

Smith Rock State Park is a world-renowned climbing destination that attracts climbers of every ability level. The Crooked River winds its way through the canyon, and to the west, the snow-capped volcanoes of the Cascade Range rise on the horizon. One of the most striking features is a prominent spire, Monkey Face. Given the dry and temperate climate, rock climbing is feasible most of the year.

SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Course Start, welcome and introductions, duffle shuffle, course overview
DAY 2-6
Whitewater Rafting: Fitting and use of PFD, safety topics, captaining a raft, reading water, swim assessment, navigation, and camp-craft skills. Practice with captaining a raft, flip drills, scouting, throw bag drill, swimming activities.
DAY 7
Complete the 96 mile river rafting section by taking out at Deschutes State Park. De-issue river gear. River closing and celebration.
DAY 8
Travel to Smith Rock State Park. Orient to new environment and new equipment.
DAY 9-13
Rock Climbing: Introduction to rock climbing systems. Movement on rock, belaying, top roping and lowering. Development of climbing technique. Experience various types of rock climbs and difficulties.
DAY 14
Personal challenge event, de-issue gear, de-brief, course end celebration and graduation.
DAY 15
Transport home

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Getting Started

If you are ready to enroll on a course click the enroll button next to the course you wish to select or you can enroll over the phone by speaking with one of our Admissions Advisors (toll-free) at 866-467-7651.

To secure your spot on a course you must submit an enrollment form and $500 deposit that is applied toward the total cost of the course and includes a $150 non-refundable enrollment processing fee. 

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ENROLL TODAY