Outdoor Rec. pays to get more business
Aggies who want to try outdoor activities will have an added incentive to do so this semester with a $20 credit good for rentals and activities from the Outdoor Recreation Program, Brian Shirley, ORP coordinator, said.
Equipment rentals are the most successful thing the ORP offers, Shirley said. The program, which also hosts classes and recreational trips, has seen periods of highs and lows.
“I think it’s going to get people to realize what’s here,” Shirley said, regarding the credit.
During the summer the ORP shop averaged about 30 customers per day, Kailey Burch, a student employee at the shop, said.
With the credit, those from the ORP hope to bring in more than the usual number of people in the fall and spring.
Most rentals at the ORP cost $20 or less, and a one-day snowboard package for students is $22, meaning they would only have to pay $2 after the discount.
Still, giving students a free $20 – essentially a coupon – to use at the ORP is somewhat of a gamble. Shirley said although a credit will be added to all fee-paying student accounts this fall and next spring semester, it may not happen again, or may only be available to first year students in the future.
“If the credit is extremely popular we’ll have to entertain how it’ll work out,” Shirley said.
For this year, ORP staff will be working hard to ensure students know the program exists and what they can do there, since their fees already pay for it.
This includes an open house showing movies from the Banff Radical Reels Film Festival and Powderwhore Productions and setting up a Mongolian-style yurt outside the Taggart Student Center for a week in October.
“Basically (a yurt) is a big canvas hut,” Paul Reinhardt, a student employee at the ORP shop, said.
The yurts are raised, circular structures with a wood frame, roof, canvas walls and wooden floor that people can rent for a weekend in the mountains during the winter. A yurt comes complete with a wood stove, bunk beds and kitchen, Reinhardt said. The ORP has two yurts – one in Green Canyon and the other in Blind Hollow. Eight to 12 people can fit inside, depending on the size of the yurt.
Typically renters need to cross-country ski to reach the yurt in winter, Reinhardt said.
“The Green Canyon yurt is good for beginners,” he said.
The Radical Reels Film Festival will visit USU Oct. 10. Shirley said these are short films made for adrenaline-loving types. They feature a variety of sports like skiing, rock climbing, longboarding and swimming.
Reinhardt said, “It’s really cool. The films are really well done and make you want to go out and do something.”
“Go out and do something” is exactly what the ORP promotes.
“First off we live in a really awesome place for (outdoor recreation),” Reinhardt said. “Sometimes, some places it’s hard to get out and do stuff.”
To Burch, a sophomore majoring in human movement science, said the fact that students get a chance to try outdoor activities is rewarding mostly for them.
“I’m an outdoor person and it’s important for me to step away from school,” she said, adding that the nearby location of Logan Canyon provides a great opportunity for students to recreate.
Shirley said the ORP is also working with the HPER to get a wilderness first responder course going soon, and a course titled “Want to Be a Guide?” is in the works. The program currently offers activities in geocaching, river trips, backpacking and winter activities.
The ORP will be holding an open house on Sept. 8, at 6 p.m., Shirley said.
“There will be food, music – not too formal – but people can come in and see the shop,” Shirley said. “We’ll have everything on display so people can see how they can spend their $20.”
– la.stewart@aggiemail.usu.edu
THIS YEAR THE OUTDOOR RECREATION PROGRAM IS putting $20 in every student’s Aggie Express account. The ORP staff wants to help students realize the program exists and show them the outdoor opportunities available in Cache Valley and the surrounding areas. Statesman file photo