The Wellness Center will be posting their event schedule for winter quarter on Wednesday, Jan. 14. Activities for this quarter include rock climbing, snowshoeing and hiking. Dates for the different classes and outings will be available on their website
The Wellness Center is a program within the Physical Education department which provides for the physical and mental health of students and faculty alike through various activities and brief non-credit courses, all of which cost only five dollars. The center also provides gear rental from snowshoes, skis and backpacks, to sleeping bags and tents, also for five dollars an item. Rentals and enrollment are available through the Wellness Center website.
Two overnight snow camping trips are planned for this quarter, they will include both a two-hour class session on equipment and safety followed by the trip itself the next evening.
Other courses available through the Wellness Center include avalanche awareness, which will teach students how to properly prepare themselves for back country travel, and an introductory indoor rock climbing course hosted by Redmond Vertical World.
The Wellness Center Program Coordinator Peter Prescott stated wellness is about more than just the physical, “it’s the emotional, the social, the intellectual, the spiritual. So really having a rounded holistic approach to defining yourself becomes less myopic then just: ‘how physically fit are you?’”
The Wellness Center’s challenge course, located just north of the L building, reflects this idea. While the various challenges, from the 35 person see-saw to the tight ropes test physical abilities, Ray Butler, the health and physical education chair stated he has “taken classes through the low ropes challenge course, and I swear it builds communication and continuity in the class more quickly.”
Prescott explained:
“people come out there with this heightened level of awareness about how they’re going to interact with their teammates. That’s partially what creates that connection, they are put on edge and then realize that they can be supported by those friends and classmates and coworkers.”
The challenge course is open to students and faculty, groups can apply online and contact Prescott to arrange a date.
Butler claimed, “we can actually help a lot of people live longer, healthier, more fulfilled lives by maintaining activity levels and enhancing their emotional and social well-being.” The Wellness Center strives to do this through offering a variety of experiences for “essentially free.” They anticipate that when the dates are posted and applications opened, the classes and outings will reach capacity quickly. The Wellness Center will also be holding raffles on their Facebook page for day passes to ski lifts throughout the quarter.