Colorado Outward Bound School

Do you know a young adult, aged 16-18, who recreates outdoors in the winter? We think it’s so important that all our local youth have a baseline knowledge of snow conditions and avalanche awareness and thanks to our generous funders, we can offer our Leadership and Avalanche Training course, at a substantial discount!?Normally valued at $1,855, we are able to bring you this course for only a $500 investment, but spots are limited, and applications must be received before October 31. Course: Colorado Rockies Leadership & Level 1 Avalanche Training Dates: 12/27/24 – 12/31/24 Cost: $500 to be paid as a deposit at the time of application. A $1,355 scholarship will be added to your account when your application is reviewed. We have a limited number of these scholarships available, and applications are subject to our standard medical and psychological screening admissions process. We also have a gear locker available to borrow cold-weather items from to stay comfortable for the duration of the course. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly or our Course Advising team at 720-381-6589. https://lnkd.in/ej9B7dXk

Plus Est en Vous 30 years ago today, I began an adventure that fundamentally altered my consciousness and awoke my capacity in ways I could not have foreseen and inspires me to this day. I walked into Leadville basecamp of Colorado Outward Bound School (COBS) on July 2, 1994 “amped, tuned & ready to rip.” I came to COBS with great intention - having just successfully defended my Master’s thesis and having spent two-and-a-half years capitalizing on my collegiate swimming prowess to become a formidable olympic distance triathlete - I was ready to leverage and extend my physical capabilities. To be sure, my 50-day Leadership Program tested me physically - however, my growth, as a person and as a leader, manifested most profoundly emotionally, spiritually, and humanistically. Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn founded Outward Bound School (OBS) during WWII in service of young people (troops and students, in particular) to awaken them, despite challenge and uncertainty, to their belief that leadership is borne of “service and self-reliance, craftsmanship and compassion.” The OBS mantra Plus Est en Vous (“You have more in you than you think”) underpins the OBS experience and cultivates an “indispensable leadership” that can be parlayed into life, business, and community. Not a day goes by where I don’t recall my COBS experience and/or leverage my capacity that blossomed as a result of this unconventional approach to leadership growth and development. What I have come to realize and consistently practice through challenge, shortcoming and success is that each of us possesses all the necessary attributes to accomplish what we want and positively impact those in our service. I will forever be grateful for my COBS experience and consider it my responsibility to capitalize upon my experience to help others awaken, leverage and expand their capacity - and, push themselves further than they thought possible. “To Serve, To Strive and Not To Yield.” With enduring faith, gratitude and humility. Jason Gottlieb COBS, Summer Semester-1994

??? What makes you, you??Spoiler Alert –Tenacity in Pursuit! I’ll bet that when you think back on experiences that shaped you, many of them happened long before your first career step — and while it may seem that they don’t have anything to do with your career, they have everything to do with your success. One of my foundational experiences was at age 14, when I decided to join Colorado Outward Bound School on a 17-day rafting expedition to Desolation?& Gray Canyons in Utah. Four years later, I joined the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School on a 16-day whitewater canoeing trip on the E. Branch of the Penobscot River in Maine. Here are four lessons I learned: ??If You Fail to Plan, Then You’re Planning to Fail?? Plenty can go wrong when you’re in the middle of nowhere with a group of teens. Of course, plenty can go wrong in board rooms as well (thankfully, my colleagues today smell better than unwashed teens in the woods). At Outward Bound, we learned to prepare and anticipate problems by rehearsing responses for scenarios. How do we get through this Class?4 rapid? We set clear roles & expectations, so each person knows?their responsibilities and what to do if things unraveled — e.g. the boat capsized (see picture of us practicing) ?? Risks Can Lead to Growth – But Risks Need to Be Managed ?? Knowing & evaluating where we were exposed helped us mitigate threats and avoid danger: ? What is the magnitude of the worst-case impact of X? ? How likely is X to happen and how can X be avoided? ? What are the signs that X is sneaking up on us before it’s too late? The process also helps you to realize your own limitations thereby enabling growth – remembering that risk evaluation & management never fully guarantees safety. ?? Clear Communication Is Critical ?? When navigating strong rapids on a canoe, you must communicate with your partner, as if your life depends on it — because it does. I learned the importance of using clear and mutually understood language to relay messages and to avoid confusion. “Do you mean paddle left or right?” is not a good question to need to shout in rapids when approaching a sleeper. ?? The Power of Teams ?? Everyone on a team should have a well-defined role while understanding what’s expected and how & why their actions matter. Teams need to establish trust through agreed processes so members can confidently rely on each other to problem-solve, collaborate and achieve goals. When portaging a heavy canoe over a slippery trail, sharing the load is crucial. One teammate is chosen as a leader to give direction while others spot and help manage the load. These clear roles make the task achievable, safe and much more fun. ??♂??K E E P?G O I N G???♂? Finally, Outward Bound taught me to be tenacious?in pursuit of my goals. I learned that if you’ve decided to try, then ‘do it’ wholeheartedly. What adventures taught you the best lessons? Any other Outward Bound USA alums want to chime in? #OutwardBoundTogether