WVU Climbing Club Sponsors Students in Collegiate Bouldering Competition

This past Saturday, March 1^st, marked the end of the annual Intercollegiate University Bouldering Series. This series is an on-going competition strung between the months of January – March to give us climbers an opportunity to do what we love during the cold, non-outdoor climbing months. 

WVU Climbing Club at eNeRGy Gym Boulder Competition

How it works:

Six Universities from the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia host a competition on each Saturday from the end of January to the beginning of March.

These schools include:
- Kent State University

- University of Pittsburgh

- University of Akron

- Youngstown State University
- Slippery Rock University

- West Virginia University

We also participate in the “eNeRGy Gym SnowMonkey Bouldering Competition.” This is a bouldering gym in Charleston, WV, ran and managed by former WVU Climbing Club member, David Statler. Although the gym is not a part of the “Intercollegiate” series, they conveniently host their competition on the Saturday before the start of the series, so it feels as an integral ‘tick’ on the bouldering comp season anyway. Check their website out > http://www.energyrockgym.com/

…Back to how it works…

Each climber that registers is given a score sheet that they can choose to use. Each ‘route’ has a given difficulty shown on a numeric scale. You climb the route - you get that many points - add them up in the end - the highest score wins, pretty simple. The common misconception with bouldering competitions is that they are competitive based. This is most certainly not the case. 

Riley Lannon, female climbing club member,
shows off her skills at WVU Bouldering Competition 

The primary objective of this entire series is to give us climbers an affordable alternative during the winter months. With this, we get to travel to other schools, exposing ourselves to new school environments is interesting enough, let alone getting the ‘in’ of hanging out with each individual climbing crew of that school. With this, we develop and expand our networking of knowing new climbers and friends. For example, we would not have otherwise known that the YSU crew is also going to the New River Gorge for their spring break which happens to be during the same week as ours…Awesome, right!?

So, its all about having fun. And if you are a WVU Climbing Club member, it is the best kind of fun … FREE fun!
One of the many benefits of being a WVU Climbing Club member is that all of these competitions are free if you are one of the first 10-15 (depending on budget) members to sign-up. Where as each entrance fee is between $20.00 - $30.00. Annual dues to be a WVU Climbing Club member are a mere $25.00, you do the math -- it’s a pretty sweet gig.  This year, we managed our budget well enough to even cover the cost of gas to and from the comps, which helps make these trips as stress-free as possible!

Each comp usually has a free T-shirt for participating and has SWEET raffles. Prizes range from sweet nick-knacks like Mountain Khaki Coozies and random stickers to free pairs of Evolv Climbing shoes (upwards of $150.00 value). Last year at the Pitt comp, I won an actual pair of Mountain Khakis (~ $90.00 value). Other prizes include climbing gear (never cheap), hiking packs, awesome jackets, chalk and chalk bags, ropes, gift cards to local gear shops, posters, etc.
*Most comps give away all their prizes on a sole-random raffle base, others let the comp winners have first pick, either way your chances are very high of walking away with sweet new swag.

Climb on!

-Joey Williams, WVU Climbing Club President

Tyrhee Moore: An Ordinary Student, Making an Extraordinary Impact

When I first heard of Expedition Denali several questions came to mind: 

What is Denali? Who is this Tyrhee guy? Why is he speaking at WVU?

Well, what I learned is Expedition Denali is one of the many expeditions designed, developed, and led by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The program brought together a diverse group of African American leaders to be the first all-black mountaineering team to summit the largest peak in North America, Mt. Denali. The goal of Expedition Denali is to be a catalyst for public dialogue, by advocating diversity in the outdoors and inspiring under-represented groups to become more involved in the outdoor community. The Denali team demonstrates that no matter what race, age, gender, or geographic location an individual identifies with, there is an equal opportunity for everyone to experience and enjoy time in the outdoors.

Sounds cool, right? So who is this Tyhree guy?

Tyrhee Moore was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and is currently a junior at WVU, studying sports management. He first became interested in the outdoors around the age of 12, when he was introduced to the City Kids Wilderness Project. City Kids enabled Tyrhee to attend two NOLS courses while still in high school, exposing him to the western United States, mountaineering, and the skills to be a leader within the outdoors. In 2012, Tyrhee was contacted and considered to be an eligible candidate for Expedition Denali. After a long selection process and months of training, Tyrhee was chosen to be a member of the Expedition Denali team.

"I was really surprised I was chosen. Some of the world's best climbers were considered, and I was just this young college kid, with minimal experience, and a love for the outdoors."

At 20 years old, Tyrhee is the youngest member of the Expedition Denali team, demonstrating that you are never too young to make a difference in the world.

I had the good fortune to meet up with Tyrhee, and hear about his experiences with NOLS and the Expedition Denali team. For Tyrhee, attempting to summit Mt. Denali was the first step in launching what he hopes the outdoor world can evolve to be in the future. Tyrhee sees Expedition Denali as so much more than a historical expedition. He sees it as an opportunity to share with others his love for the outdoors, and to inspire all people to become involved and experience the beautiful world we live in.

"The mountain doesn’t care what color you are. Expedition Denali is so much more than being the first to do something. It's bringing awareness to the outdoor community and promoting these experiences. This world is an amazingly beautiful place, and if more people do not start to interact with it, view its beauty, understand its profound wonder, and give it a voice, it will only continue to be marginalized, until it is gone forever."

Tyrhee is most excited about the opportunity Expedition Denali has given him to impact others by sharing his outdoor experiences in a public forum. 

"It has been such a meaningful experience to me to be able to go to schools and show kids how I am just like them, and that every opportunity I have been given is also available for them."

For me, meeting with Tyrhee and listening to his stories helped me gain a better understanding of his perspective. Since then, I have been inspired to share with others my love for the outdoors and relay how taking the initiative to try something new can be such a rewarding experience.

Tyrhee will be sharing stories from his Denali experience along with fellow team member, Billy Long, Wednesday, February 26^th in Ming Hsieh Hall at 7 pm on the downtown campus.

"By speaking with my fellow mountaineers, I hope to inspire them to take advantage of the beautiful landscape and resources we have so close to us."

Come support our fellow mountaineer (literally) and share with him the first steps in his journey to make an impact on the world! Check out the Expedition Denali website, the event page on Facebook, and follow our Twitter @AdventureWV, to remain involved with Tyrhee as he continues to be a catalyst for our diversifying world, and be an inspirational voice for all people in the outdoor community.

Watch the Denali Documentary Trailer Here

Happy Adventuring Mountaineers!

-Birdie :)

Winterfest with The Coopers Rock Foundation

Here's a cool event that I seriously regret only just finding out about.

When I came into work at the Adventure WV Office last week, our program manager, Marcedes, asked me how my weekend was. I don't remember what I said, but it was probably something generic about how I watched Netflix studied and am already stressed about applying for graduate school next year. That's not the point of this story. The point is that Marcedes' weekend was way cooler than mine.

Me: [after ranting about the hardships of undergrad life] "So, how was your weekend?"
Marcedes: "Great! I'm the 2014 Frying Pan Toss Champion."

Apparently, it went something like this:

Marcedes trained all year for this moment.

And that's how I found out about this awesome event that I had missed: Winterfest! Apparently many of my office-mates had been there, and I had missed the boat...

On the left: Our associate director, Nathan, and his daughter, Simone, testing out the sledding hill!








Below: Even this dog knew about Winterfest.

Winterfest, which took place on February 8th this year, is an annual event that takes place in Coopers Rock State Forest. This winter-time extravaganza, which is organized by The Coopers Rock Foundation, offered a variety of snow-related activities, including sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snow obstacle courses. Oh, and of course, there was a fire, hot chocolate, and chili. Yum. Classic cold-weather foods. You can see all of the offerings on the event's agenda, here. (I felt super jealous that I had missed out after I saw all of the fun activities from that day!)

Since pictures are worth 1,000 words, check out some more Winterfest photos on the Coopers Rock Foundation Facebook Page.

I'll be sure not to miss out on the snow filled fun of Winterfest next year! 
I hope everyone is staying warm and finding some way to enjoy the snow for as long as it may last! :)
Olivia

Adventure Inspiration!

I wasn't even planning on writing a blog post today, but I just stumbled upon an outdoorsy website and instantly fell in love. I knew right away that I needed to share my discovery with the Adventure WV community! Although the site appears to have been around for at least two years, I'm sure there are other adventurers like me who haven't discovered it until today. And, like I said, I only just found this site about fifteen minutes ago and fell in love. It's that serious.

Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, by Carl Zoch (from adventure-journal.com)

The website is Adventure Journal. At first, I tried to pick just one thing from the site to re-post or to write more about, but I couldn't. There's just so much fantastic, inspiring, entertaining content to fill your outdoorsy soul! The photographs range from picturesque, woodsy cabins to powdery ski slopes. There are videos and gear reviews galore. I honestly don't know how I haven't been to this website before!

Looking at Adventure Journal, and especially gazing at all the amazing, diverse photography, made me feel inspired to keep skiing all winter and to journey out on my own adventures in the spring! For example, since last summer, I've wanted to challenge myself by going backpacking solo. The video, Overlandia: Bigfoot Country, inspired me to go at it. There was just something about watching this guy solo surf and sleep in his homemade pop up tent/truck contraption that made me miss traveling, sleeping outside, and exploring the outdoors on my own. (Obviously that guy had a camera crew with him, but whatever, it's still a great clip.)

I hope that other people can find inspiration from the content on Adventure Journal. Feel free to let me know what you think, and to post links in the comments below of other great outdoor websites you want to share!

Oh, and Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! If you don't have a valentine, at least you can always fall in love with the outdoors (or in my case today, a website about the outdoors). :-D

Olivia

Hike Across America

My name is Brendan Powell, I am a Junior at WVU studying Forest Resource Management within the Davis College. Last summer I had the opportunity to lead the Wilderness Orientation Trip with Adventure WV. In 2011, before enrolling in WVU, I hiked the Appalachian Trail with my brother, Garrett, where I met Josh Seehorn. After completing the trail, the next time I heard of Josh was when I learned about his plan to go big and hike clear across the United States. In March 2013, Josh set out from Point Reyes, California with his destination of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, 4800 miles ahead of him. The emphasis of Josh’s trip is based around his passion for Envirothon, an academic organization that allows high school students to test their environmental knowledge in a competitive manner on a county, state, and national level. The program encourages high school students across the country to create their own outdoor experience.

Josh has earned a degree in both fisheries biology and wildlife biology. He loves being outdoors and broadening his understanding of nature. After Josh discovered the concept of running and hiking The American Discovery trail, he took the challenge head on. His father plays a major role with Envirothon in Georgia, and with that exposure, he partnered with North America's largest high school natural resource education competition (The North American Envirothon 501c3) in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the competition.

Josh will be getting off route this Thursday, February 6^th in order to come to the WVU Student Recreation Center. He will be giving a presentation, using pictures and stories, to tell us what his journey has been like so far. In addition to this, he will be incorporating the goal of his journey regarding Envirothon. Josh is excited to be speaking to college students here in The Mountain State, and will appreciate any amount of attendance and donations (the event itself is free, though!). Come out and hear what awesome stories this fellow adventurer has about the people, wildlife, and scenery of America the beautiful!

 You can find Josh on campus tonight, February 6^th at 7:00pm at the Sports Café inside the Student Recreation Center. To view this event, visit the TAP calendar where you can also check to see what other events are going on this month within the outdoor community.

For more information on Josh and his journey across America, check out his website: Outdoor Josh

Hope to see you all at the event! Have a great day and GO EXPLORE!

-Brendan Powell J

I'm New and I'm Excited!!

Hello! Welcome! You are currently reading the first post of 2014 for the Appalachian Pineapple! Woohoo! New year, new and improved blog!

My name is Birdie Hawkins, and I am the new intern for the Media/Marketing department of Adventure WV. As the new intern, I will be primarily focusing my time on expanding our viewers and the amount of posts on the Appalachian Pineapple. I will be working under the supervision of the lovely Matthew Shreve, the department director, and working with the Adventure community to further spread our message and all that we do in the amazing world of Adventure WV!

To give you a little bit of background about myself, I am currently a sophomore at West Virginia University, and am seeking a double major in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources within the Davis School, as well as a degree in Strategic Communications: Advertising, within the P.I. Reed School of Journalism. I have recently been hired to be an Adventure WV staff member for the summer of 2014, and am currently in LEEd class taught by Assistant Director, Marion McClure, and Program Manager, Marcedes Minana. During each weekly class, I learn skills that will prepare me to become the best Adventure leader I can be!

That's me on my recent backpacking trip through Cerro Castillo National Park, Patagonia, Chile.

I participated in the two week Adventure WV International Trip to Patagonia during Winter 2013.

As a sophomore, and a newly added intern, I have high hopes and grand goals for the online presence of Adventure WV. Until lately, I have shunned computer programs and was always reluctant to join the new wave of social media. It wasn't until recently that I have begun to challenge myself to learn more about computers, cameras, and the ever-evolving world of social media. I'm not a fan of gluing myself to my phone or computer, but I hope to keep this blog updated on a regular basis with fun information and stories to share! If you, too, identify with not being so keen on technology, this blog is a great place to start! We will update you about local events within the greater Morgantown area, as well as specifically in the Adventure community.

To remain connected: 'Like' our Adventure WV Facebook page, add events to our TAP calendar, and don’t be afraid to comment on the posts, ask questions, or suggest ideas on things you would like to see on the blog!

Happy Adventuring! J    -Birdie Hawkins