Greetings ODC,
Welcome back to another weekly email! I’ve had QUITE the time these past seven days, including but not limited to: a refreshing and *totally voluntary* swim in the James River in 30 degree weather, a dream in which I staged a heist and tried to escape to the gear room but couldn’t find it (too real for many of us, I’m sure), a lovely ODC game night, and an absolutely EPIC disco cowboy experience.
I’m intrigued to find out what this week hold, and speaking of, to find out what this EMAIL holds, read on!
– Sarah “Combat Roll God” Dowling
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bonfuego This Friday!!
- BONFIRE!!!! This Friday at 7:30pm at the Shrack (116 Washington Ave)! Weather’s looking warmer and it’ll be a great night for good vibes with s’mores and drinks 🙂 See you there!
Return Your Gear. (Please.)
- Please return your gear, especially items you checked out before break. (This is a threat.)
OLD (BUT STILL IMPORTANT) ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Get Your Merch Before Your Merch Gets You!
- ODC Merch is HERE!! Come get your merch if you ordered it! Pick it up at any gear room time! Pay with venmo or cash. Susannah will come hunt you down if you don’t pick up your merch soon!
- We even have EXTRA merch for those who did not place an order… AND we have STICKERS!!
Did You fill out the Census?
- Well, here’s your chance to do it before Parker tracks you down and feeds you to the squirrels on grounds. (I heard they’re pretty hungry this time of year…)
- Seriously though, the census is an opportunity to share your thoughts, experiences, and input about your time in the club, and it helps us get an idea of who is in the club & how to best serve our club members! Do it please. It’s linked here. (And here too!)
Feed (Submit to) ODC’s Baby (The Scrawl)!
- If you thought those squirrels were hungry, then wait ’til you see The Scrawl. My (our) child/swag-ass annual newsletter is malnourished from a lack of submissions!
- Help it grow big and strong and beautiful (maybe even as beautiful as Ed) by sending in your photos, trip reports, and general musings (among other things) at this link here!
- Refer back to this announcement for info about what to submit and this link to see last year’s version.
WOOOAAAHHH ODC Member DISCOUNTS?!
- You read it right! Anyone who is a member of this lovely club can now get 10% off at High Tor Gear Exchange & Endeavor Cycles here in Charlottesville!
- We now have a 40% off code to use on as many purchases as you want from Nature Buff! Use code UVA40 on your next purchase.
- Super cool mountain-wear brand HIMALI has reached out to us with a sick discount code for 40% off all their stuff!! Check them out and use code UVASendIt40.
- We also have an epic one-use per person promo code with Bedrock Sandals for 20% off online purchases. Use the code “UVAOUTDOOR”!
G-G-Gear Requests *Airhorn*
- We love buying new equipment for you, but we need you to tell us what you want! Do that here.
#Anonymous Feedback Form
- Do you have any comments, concerns, or recommendations about/for Outdoors Club? Leave some feedback here!
- This form is anonymous and can only be viewed by the DEI Chair.
Donations
- Did you know that you or your parents who want to know what you’ve been up to at UVA or your grandparents who were around when backpacking was invented can DONATE to ODC at any time ?? Donate here!
GEAR RESOURCES AND POLICY
This Semester’s Gear Room Schedule:
Monday @ 3:30pm — Parker (540-840-8024)
Tuesday @ 5:30pm — Cam this week! (703-488-8892)
Wednesday @ 10am — Max T (703-862-7391)
Thursday @ 2:30pm — Max S (617-780-1129)
Friday @ 8:30am — John (804-944-1929)
If none of these times work for you, please email the officers outdoors-officers@virginia.edu at least 24 hours in advance to schedule a separate time to be let into the gear room. Please only do this if you really can’t make the gear room times, not just because you don’t feel like it or didn’t plan ahead.
You can stop by the gear room to check out or return gear and be reimbursed at any of the times listed above! Officers remain at the gear room only for as long as people are checking in/out gear (usually about 20-25 minutes). You may also purchase ODC t-shirts, hoo rags, patches, stickers, and more at the gear room!
MISC. GEAR INFO:
- Before returning gear, refer to the GEAR CLEANING DOC!
- If you return damaged, dirty, or incomplete gear, you will jeopardize your ability to check out gear in the future. It is your responsibility to return your gear in the condition you received it.
- Please refer to our reimbursement policy here.
- You can check our gear inventory here.
- Want to check out water sports gear or a mountain bike?
- Please email the officers at outdoors-officers@virginia.edu. They are stored at separate locations. We ask that you give at least 24 hours notice.
- Gear is due one week from when it is checked out unless renewed by an officer at a gear room. Keeping gear past its due date is a UVA Honor Offense. Club trips have priority access to gear.
Directions to the Gear Room:
- Start at Echols Dorm → go right on McCormick → turn right on Alderman Rd → take a left on Leake Drive → walk to the end of the road (there are several buildings and parking on either side) → pass a picnic table on the right → keep going! → walk straight to the first big maintenance building directly ahead → walk behind the building on the left side (if it feels like you maybe shouldn’t be there, you’re in the right place) → walk up the stairs → End: knock on the door!
- Map to Gear Room
ADVENTURE OF THE WEEK!!!
No adventure of the week this week 🙁 Send us your trip photos and recaps!!
- How to be featured:
- Each week we’ll feature a different adventure that happened within the previous 7 days. To be featured, send us (outdoors-officers@virginia.edu) a couple of pictures of you and your pals adventurin’ and a little blurb about what you did!
- We’re stoked to see what y’all get up to, but PLEASE (please!) do not take pictures of people without their consent (and don’t submit them to us without their consent).
- Try and submit pictures as .jpeg files if possible! (not .heic live photos!)
Who will be the next ADVENTURE OF THE WEEK???
TRIP RESOURCES AND REMINDERS
Leading Trips:
To become a trip leader, thoroughly read the Trip Leader Manual (resources page of the website) and send the officers an email (outdoors-officers@virginia.edu) letting them you know you have done so. They will then activate you on the website! Alternatively, come to a Trip Leader Workshop, lead by the officers several times each semester and posted on the website.
As a reminder, climbing, caving, mountain biking, and whitewater trips have special rules to lead! To learn more about types of trips and to become an approved trip leader for the sports listed above, feel free to contact the club’s Sport Advisors:
- Climbing:
- Cam Burke (twz5mz@virginia.edu)
- Ella Mortimer (rzq9wc@virginia.edu)
- Caving
- Allie Shelhammer (kvb8gz@virginia.edu)
- Lillie Ehrmentraut (ubc2ga@virginia.edu)
- Biking
- Max Titov (uhg2nv@virginia.edu)
- Susannah Allen (bay6nh@virginia.edu)
- Hiking/Backpacking
- Carson Hopwood (mxz2fc@virginia.edu)
- Ed Aten (eba4ksx@virginia.edu)
- Water Sports
- John Woodward (uce3pa@virginia.edu)
- Will Lankford (xsc9gq@virginia.edu)
If you have questions about how to lead trips, refer to the Leading Trips pages under Resources on the club website.
Want to lead a trip for an under-represented group in the outdoors? Lead an Affinity Trip! See the link for details and guidelines.
Absences:
- Please be aware that if you are joined on a trip, and you do not show up, or you drop out at the last minute, you are depriving another member of a spot on that trip.
- No-shows and last-minute absences not only hurt trip attendance, but they also make logistics more complicated.
- If a member is reported for two absences, trip leaders are permitted to take this into account when moving people off wait lists.
Incident Reporting:
- Anything wild or crazy happened on your trips recently, but not in a good way? Fill out this form to let the officers know about incidents or near misses on your ODC trips. Incidents can include but are not limited to: major injuries, extreme/ dangerous weather, or getting lost. We’ll keep it for our records/learning and follow-up if necessary! Here’s the template.
- Check out this swanky guide, aptly entitled “Incident Reporting Form Cheatsheet,” for a how-to on handling common incidents in the woods, and make sure you’re prepared for your next trip!
Sexual Harassment and Equity Reporting:
- Outdoors at UVA is committed to providing a safe and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy the outdoors. If you feel you or another have experienced misconduct at the hands of another club member, please report it here. This is including but not limited to misconduct regarding sexuality (including sexual harassment), gender, race, ethnicity, ability, etc.
- Outdoors at UVA’s Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct policy can be found here. Our club Code of Conduct can be found here.
ET CETERA.
Social Media:
FB: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/OutdoorsAtUVA/)
Insta: (https://www.instagram.com/uvaoutdoors/)
GroupMe: (https://groupme.com/join_group/68250538/0HmzE2tL)
Peace, Love, & Dirt,
Sarah and the Officers