Washington and Lee University
Outing Club Trips can be meaningful experiences. Learning new skills, seeing new places and activities with a small group can be a powerful experience and can lead to great friendships and new appreciation for our abilities, friends and our environment.
A great trip relies a lot on good expedition behavior, and not so much on whether the sun shone or whether the view was good. In order to get the most out of any trip, you will need to be willing to contribute to the trip by working with others, being open to new ideas, adding to group decisions, and taking responsibility for these decisions.
Part of the wilderness experience is risk. Risks can never be eliminated, but can be minimized by involving yourself in group decisions. You will be informed of the risks involved for any given trip and will be asked to read and sign an Acknowledgment and Assumption of Risks form. Beyond this, you should be ready to learn and follow safety instructions and to assume responsibility for recognizing and minimizing risks. Ask questions if you do not fully understand trip descriptions or instructions.
To help minimize risk during Outing Club activities and to maintain the quality of the small group experience, we prohibit the use of drugs and alcohol on all Outing Club Activities.
To sign up for most trips you may call the Outing Club during regular office hours, Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:30pm or you may sign up at the Wednesday night Outing Club meetings held in the Outing Club Meeting Room, Wed. 7:00pm-8:00pm. Spaces are provided on a first-come first-served basis. You are encouraged to register as early as possible as trip spaces are limited and often fill up quickly. If a space opens, we will call those on the waiting list until we fill the opening. Some trips, like the February and Spring Break as well as the International Trip in June require signs ups in person the first meeting of the Winter term. These trips fill immediately so, if you want a spot show up in person early!
For all special trips full payment is due at the time of registration. The payment amount is indicated on the trip sign-up sheet in the Outing Club meeting room. Space may be reserved on break trips with a deposit. The deposit amount is indicated on the trip sign-up sheet in the Outing Club House. Checks should be made payable to Washington and Lee Outing Club or you can charge the bill to your student account.
Once you have signed up for a trip you will receive an information packet about the trip, which includes a trip description, a medical history form, an equipment list, and equipment needs list. These forms will need to be filled out and returned to the Outing Club before you leave for your trip.
If you find that you must cancel a trip please notify us immediately. Generally we are flexible for cancellations. However, some trips require advance commitment of outfitters by the W&L Outing Club and your cancellation may leave the Outing Club paying for services we won't use. All Break and International trips have non-refundable deposits required
James Dick
Director of Student Programming and Outing Club
jdick@wlu.edu
Elrod Commons 115
458-4066
