Fun in the Office

Don't be fooled by all our beautiful outdoor adventures, SWEBOP instructors work hard in the office as well. Well, we're in the office a lot. We don't necessarily always work hard. Togetherness usually means a good story is ahead. Here's a selection of pictures from around the office this semester.

KM pranks AB while trying to boulder. Three of the instructors pose for a picture at Sweet Briar's homecoming in September
General mayhem in the office as AB and I take pictures on the office Mac and Bearslayer (as she's affectionately called) boulders while we're all waiting to start a pre-trip meeting.

The instructors love being subscribed to Rock and Ice and Climbing magazines...because we love to cut out the pictures.MK rocks a few pieces from the SWEBOP gear room. VL, though not in the head-to-toe long underwear, is still looking good in her SWBEOP shirt.
This job is exhausting. This picture is not at all staged; during a wilderness medicine training we all laid down to nap before resuming our scheduled activities.

Outdoor Climbing Trip

On October 24th SWEBOP went to Goshen, VA for some much needed outdoor climbing! After everyone grabbed some breakfast from SWEBOP we hit the dusty trail around 9am. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and the weather was perfect for climbing. After arriving at Goshen we hiked (which was supposed to be a 20min trail to the climbing site... but we may or may not have gotten lost) to meet Laura and Alyssa who had already set up the climbs for us, which was baller! Before climbing we all ate lunch and met the other climbers at the site who were students from UVA. Everyone had their fair share of climbing and we also did some repelling that day! The views were spectacular from the top of the climbs and the fall colors were the icing on the cake to this great trip.

Erin was totally rockin' that climb!

Apology and Canoeing

I'm SOOO sorry it's been so long since the last post! Would you believe and forgive me if I said I hadn't blogged because I was too busy being outdoors? It's true. So many great trips = so little time to talk about them. But our boss always says 'reflection is an important part of any experience' so it's time to sit down and reflect on the first trip of the year: canoeing.

The SWEBOP instructors met the first week in August to a.) meet each other b.) train for the upcoming year c.) learn to canoe. We spent a lot of time talking about communication, teaching methods, working as a group, redefining yourself outside of your ‘normal’ environment and how to…camp. This semester has been very busy, and, looking back, I really enjoyed spending so much time living so simply, taking time to reflect and teach others.

Our canoeing guide, Dennis, was 64 and a world class white water canoeist. We were really blessed to have him as our guide, and he took a ton of pictures and videos of our trip. Here are a few highlights:

Enjoying camp on the 2nd night

VL and AZ paddling Balcony Falls
Me and JC paddle Balcony Falls
JC enjoys Solo Time on her own rock in the river

Updates about other trips this semester should be coming soon from AZ and KM so keep checking back for those.

We're obviously slackers when it comes to this, but if you have any ideas, questions or comments feel free to share!

Hiring!!

WE ARE HIRING!!!
Sweet freaking deal ladies!!!
Every one should be STOKED about this ;0) I know the instructors sure as heck are!

You can pick up your applications from Donna Boyd
They are due APRIL 20TH to Laura Staman
That must include your Resume, Cover letter, and Application
Email us with any questions!

There will be an informal question and answer session tomorrow at lunch.
Feel free to stop by :0)
Hope to see you lovely ladies there!!

Whyyyy Hello Ladies

Hellllooooooo Ladies,
Oh wow, its been a LONG time. Holy. Like what? 7 months?
So how have you been? Anything new with life? Hopefully school is still going spectacular.
SWEBOP is alive and well. It doesn't help that the weather is epically nice out. Although we did kind of skip seasons. I believe it went something along the lines of winter -> summer -> then spring. Hopefully we will be getting back into summer soon because frankly, I would rather be outside then in.
So what does the SWEBOP program hold for us in the future?
Why how nice of you to ask.
We have fly fishing and the Warm Springs Spa, Outing Cabin Certification, Kayaking, Adventure Tuesdays, and Kayaking Pool Clinics.
I know, so few trips left but then again ladies, so few days left.
33 to be exact. Not that I am counting or anything. I swear. Oh and that is 33 days til graduation. So for all the underclassmen who are declining to stay til graduation, it's less.

Well, I have nothing else to say other then enjoy the weather outside and make SWEBOP proud.
-R
ps- there will be more black-mailing worth pictures like the one above in future posts.