Program coordinator Brian Bell, who has worked for MAST for over 22 years, says, “We don’t get many American students for some reason—only one American student every 3-4 years. You’d think it would be way more popular [especially because it’s] a good deal with the exchange rates.” International students must apply for a “Study Permit” and provide proof of medical insurance that’s valid in Canada in order to join the program. 

Though the average age is 23, Bell says students range from 19 to 50 years old, and the typical incoming student is less interested in a traditional academic college education. “Some want a career in adventure tourism, some don’t know, some come here to learn skills to go out into the mountains on their own,” he says. What MAST students all have in common, though, is they’re adventurous, athletic, and definitely like winter.

 “The MAST program motivated me to become an avalanche dog handler and avalanche tech, specializing in search and rescue,” says MAST 2010 alumna Jamie McCaffrey, 31. She has also worked as a professional ski patroller. Other MAST alumni have started their own guide service companies, like 2001 alumnus Mike Trehearne, founder of Cloud Nine Guides. “It’s very cool to see where our alumni have gone, and many are now raising families of adventure lovers,” says Bell. 

In the U.S., the Pacific Northwest is home to a handful of institutions offering degrees or certificates in recreation, outdoor leadership, eco-tourism, and similar fields. From Bellingham to Missoula, schools are based in cities surrounded by expedition opportunities. In Coeur d’Alene, North Idaho College (NIC) has an Outdoor Recreation Leadership program, where experiential learning outdoors helps “students grow both intellectually and physically,” says Professor Paul Chivvis. Boasting a 100 percent job placement rate, Chivvis says his students have become professional ski patrollers at local mountains and have found careers paths with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.  They are also recreation guides in sea kayaking, therapeutic recreation, fishing, and hunting. 

Andrew Pierce, 31, earned his NIC Outdoor Leadership Certificate in 2012 and has worked as a professional ski patroller and a guide for heli-skiing, whitewater rafting, ice climbing, and mountaineering. Now he’s an avalanche forecaster for the Washington Department of Transportation. NIC’s program, he says, offers progressive learning of “basic skills necessary to survive and thrive in all sorts of outdoor environments and sports, and then develops you to be a thoughtful and impactful decision-maker who is ready to help others explore the same way you do.” 

He considers his eight months at NIC as some of the best in his young adult life. A grueling snow cave camping expedition during his Introduction to Mountaineering class especially impacted him. “What once terrified me now brings an amazing sense of joy,” says Pierce. “Ski patrolling, heli-ski guiding, and avalanche forecasting can lead you into some pretty intense weather and demands full attention and focus. I often think back to that trip with Paul [Chivvis] whenever the wind is pounding snowflakes against my face with 50 mph winds.”

An outdoor recreation degree can also be a stepping-stone to an evolving career trajectory, like it was for Nick Parkert, 38, a Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) enforcement officer. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Recreation Leadership & Management from Western Washington University in 2004, with a focus on wilderness therapy, Parkert worked as a youth wilderness guide in Maine. Realizing it wouldn’t be a long-term career for him, he moved back to Washington and became a park ranger at Riverside State Park, near Spokane, which required police academy training. Six years later, when decreased funding for state parks caused widespread layoffs, he wanted to continue working outdoors—and also really enjoyed law enforcement. This led him to WDFW. First assigned to the northeast Washington office in Colville—overseeing Ferry, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties—he transferred this past summer after seven years to a WDFW region for Pierce and Kitsap counties. 

“Even though my job is more regulatory, I am still outside and can feel some of the joy that those people are experiencing,” Parkert says, referring to people fishing along shorelines. Combining his love for the outdoors, recreation interests, and wildlife conservation values, he finds it personally rewarding to help protect “animal populations for future generations,” including for his own two daughters.

Some jobs will never be outsourced. Snowboard instructors, ski patrollers, and park rangers are needed by those of us who toil away inside, escaping to mountains on our days off. Whether it’s guiding, forecasting avalanches, or training a dog for search and rescue, work inspired by love for outdoor recreation feels less like work and more like daily adventures.

Check out these Regional Outdoor Recreation Degree Programs:

• College of the Rockies (Fernie, B.C.): Adventure Tourism certificate or degree, Mountain Adventure Skills Training (MAST).
• Eastern Washington University: B.A. Outdoor Recreation Leadership.
• North Idaho College: A.A.S. degree or certificate, Outdoor Recreation Leadership.                                      
• Oregon State University: Tourism, Recreation, & Adventure Leadership degree.
• Spokane Community College: A.A.S. degrees or certificate options; Natural Resource Management (forestry), Parks and Recreation, Wildlife/Fisheries, and Arboriculture/Urban Forestry.
• University of Idaho: Bachelor’s in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism. 
• University of Montana: Bachelor and master degrees in Parks, Tourism, & Recreation.
• Western Washington University: B.A. in Recreation Management & Leadership.

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This just in from North Idaho College:

Bicycle racks installed on NIC campus during national bike month

As part of the WeCycle program instituted by North Idaho College students, several artistically designed bike racks are being installed on campus in honor of national bike month in May.
As part of the curriculum in the NIC Resort/Recreation Management program, students are tasked with planning and coordinating various events as they learn principles of recreation programs. This year’s students took a very direct approach in applying the fundamentals learned their Natural Resource Conservation Management class to a real-world application that would leave an imprint on the college campus forever.

The students encouraged metal artists to design bike racks using recycled materials that will be utilized across campus and in the community. Students in the maintenance mechanic/millwright and the welding programs at NIC designed several racks that are being installed across campus this month. In addition, the Associated Students of NIC supported by program financially by paying for the painting and powder coating, which was provided at a reduced rate by Spectrum Powder Coating.

“This project beautifies our campus through its artistic elements,” said NIC Resort/Recreation Management Instructor Paul Chivvis. “There are several amazing designs that stand out against the campus landscape, making an environmental statement by encouraging people to ride their bicycles.”

Plans are to place additional bicycle racks in the downtown Coeur d’Alene area to promote bicycle friendly transportation community wide.

Drafts of bicycle rack designs by local artists are still being accepted.
Information: Chivvis at (208) 769-7169.

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As part of the nationwide Adopt-A-Crag Day, North Idaho College’s Outdoor Pursuits is hosting an Adopt-A-Crag climbing crag cleanup Saturday, Aug. 29 at Q’emiln Riverside Park in Post Falls.

Cleanup begins at 8 a.m. Volunteers will receive free food and giveaways from location recreational outfitters in the afternoon. Volunteers will help refurbish trails, dispose of trash, remove graffiti and perform other light duties.

For more information or to sign up, call Jon Totten at (208) 769-7809.

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According to some experts David Thompson’s early 19th century exploration and mapping achievements surpass Lewis and Clark. He spent a lot of time in what would become Idaho and Washington. North Idaho College give’s you a chance to travel back in time tomorrow:

NIC to offer presentation on David Thompson’s natural world

Who: Wildlife education specialist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Kris Buchler
What: will present on the natural habitats that explorer and fur trader David Thompson encountered in the early 19th century during “David Thompson’s Natural World”
When: at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24
Where: at the Lake City Senior Center at 1916 N. Lakewood Drive in Coeur d’Alene.
How: The presentation is free and open to the public. Information: (208) 772-3953.

Wildlife education specialist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Kris Buchler will present on the natural habitats that explorer and fur trader David Thompson encountered in the early 19th century during “David Thompson’s Natural World.” The presentation will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24 at the Lake City Senior Center, located at 1916 N. Lakewood Drive in Coeur d’Alene.

Thompson was known primarily as a fur trader, explorer and geographer. From 1809-1811, Thompson explored, mapped and recorded what he encountered while building trading posts in the Columbia River region, which included northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana. Thompson also observed numerous animals and plants and recorded many of the species he encountered.

In her presentation, Buchler will use Thompson’s names for various species and identify the more familiar names used today. With pelts, feathers and a live animal, Buchler will recreate the environment Thompson explored centuries ago.

Buchler has spent 12 years with the Idaho Department of Fish and game focused on wildlife education and curriculum development and 14 years on the Coeur d’Alene Audubon Society education committee. She is part of the WREN Foundation in which she creates wildlife programs and presents them throughout the community and is also a licensed raptor rehabilitator with Birds of Prey Northwest.
The presentation is part of a History, Etc., series. The final presentation this spring will be on the Bunker Hill Mine and other mining history of the Silver Valley April 7.

The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by NIC’s Molstead Library and the Museum of North Idaho.
Information: (208) 772-3953.

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