Renaud Lalancette ’24 in a whitewater kayak. Photo: NOC.

This winter, the Northwood Outing Club (NOC) tackled the world-class Whiteface Mountain, skied the Adirondack backcountry, and climbed multiple pitches of classic ice climbs. Unfortunately, we had a warmer winter than usual. However, on the bright side, this early spring means that NOC can jump right into warm-weather activities as students return from spring break.

During this awkward transition between winter and spring, the ice is too melted to climb, there is not enough snow to ski, but the temperature outside is too cold to rock climb, and there are still partially frozen rivers and lakes. These circumstances make it difficult for students to participate in various recreational activities, so instead of just sitting around, Northwood Outing Club Director Bobby O’Connor likes to offer lessons on the AMGA Single Pitch Instructor course, strength train in the climbing gym, and go on small hikes like Balanced Rocks, or Catamount Mountain, when the weather is warm.

When the Northwood Students return from break, we will begin our spring schedule: classes in the morning and extracurriculars in the afternoon. For many athletes, their seasons are over, meaning they will get the choice to join NOC and explore the Adirondacks. Mr. O’Connor and other experienced mentors will bring students paddling, rock climbing, fly fishing, and hiking this spring season. Although some sports may sound intimidating for beginners, they are all suitable for any experience level. Learning how to paddle takes place in Mirror Lake, with the help of the excellent Mr. Roy. NOC athletes will learn the basics of whitewater kayaking: safety precautions, the necessary gear, how to use it, and how to get used to being in a kayak and paddling it. Once you are comfortable, learning how to roll a kayak properly is the next step. This is a necessary skill when paddling white water. Once you master all the basic techniques, you will have opportunities to get out onto actual Adirondack whitewater.

Kayaking isn’t the only beginner-friendly activity; rock climbing is also an all-level sport. When going out with the group, Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Emery ensure routes are accessible to all participating students. Not only do we enjoy climbing, but we also learn the basic knot-tying and belaying skills that go with it.

Regarding fly-fishing, students will set out with Mr. Garvey first, learning about the correct equipment and how to cast on our indoor turf. After mastering the cast, students will take to the water to catch some fish!

April is an exciting time in the school year, and joining the Northwood Outing Club makes it even more fun. Spending time with old friends, making new connections, being active, and spending time outside in this beautiful area is just a tiny part of what makes NOC unique. We can’t wait to get out there and end the school year on a high note! Hopefully, we will see you out there; happy spring!

Ashley Guevara ’24, Uma Laguna-Curtis ’26, and Avery Novia ’24. Photo: Mr. Eric Adsit.

This Thanksgiving break, a group of eight Northwood students traveled to Red Rocks Nevada, to embark on an eight-day rock climbing adventure with Outing Club (NOC) Director Mr. Bobby O’Connor, Prof. Casey Henley (Assistant Professor, Head of Climbing and Skiing at SUNY Plattsburgh), Eric Adsit (Adventure Filmmaker for Adsit Media Works), along with the help of Carter Day ’23, a NOC and Red Rocks veteran.

While experiencing the beauty of the canyon, these students also learned skills such as anchor building, sport leading, belaying lead and top rope climbers, and developing their climbing abilities. Red Rocks is a great place for all levels of climbers to strengthen their skills because of the diversity in the grading of the routes and its “gym-compatible” style.

Red Rocks Canyon is a special place for the students of the Northwood Outing Club. This is the third year in a row that Mr. O’Connor has planned this trip. Any student can sign up. For a few, this was their first time, others had come back for the second year in a row, and some for the third. Each year is a unique experience.

Here is an inside look at Red Rocks 2023.

Day 1 at Red Rocks. Photo: Avery Novia’24.

Day 1: After spending Thursday night camping out in the desert, the group woke up around 6 am and headed over to the Hamlet Wall where we climbed routes from 5.4 to 5.10. We left around 3:30 pm after a full day of activity. This first day was mostly used as a day to get back into the swing of climbing after not having been able to for about a month. Some of the most popular routes for the group were “Frailty, Thy Name is Sandstone” (5.7), “Perchance to Dream” (5.8-), and “Sweets to Sweet” (5.7). When we returned to camp, the group gathered around the stove and made dinner. After eating they all came together to do happy and crappy (a NOC trip tradition).

Day 2 at Red Rocks. Photo Avery Novia’24.

Day 2: Unfortunately, overnight it began to pour rain, leaving the sandstone unsafe to climb on for a day. The group took advantage of the unfortunate weather and got to experience climbing on limestone at Urban Crag on Lone Mountain. This location was interesting because it overlooked a suburban area with houses built on identical lots and had a track surrounding it. While there, around 8 routes got put up. This was by far the sunniest and warmest day of the trip and a nice change of pace from the chilly Adirondacks. Alex Randall ’25 and Colton Cushman ’25 led 5.8s and 5.9s, while others got to top rope routes from 5.5 to 5.11.

Day 3 at Red Rocks. Photo Avery Novia’24.

Day 3: Giving the sandstone a day to dry off allowed the group to head back into the canyon. Sunday morning, they packed up at the campsite before heading to the first pullout to climb Civilization Crag. There was a total of 9 routes put up, the hardest being a 5.10a, “Umayyad Caliphate,” which was led by 3 students, Alex, Avery Novia ’24, and Colton. The approach to the crag was technical and the longest one the group had made during the trip. While other students were climbing, Nate Benjamin ’26 mock led a 5.7 with the help of Casey Henley, and Alex completed his goal of climbing 20 pitches in one day. After a long day of hard climbing, they had to move into an Airbnb for the night due to being unable to secure a campsite. That night the group decided to watch movies, play pool, and make over 10 packs of ramen for dinner and enjoy the warmth of the house and a bed.

Day 4 at Red Rocks. Photo Avery Novia’24.

Day 4: Group rest day!! Everyone spent the morning sleeping in and packing their bags again and then started on a thirty-minute drive to spend the day at The Pad, a climbing gym in Henderson, NV. While there, students and even the adults played on the slack line, tried out all the bouldering, and hung out while eating some snacks. Around 4 pm they went to the Yard House in Las Vegas for the obligatory group dinner. The group stayed for around two or three hours, messing around and eating good food. When dinner was over, it was time to return to the campground again. After setting up camp, they had a fire pit, played card games, and made hot chocolate.

Day 5 at Red Rocks. Photo Avery Novia’24.

Day 5 at Red Rocks. Photo Avery Novia’24.

Day 5: The crew split up into two groups this day, four students went with Casey to climb “Man’s Best Friend”, a 5.7 multi-pitch with two pitches of sport climbing. After finishing up they headed over to Coco Crag in Calico Basin where there were two routes put up, “Cocopuss” a 5.10- (lead by Alex) and “Moon When the Wind Blows” a 5.9 (lead by both Colton and Alex). The other group of 4 headed to the Meetup Wall with Bobby, Eric, and Carter. The approach to the Meetup Wall was incredibly tricky with a lot of steep and technical hiking. After making it there, the group collectively put up 5 routes from 5.6 to 5.10b. While there, Avery put up a 5.10a called “Upcoming Meetups’ and Carter put up “The Pumpkin King” a 5.10b.  While climbing, Eric flew his drone and let the group watch as he got footage of the people climbing. Both groups spent full days at their climbing spots and met back up around 4 pm. They headed back to the campground where they had to move camp again because their current site was taken over by a Boy Scout troop. Everyone gathered up their tents and bags and walked them over to the next-door campsite. After getting all set up, a group of two others showed up but luckily, they allowed everyone to stay on the site for the night.

Day 6 at Red Rocks. Photo Avery Novia’24.

Day 6: For the last day of climbing, the group headed to the Panty Wall for a quick half-day. Since the group got a late start, they were rushing to beat the crowds. There were around 8 routes put up, one of them being a very fun 5.10. Most of the day was spent taking in the beautiful canyon views before getting on the plane the next morning. Colton, Alex, and Avery all put up routes ranging from 5.4 – 5.8, ending the week off strong.