04/02/2024
By Ed Brennen

Morgan was among 10 UML students who traveled to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York for OAP’s recent “Spring Break Winter Extravaganza” trip. There they enjoyed downhill skiing, fat tire biking and hiking, plus a visit to the Lake Placid Olympic Museum.

“Although I loved being outdoors in a new part of the country that I’d never experienced before, my favorite thing about the trip was the people we were with,” says Andrew Chapman, a senior chemical engineering major from Beverly, Massachusetts, who served as one of four student leaders on the trip.

While the pandemic disrupted participation in the programs, the numbers are back on track and most trips fill up, some with a small wait list, Ford says.

OAP also offers outdoor leadership experiences, as well as certification in wilderness first aid and wilderness first response. Students can also rent gear — everything from headlamps and sleeping bags to coolers — from the Outdoor Center and Bike Shop on East Campus for their own adventures.

“Part of our goal is to help students learn that they can get outside on their own. It’s not that complicated,” says Ford, who adds that the university strives to keep trips affordable “so we can get as many students on them as possible.”

“I’m prone to not leaving the house, so going on the trip helped me change my routine and have a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” says Beauchesne, who enjoyed hitting the slopes at Whiteface Mountain after not downhill skiing for 10 years.

Alex Antonellis, a junior physics major from Harwich, Massachusetts, has been a student leader on several OAP trips, including the Adirondacks. 

“Being atop Phelps Mountain in the Adirondacks was an amazing experience,” he says. “We were totally alone in the woods — no sounds but the wind and the wildlife. Not a single roadway in sight, just snowcapped mountains, as far as you could see.”

“We sat around the table together, passing around a mountainous stack of pancakes, sharing stories and laughing,” he says. 

While the early March conditions in upstate New York were not as wintry as expected, the students adjusted on the fly. Ice climbing became rock climbing. Cross-country skiing turned into a hike.

“It didn’t affect the morale of the group,” says Chapman, who has led multiple trips over the past two years.

“Leading these trips is one of my favorite experiences that I’ll take away from UMass Lowell,” he says. “OAP has provided great access to the outdoors and nature, and I love being able to share this with so many people.”