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Outward Bound Canada:

Looking for a place where you can go and find no other people besides those with whom you travel? Look no farther than Outward Bound Canada. Outward Bound Canada has three operations in Ontario, two in British Columbia, and mobile programs in the Yukon Territory and Alberta.

The wilderness is Outward Bound Canada's classroom. The lakes, rivers, forests, mountains and ocean provide the challenges. Some of these challenges are physical, like paddling a sea kayak into the rolling waves, climbing a rugged peak, sailing on the ocean, leading a team of sled dogs, or portaging a canoe through a boreal forest. Other challenges include developing leadership skills or learning to work effectively as a member of a team.

At Chetwynd, the national headquarters of Outward Bound Canada, staff work year round with schools and corporations offering courses from 7 to 14 days. They also house a semester high school program for students interested in expeditionary learning. Nestled in the thickly wooded forest of spruce and balsum fir 160 kilometers north of Thunder Bay on Black Sturgeon Lake is Homeplace, where students embark on 21+ day canoeing courses in the summer and dog sledding and ski courses in the winter. Closer to the shores of Lake Superior lies a mobile site in White River, where students will participate in canoeing and hiking courses.

On the western side of the country deep in the rugged, glaciated coastal range of British Columbia is the Bennett Mountaineering Base. In these mountains groups can travel for weeks in unspoiled wilderness. It is here where Canada's mountaineering, ski mountaineering and rugged backpacking courses take place. British Columbia is also home to the sailing and sea kayaking courses, which take place in and around the wild and beautiful Pacific coastal waters between British Columbia's mainland and Northern Vancouver Island.

Outward Bound Canada strives to provide "adventures that last a lifetime". In so doing, they offer courses for people at all stages of development both youth and adult. Their community programs include Leadership Development Training for Aboriginal People, Women of Courage Courses (for survivors of domestic violence), Youth at Risk Courses, and they have a generous bursary program for students with economic hardship.

What students say about Outward Bound Canada:

"This was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but it is also the best thing." --Tony, age 16

"Away from my kids and the demands of my job, I was stripped to my essential self. Without the usual mental clutter, I was able to create some new ideas about where I'm going" --Doug, age 55

"I pushed myself really hard and I was really proud when I made it to the top. I learned that I could do anything I want as long as I believe in myself." --Anna, age 23

"At the age of 36, I was a city mouse that had never been in a tent or a canoe, let alone on a rock face. I dared myself to do an O.B. wilderness trip - just because the idea of it totally terrified me! And although I know it sounds corny - I have to say it: Outward Bound changed my life. It wasn't an easy transition - facing my physical and emotional limits was a really big deal for me. But what I learned through Outward Bound was that most of those limits were self-imposed, and that courage was a muscle that I could develop.
I learned a lot of things from my O.B. experience and those insights have never evaporated with time. The thrilling journey that I began on an Outward Bound trail so many years ago continues, each and every day." --Christina Pochmursky, Journalist/Filmmaker

"We will always remember our experience at Outward Bound as pulling our team even closer together! The instructors helped us to not only challenge ourselves, but to challenge each other ... our experience taught us that our trust and respect for one another were key to reaching the success we dreamed about!"
--Erin Woodley, team manager of Synchro Canada. The team completed their Outward Bound program just two weeks before they won the bronze medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

"The National Leadership course I took gave me the chance to see the amazing contrasts of the Canadian wilderness - from the whitewater rivers of the East to B.C.'s majestic Coast Mountain range." --Angelica, age 23

Thoughts from Instructors:

"I have never been more satisfied as an instructor than when a student, young or old, starts to articulate what has been a real learning for them. I love to be taught by students." --Peter Grant, Instructor

"I always look forward to seeing the spark and excitement in students at the end of a course, after they have discovered more about themselves, overcome challenges, and celebrated life in the mountains." --Ken Bibby, Instructor

"The highlight of working with Outward Bound is when "students come together to accomplish amazing challenges with respect, determination, and compassion." --Suzanne MacLean, Instructor

CONTACT OUTWARD BOUND CANADA:
Outward Bound Canada
996 Chetwynd Rd., RR#2
Burk's Falls, ON P0A 1C0
Canada
Bus: 1 (705) 382-5454
Bus 2: 1 (888) OUTWARD (688-9273)
Bus Fax: 1 (705) 382-5959
E-mail: info@outwardbound.ca
Web Page: http://www.outwardbound.ca