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The Portland State University Outdoor Program is celebrating 50 years of student-led adventure, and though it’s grown with time, the program’s basic format and offerings have remained since its founding in 1966 under the late Sam McKinney. The heart of the program was participant-driven outdoor trips and affordable equipment rentals. PSU is often credited with developing the first outdoor program following this model, which now exists at universities across the country. The program, now housed under Campus Recreation, still offers equipment rental and outdoor trips, and has added a climbing wall and leadership development program to its offerings.
Earlier this year, current and former trip leaders and staff gathered on campus to celebrate this legacy, with every decade of the program represented at the event. Stories and experiences from the beginning to present-day were shared, and while some details and structure have changed, the feeling of community fostered by the ODP has stayed strong.
This page: 50th Anniversary Celebration
Opposite: Yvon Chouinard teaching a climbing clinic for ODP staff in 1968