Outdoor Education

Taking wellness education to the next level.

Outdoor Education at RIT provides experiential and adventure-based programs and services that promote personal development, environmental stewardship, and community engagement.

A collage of images showing R I T students participating in rock climbing, kayaking, bike shop, and hiking.
A collage of images showing R I T students participating in rock climbing, archery, tennis, and yoga.

Wellness Courses

Outdoor Education offers a wide variety of outdoor and adventure-related wellness courses. You may find yourself on the water, in the woods, in the mountains, or even right here on campus. Whitewater kayaking, bike maintenance, rock climbing, maple sugaring, bee keeping, wilderness medicine, and much more! Search “WINT” in SIS for a list of courses and be sure to check the “Class Notes” for specific meeting times, course fees, and requirements. Commonly offered classes include:

  • WINT 10 - Maple Syrup and our Environment (Spring)
  • WINT 28 - Bicycle Care and Maintenance (Fall, Spring)
  • WINT 39 - Rock Climbing-Indoor Bouldering (Fall, Spring)
  • WINT 55 - Whitewater Kayak Skills (Fall, Spring)
  • WINT 60 - Winter Hiking (Spring)
  • WINT 62 - Adirondack Hiking/Snowshoeing (Fall, Spring)
  • WINT 85 - Wilderness First Aid (Fall, Spring)

Red Barn Climbing

a student rock climbing on a climbing wall at the Red Barn at RIT

 

Red Barn Climbing is RIT’s very own indoor rock climbing gym located in the Red Barn at the west end of campus. Boasting over 5,000 feet of bouldering terrain, and offering day-passes, semester memberships, and climbing shoe rentals are nominally priced for RIT students. 

Red Barn Climbing is a bouldering-only gym, where climbs are shorter and falls are protected with padding. Climbing routes are set and maintained to accommodate all skill levels, from beginner to expert.

Learn more about the Red Barn

Student Outdoor Leaders

Interested in becoming an Outdoor Leader with Outdoor Education? Contact us to learn how you can apply to our Student Outdoor Leaders (SOL) program and develop practical competencies in outdoor leadership, backcountry navigation, and wilderness risk management!

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour, RIT

Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour



Mark your calendars for the 2023/2024 Rochester-stop of the World Tour here at RIT on February 16, 17, and 18, 2024!

Get off the beaten path and explore the edge of believable with captivating stories from the 48th Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. Stand on the highest peaks, ski the steepest slopes, and be a part of the gripping adventures waiting for you in this year’s Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour. From exploring remote landscapes to adrenaline-fueled action sports, films selected for the 2023/2024 World Tour are sure to captivate and amaze you. Be moved. Be inspired. Don’t miss out!

Dates, Times, and Location

February 16, 17, and 18, 2024
Ingle Auditorium, Student Alumni Union at RIT
"SAU" on the RIT campus map: SAU, RIT

  • Friday and Saturday, Feb 16-17
    • Doors: 6:30 p.m.
    • Showtime: 7 p.m.
  • Sunday, February 18 Matinee
    • Doors: 2:30 p.m.
    • Showtime 3 p.m.

Tickets

On Sale 10 a.m., December 20, 2023
RIT University Arenas Box Office
585-475-4121
www.rittickets.com

  • RIT Students: $12 advance/$14 door
  • RIT Staff/Faculty/Alum: $17 advance/$19 door
  • Public: $21 advance/$23 door

15% discount on 3-day bundle.
Max 4 RIT discounted tickets/bundles per person.
Some fees may apply for phone or online purchases.

Programs

All films are captioned. Sign language interpreters available by request. Some films may not be suitable for younger audiences; please see advisories posted in the film programs below.

Contact/Additional Information

Tom Connelly
tpcsce@rit.edu
585-475-2628

Friday, February 16 - Arnica

(2023, Canada, 9 min)
Filmmakers: Clay Mitchell, Simon Shave, CK9 Studios
Advisory: Coarse language

The Blondes, three strange animals. Who are they? What are they thinking? Are they naturally Blonde? This is a film highlighting the ski crew the Blondes through their friendship and adventures in skiing and in life.

(2023, USA, 27 min)
Filmmaker: Santino Martirano
Advisory: Coarse language

Doctors gave him until age twenty-five to live and now 10 years after his expiration date, he is still climbing. Despite having Cystic Fibrosis, Klaas Willems has bolted hundreds of routes in Sardinia, Italy and dedicated his life to climbing.

(2022, Canada, 12 min)
Filmmakers: Joel Fuller, Michael Overbeck
Advisory: None

The trail-running community is constantly evolving. Lately runners have progressed, drawing from the world of alpinism, rock climbing, and running and tackling technical terrain in a way we’ve never seen. Watch as Emma Cook-Clarke and Jesse McAuley dig deep on the west peak of Ch’ich’iyúy Elxwíkn, the Twin Sisters (or the Lions), an iconic Sea to Sky trail.

(2023, Canada, 30 min)
Filmmakers: Seth Gillis, Aline Mayerhoffer, Sandy Ward
Advisory: Coarse language

Two young brothers from the Lil’wat Nation set out to ski the sacred mountain they were raised beneath, pushing both themselves and their culture to evolve.

(2023, USA, 5 min)
Filmmakers: Maxwell Frank, Becky Gardner, WTB
Advisory: None

Mountain Biker Israel Carrillo shows us his hometown of Guanajuato, Mexico, and the difficulties and differences of being a mountain biker in Mexico.

(2023, Switzerland, 26 min)
Filmmakers: Nicolas Bossard, MS PROD
Advisory: Coarse language

Following in the footsteps of pioneer jumpers from 1990, French BASE jumpers Eric Jamet and Antoine Pecher jump from the top of the Nameless Tower in Pakistan after climbing the Eternal Flame route, combining one of the most beautiful ascents with one of the most exhilarating descents in the world.

(2022, USA, 12 min)
Filmmakers: Max Erickson, Jared Zissu, Flylords, Fiska Media
Advisory: Coarse language

Rachel Finn, a female fishing guide in the Adirondacks, grapples with life after loss. While taking a once-in-alifetime trip to Argentina, she navigates moving forward in an unapologetically true-to-self way, that brings a smile to everyone who crosses her path.

(2023, USA, 20 min)
Filmmakers: Chris Parr, Flutter Brothers Productions
Advisory: Coarse language

After winning the American Birkebeiner, the largest cross country ski race in North America, Joe Dubay was disqualified for wearing the wrong bib. Now, 11 years later, Joe and his former roommate who lent him the bib – Chris – document their return to the Birkebeiner to pioneer a new sport: tandem cross country skiing.

Saturday, February 17 - Paintbrush

(2023, USA, 4 min)
Filmmakers: Nathan McBride, NVisualMedia
Advisory: Coarse language

Paramotoring is a niche, largely undocumented, and little-known flying sport. This piece brings it to light in a rightfully epic way. Shot over 6 days, with multiple paramotor pilots, Desert Wings highlights some of the most dramatic desert landscapes in the American Southwest.

(2023, USA, 14 min)
Filmmakers: Timmy O’Neill, Sarah Lee Steele, Well Travelled Collective
Advisory: None

Soundscape features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevada.

(2023, USA, 10 min)
Filmmakers: Mallory Duncan, Patrick Elmore, Uhuru Mountain Collective
Advisory: None

A skier contemplates his connection to skiing and the mountains. As he hurries through the streets of L.A., his path takes a turn after bumping into a jazz musician who helps him discover the correlation between jazz and skiing—an expression of art, skiing, and black culture.

(2023, Canada, 3 min)
Filmmakers: Scott Secco, Scott Secco Films
Advisory: None

Watch Georgia Astle explore some of British Columbia’s most striking landscapes, on a search for terrain to push her riding, inspired by a rising tide of female freeriders around the world.

(2023, Canada, 35 min)
Filmmaker: Laurent Poliquin, Nicolas Roulx
Advisory: Coarse language

Follow a team of highly motivated Quebeckers on one of the longest wilderness expeditions ever documented. Stage one involves skiing in relentless polar conditions from Ellesmere Island to the Northwest Passage. Cue canoes for a 2,000 km journey across Nunavut and North West Territories until they get on bikes and pedal 4,000 km to Point Pelee in Ontario.

(2022, Canada, 8 min)
Filmmaker: Andrea Wing, Aline Mayerhoffer, MMGY Origin
Advisory: None

Leo, a sought-after rock star with a promising career, turns his back on the industry to pursue a life on the land with a herd of buffalo.

(2023, USA, 33 min)
Filmmaker: Kaki Orr, Rob Wassmer, Aidan Haley, Christina Lustenberger, The North Face
Advisory: Coarse language

In 2022, Hilaree Nelson, Emily Harrington, Christina Lustenberger, and Brette Harrington embarked on an expedition above the Arctic circle. What they found was a celebration of where they’ve been and of where they’re going - and the trip’s success was contingent not on what they skied but the time they had together.

(2023, USA, 11 min)
Filmmakers: Darby McAdams, Ashley Peel, Rush Sturges, McAdams Films
Advisory: None

In the tourism town of Livingstone, Zambia, a group of local men who make their living portering kayaks aspire to become safety kayakers on the Zambezi River. The proposed Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme threatens to flood the famous rapids of the Zambezi and eliminate river related jobs.

(2022, USA, 20 min)
Filmmakers: Bronwyn Hodgins, Savannah Cummins, Savy Media
Advisory: None

Rising out of the arid Mexican desert lies a 900 ft ship’s prow of elegant limestone sporting a 9-pitch 5.13 established in the 90s by Jeff Jackson. Shrouded in mysticism, the bolts rusted and the holds collecting dust until a couple of young gals from Canada decided to give it a try.

Sunday, February 18 Matinee - Yarrow

(2023, France, 7 min)
Filmmakes: Pierre Henni, Kilian Bron
Advisory: None

Kilian Bron rides from the foot of the Fuego volcano the day before its historic eruption, to the colourful facades of Barrio Chualluma in La Paz, through the geological formations of the Valle de las Animas to an unforgettable meeting with the Cholitas Escaladoras.

(2023, Sweden, 8 min)
Filmmakers: Marcus Ahlström, Mattias Fredriksson, Stellar Equipment
Advisory: None

After a successful ski racing career, Adrien Grabinski ventured West from Alberta. He discovered his true calling at Shames Mountain, a remote little co-op non-profit ski area near Terrace, B.C. The mountains, the snow, and the big lines first captivated him, but the local ski community truly stole his heart.

(2023, France, 15 min)
Filmmaker: Alex Lopez, Riding to Explore
Advisory: None

Armelle Courtois and Martin Thomas seek out the highest glacial lakes – over 5000m above sea level – to try and break the altitude record for kitesurfing. Their sporting challenge quickly takes on a new objective: to raise awareness about the consequences of melting glaciers and inspire change.

(2023, Canada, 40 min)
Filmmakers: François-Xavier De Ruydts, Jenny Rustemeyer, Cold Fingers Films
Advisory: Coarse language

Two gritty teams of hobbyist cavers are poised to break records for the longest and deepest caves in Canada. From abyssal, muddy crawls to heart-pounding, vertical pits, and underwater squeezes, these are places where no person has been before.

(2022, Switzerland, 12 min)
Filmmakers: Jules Guarneri, Benoît Goncerut, Cause
Advisory: Coarse language

This is the story of a young Turkish immigrant, destined to play football and take over his parents’ kebab restaurant. But one day, fate put a pair of skis in his way.

(2023, USA, 10 min)
Filmmakers: Greg Cairns, Cairns Film
Advisory: Coarse language

Few river guides ever get the chance to drive Idaho’s Iconic sweep boat. Join Katie Veteto as she learns how to “drive sweep” down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. She’s learned the rapids and the river. Now she learns to drive 4,000lbs down steep rocky rapids.

(2023, USA, 30 min)
Filmmakers: Colin Arisman, Wild Confluence Media
Advisory: Coarse language

As wolves repopulate Washington State, conflict is heating up with rural ranching communities. When wolves are suspected of killing livestock, the consequences for packs can be fatal. Range rider Daniel Curry’s job is to patrol wild areas on horseback, creating a buffer between wolves and the cattle herds.

(2023, United Kingdom, 20 min)
Filmmakers: Natasha Brooks, Leo Houlding
Advisory: Coarse language

Not your typical family holiday… but this is not your typical family! Leo Houlding, his wife Jess, and their two children Freya (9 years) and Jackson (5 years) climb Norway’s national mountain via a 2,000 ft big wall.

Faculty and Staff

Several people participating in a weight and cardio wellness class in the RIT dance studio gym

Did you know...

Faculty and staff members can also participate in student wellness classes offered each semester? Registration for faculty/staff occurs after all students have registered.

How to register:

  • If you have taken classes at RIT previously, register at Student Information System.
  • If you have never taken a course at RIT, please complete a registration form.

Contact Us


Outdoor Education

outdoored@rit.edu
585-475-7050