In the Works
Recently, I have started reaching out to other organizations in the Washington, DC, area that may offer activities, events, and resources that are in-line with the values of GO-Adventures. The goal of building relationships with these other folks is to combine our skills and program offerings to bring clients new and memorable experiences.
Here are a few of the things we are in the midst of designing:
- Adult Camp – A weekend of adventure instruction (rock climbing, caving, mountain biking, canoeing, backpacking, etc.), combined with a wilderness medicine component and a fitness and nutrition component. Imagine going to a mountain retreat, waking up early and getting a fitness boot camp to stretch you out and warm you up before you head out to climbing a secluded rock face. After lunch, you learn how to splint an arm or treat heat exhaustion, and then you return to the campsite for a delicious and nutritious meal that you prepare under the supervision of a nutrition expert. That’s just one example.
- Ice Climbing – Meet us in the Shawangunks of New York for two days of ice climbing instruction, with an overnight stay in a luxurious cabin near the ice, and excellent meals prepared for you – or by you – depending on your interest. The town of New Paltz, New York, nestled in the ‘Gunks’ is known far and wide for its excellent ice climbing opportunities, yet is within a 6-hour drive of Washington, DC.
- Flight to Freedom – Visit an 1850s farm and experience a simulated journey from slavery to freedom. Participate in authentic plantation chores and experience the rigors of plantation life, before making your journey to freedom marked by night shadows, slave catchers, and the great unknown. This real-life journey will carry you across fields and thickets to secret hideaways along streams and culverts. The journey culminates after dark when you reach freedom at the “Circle of Light” where your experiences and impressions of the day are revealed.
And more…
Stay tuned to see how these projects unfold!
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Here are a few of the partnerships we are building to help us create these unique experiences:
Rebecca J. Scritchfield, MA, RD, LD, ACSM Health Fitness Specialist is a leading nutrition and exercise expert for the metro Washington, D.C. area. She helps people reach their full wellness potential through realistic approaches to behavior changes that fit their busy lives. Her motto “nothing changes until you do” exemplifies her belief in the power individuals already possess to realize the lifestyle they want.
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Occasions, Inc. is a full-service boutique event & meeting management company and tour operator with a strong focus on delivering personalized customer service. We provide innovative and strategic planning services, specializing in high quality meetings, incentives, special events, and customized group tours and excursions. Our distinguished clientele includes corporations, associations, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, government, and private individuals.
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Combining her passion for emergency medicine and her love of adventure sports led to the development of Dr. Ellen Smith’s Wilderness Medicine Field Course. Originally designed to teach medical students how to apply and adapt emergency patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment and procedures to the outdoor environment, the course has evolved to include adventure racers, tri-athletes, and outdoor adventure enthusiasts, as well as nurses, physician assistants, athletic trainers, police officers, paramedics, EMT’s, and many others interested in outdoor medicine and safety.
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A former Dental Tech & Fitness Instructor with the US Navy, Avon, 47, has channeled his passion for health and exercise into an intense, effective, yet extremely enjoyable fitness regimen known as, “The Sergeant’s Program.” Why the military focus? Because everyone knows how tough basic training is — you can’t make it through without getting into shape! Now a military veteran, Sarge has completed ten marathons, two full Ironman triathlons (Lake Placid 2001 and 2003) and at age 41, received his Black Belt in Korean martial art Hapkido. Recently asked what his greatest athletic strength is, Avon replied “perseverance… At 5″10 and 200 pounds, I’m not very fast…. sort of a slow moving tank that never quits”.
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The Menare Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Underground Railroad history, historic sites and environments and to the creation of associated educational programs. Through assistance and training, Menare works with individuals and organizations to preserve the Underground Railroad legacy using history as a resource for community revitalization, race dialogue and cultural growth.
Participants experience a sensory journey through taste, touch, smell, sights and sounds of plantation life as they conduct authentic plantation tasks before making the harrowing journey to freedom.
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Related Links and Resources
One of the goals of our organization is to provide a valuable resource to our clients, our staff, and to anyone else who visits our site, not only through our high quality adventure and team building programs, but also through our knowledge and expertise in other areas. ‘Resources’ is where you’ll find links to organizations, research, vendors, activities, and other information that we have found useful. Perhaps something in these pages will be useful to you as well.
Experiential Education Resources that we rely on:
 Project Adventure
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 Wilderdom
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 GO-Adventures Team Building and Adventure Instruction |
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Excellent resources for educators, trainers and facilitators
IceBreakerGames.co.uk - great ideas for ice breaker games
Business Balls – a great source for free team building activities and exercises
The Leader’s Institute – a resource for articles and research in the field of team building
Leadership Strategies – providing professional facilitation training and certification
Below, you’ll find links to the web sites of nonprofit and outdoors organizations that GO-Adventures supports.
American Mountain Guides Association
American Whitewater Affiliation
Association for Experiential Education
Colorado Fourteeners Initiative
International Mountain Biking Association
National Off-Road Biking Association
Outdoor Industry Women’s Council
Pacific Crest Trail Association
Student Conservation Association
Washington Area Bicyclists Association
C&O Canal National Historical Park
The America Outdoors Association
Association for Challenge Course Technology
Professional Ropes Course Association
GO-Adventures makes its gear purchases from these fine equipment providers:
Publications:
Miscellaneous Sites of Interest:
Altitude Events – a UK-based team building and event management company.
Adventure Travel Guides – OuterQuest.com
OuterQuest.com is the leading resource for adventure travel planning and outdoor recreation. We are a direct marketing company that uses our products, services, & events to promote your adventure travel programs. Our partners are dedicated to enhancing our communities by bringing together individuals and groups in adventure recreation.
And, if you know of any great resources that we haven’t included here, let us know! We are always looking for cool stuff we haven’t seen yet…
PDFs
Basic Itineraries What to Wear Liability Waivers, etc.
Here you will find a variety of downloadable forms to help you prepare for your teambuilding or adventure instruction program. Please feel free to contact us with questions, or if you are having trouble with your downloads.
Thanks again, and we look forward to working with your group!
Downloadable Forms (PDFs):
What to Bring – Adventure Instruction
Teambuilding Forms
Adventure Challenge Sample Itinerary
Portable Team Challenge Sample Itinerary
ROPES Challenge Sample Itinerary
Team Project Event Sample Itinerary
NEXTeams Team Development Sample Itinerary
Adventure Instruction Forms
Introduction to Caving Sample Itinerary
Introduction to Mountain Biking Sample Itinerary
Gift Certificate For Adventure
This Summer Treat Someone Special to an Adventure!
Adventure Gift Certificates are available in a variety of denominations:
Private Guiding – Valued at $200, this certificate entitles the bearer to a one-day privately guided course, to take your skills to the next level. Courses include: Intermediate to Advanced Rock Climbing, Caving, Mountain Biking or Wilderness Survival.
Adventure for Four – Valued at $380, this certificate entitles the bearer to a one-day adventure instruction program for four (4) participants in one of the following activities: Rock Climbing, Caving, Mountain Biking, Wilderness Skills
Rock Climbing – top-roping courses teach the basics of the simplest and most popular form ofrock climbing – knots, belaying, anchors, and movement.
Mountain Biking – learn the basics of trail-riding, or push yourself through challenging single-track with our expert riders.
Caving – beginners and experts alike will be challenged as we explore the wild caves of West Virginia.
Wilderness Skills – orienteering, building fires, finding water, making a shelter etc… Learn valuable outdoor survival skills with our wilderness expert.
GO-Gift Certificate for Adventure
Gear and Equipment Vendors
Gear and Equipment
As the Summer draws near, we take the time to highlight a few of the manufacturers and suppliers that have provided our staff and programs with high quality and reasonably priced gear and equipment. This list will grow and adapt as the seasons change, so stop by from time to time and see what’s happening… And, if you have any suggestions for places to find quality outdoor equipment, drop us a note at info@go-adventuresports.com
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“Your One-Stop Shop For Outdoor Life Great Values on Everything Outdoor!”
by REI.com.
“REI.com sells quality gear, clothing and footwear for outdoor recreation. All products are backed by a 100% guarantee. REI.com customers can enjoy free shipping to any of REI’s 60+ stores nationwide.”
Men’s Clothing, Women’s Clothing, Footwear, Climbing, Camping and Hiking, Cycling, Paddling, and more…
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Wilderness First Aid Kits
by AlwaysBePrepared.com.
“AlwaysBePrepared.com offers a wide variety of first aid and emergency equipment at very reasonable prices.”
Some of their products include:
- wilderness first aid kits
- 1200, 2400, & 3600 calorie Coast Guard Approved emergency food in waterproof wrappers
- 3 day survival packs for your rafts & waterproof emergency lighting that last up to 12 hours
- insect sting & Bite 1st Aid
- first aid supplies to refill any type of first aid kit
- automobile emergency supplies
- AM/FM solar & hand crank powered radios
- emergency lighting supplies
- multiple person 72 hour survival kits
- search & rescue kits & supplies
- and much more.
“We have 30+years in the emergency preparedness industry, buy from the best!”
by backcountry.com
“Backcountry.com carries an extensive variety of high end outdoor gear and apparel, at fair prices. Some of their items include:
by steepandcheap.com
Team Building Activity of the Month
Here’s an Activity You Can Try…
From time to time we highlight a team building game or problem-solving initiative that has been particularly successful, popular, or just plain fun. These activities are easy to set up, take very little skill or experience, and require little or no specialized equipment. If you try an activity and you like it, let us know! And if you would like to learn what it takes to be a team building facilitator, check out our Training page on the website…
Good Luck!
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Silent Opera
This activity was ‘borrowed’ from another excellent online team building resource – www.teampedia.net – a ‘wiki’ that has been set up to collect great team building activities.
Objectives:
Communication, collaboration, team strategy
Group Size:
Small to Large
Materials:
- 10 – 20 Objects (Cones, Balls, Hoola Hoops, etc.)
- Blindfolds
- Rope Boundary
- Activity Description
Set Up:
Select one volunteer to be blindfolded (this person will be “the collector”) and one volunteer to give vocal instructions. The remaining members of the group are not allowed to speak. Set up the room and position participants according to the diagram below.
Directions:
This activity works on alternative methods of communication. Inform the group that the blindfolded member can speak, but will need to be told what to do in order to accomplish a given task. The person in the middle can only look at the large group but must tell the blindfolded member what to do. The large group will know the task and must communicate that to the middle person without speaking and without crossing the barrier represented by the rope. Lastly, inform the large group of the task (the more specific the task, the more challenging). Tasks may include: collect as many objects as possible or collect specific objects (by color, shape, type, etc.)
Variations:
- multiple collectors
Debrief Questions:
- What happened?
- What was the biggest challenge and why?
- What was it like to be – collector – speaker – actors?
- How is this activity like – school – work – life?
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Silent Opera Diagram
Stuck Inside? Socialize!
