How cool is this company/idea? I've never worked with Outward Bound West. Sort of an old school approach that will be branched out in many different arenas. I really like Outward Bound's approach.

History

The Colorado Outward Bound School, founded in 1961, was the first Outward Bound school in the Western Hemisphere. Initially, courses were offered only to young men aged 16 and over who wanted "a unique and challenging opportunity to prove themselves in a rugged contest." Before long, however, the school introduced courses for young women (1965), adult and coed courses (1969) and special courses for families, couples, educators and youth-at-risk (1970). New courses for college students, 14 and 15 year-olds and new programs in the areas of health services, professional development and youth leadership were added in the 1980s.

In 2003 the Pacific Crest School based in Portland and the Colorado School based in Golden, Colorado merged to form the largest and strongest Outward Bound School in the United States. Each year it will serve over 3000 individual students in its wilderness programs and over 1400 more students in its group sales courses. It will have an alumni base of approximately 200,000 worldwide. These alumni who range in age from 14-75+ report new strength, confidence, self-reliance, fitness and, in the words of founder Kurt Hahn, "above all, compassion."