The Outdoor Recreation Center, located in the Physical Education Instructional Facility at Northern Michigan University, has a mission beyond helping NMU students enjoy the outdoors during the cold and warm weather: helping the community enjoy the outdoors during the cold and warm weather.

“We will rent out equipment to students, faculty, staff and community members anytime whenever the entire PEIF facility is open,” said Christopher Smith, intramural sports and outdoor recreation manager at NMU, who noted the ORC is tied in with the climbing wall.

That’s a fun activity for the indoors, but what about people who want to hit the trails during snowy weather but don’t have the right equipment?

Smith said the ORC has snowshoes and cross-country skis available for rent for the community.

There are, however, some limitations. The partnership created between the university and the Noquemanon Trail Network stipulates the fat tire bikes stored at the ORC are for students only, he explained, with that partnership offering skis and snowshoes as well.

Ryan Watling, the student trail manager who works with the NTN, is the first person to take on this position.

“It’s kind of bridging that gap between the local trail network and NMU,” Watling said.

He’s coordinating events around two main ideas: bicycles and trails.

“They kind of mix together, which is why it works well,” said Watling, who noted bicycle education and workshops play a part.

In fact, workshops are part of the ORC in general.

“We have workshops that we do specifically for indoor rock climbing, which we do on our rock climbing wall here, but occasionally we will do things outdoors,” Smith said. “Last year we had our very first ice climbing trip at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising.”

Another ice climbing trip to Pictured Rocks is tentatively planned for the students in February, only this time it will be at night.

“All the students will have headlamps and climb on the ice, so that will be cool,” Smith said.

For folks not inclined to travel vertically, the ORC has planned snowshoe hikes.

Snowshoes are available for Northern Michigan University students and community members to rent at the Outdoor Recreation Center. The ORC is located in the Physical Education Instructional Facility. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

“We’re hoping to go to the Eben Ice Caves with a bunch of students beginning at the end of January,” Smith said.

That popular spot is located in the Rock River Wilderness area of the Hiawatha National Forest. Because it’s fairly remote, snowshoes come in handy when trekking to the actual caves.

The trip is scheduled for Jan. 26.

Students who enjoyed making snow forts as kids — or still do — can learn to make a quinzee at a workshop set for Feb. 2.

“Essentially it’s like a fort-igloo that you build outside that students can winter camp in potentially, which would be pretty unique,” Smith said.

Speaking of winter camping, he said the ORC hopes to put on educational programs, which tie into NMU’s residence life, on that topic as well as winter hiking and camper education.

Proper equipment is essential for ORC winter activities. So, an entire room is devoted to storing items such as fat bikes, skis, snowshoes and the lesser known log rolls.

“It’s from the old log-cutters back in the day,” Smith said. “The loggers, they would take the logs and they’d get in the water with them and try to balance, which is what we do with them in the pool.”

Sometimes it’s not about the recreation, but more about getting from one spot to another safely.

To that end, Smith said the ORC recently received about 1,000 STABILicers.

STABILicers are winter traction cleats useful for days when it’s hard to walk on icy sidewalks and the like, making it easier for students to walk between classes — or hike — and lessen the chance of falling.

The cleats are strapped to the bottom of a person’s shoes to provide extra stability on slippery surfaces.

Smith said the ORC received STABILicers from the Sports Rack in downtown Marquette, with the footwear purchased and donated by the Associated Students of Northern Michigan University.

The ORC still is working on a rental procedure for the STABILicers, he said.

“Outdoor” in the facility’s name notwithstanding, students can have fun indoors too.

“When it comes to indoor stuff, we do a lot of different indoor rock climbing workshops, which we’re hoping our students will then translate to outdoor climbing come late spring, summer and fall,” Smith said.

Each April the ORC puts on a climbing competition, with this year’s Superior Climbing Competition scheduled for April 13. The event will begin with a kids’ competition that features routes set for younger climbers while another competition is for climbers age 16 and older.

Many young participants are members of the ORC’s youth climbing clubs: Toon Busters and Vertical Pursuits.

Two to three hours of open-format climbing are followed by a finals round, with prizes and T-shirts for all participants.

Events, workshops and trips are free for PEIF members unless otherwise noted. Non-members must purchase a $10 day pass for each workshop. Since space is limited, participants are urged to reserve their spots by RSVPing on the ORC Facebook page.

The climbing wall may be reserved for a group event or gathering. The cost of $75 per hour includes three ORC staff members to belay.

People also can “build their own trip,” choosing from various hiking or ski trails in the Marquette area. Two ORC employees will guide the group through a two-hour cross-country or snowshoe excursion.

Although participants must provide personal transportation and meet at the ORC before the trip for equipment checkout, hot chocolate is provided at the break.

The cost is $20 for PEIF members and $80 for non-members, with equipment rental included in both fees.

Skiing trips are on trails at Forestville in Marquette Township; Blueberry Ridge in Sands Township; Presque Isle, the Fit Strip and Tourist Park in the city of Marquette; and other areas near Marquette.

Snowshoeing treks take place at Little Presque Isle, and Sugarloaf and Hogback mountains in Marquette Township; Presque Isle and Tourist Park; and other local spots.

The ORC will be open every day once the winter semester begins.

For more details on ORC programs and fees, call 906-227-2519 or visit nmu.edu/recsports/outdoor-rec-center-programs. For information on fat tire bicycles and trail access, visit nmu.edu/recsports/fat-tire-bikes-trail-access. The ORC’s Facebook page is called NMU Outdoor Recreation Center.

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