By customizing activities, your group can share novel experiences, enhance interpersonal relationships, learn leadership skills, or work toward accomplishing your goals, all within the comfort of your select group.

You can mix and match activities, choose your own trip dates, and travel to locations from as close as your backyard to as far away as New Zealand. Custom experiences can range in length from a few hours to a couple weeks. The possibilities are endless and only limited by the group's time and budget constraints.

Recent custom experiences have included:

• Canoeing and caving in Bloomington
• Camping in the Hoosier National Forest
• Rocking climbing, rappelling, and rafting in North Carolina

The cost of a custom experience through IU Outdoor Adventures varies depending upon the group's itinerary, but in general, custom experiences are less expensive than comparable trips with other outdoor recreation providers.

Any group is welcome to design a custom experience, including interest groups, residence hall units, fraternities, sororities, and student organizations, to name a few. Even a group of friends can put together a custom experience!

IUOA's Custom Experiences Coordinator helps select appropriate activities for the group based on its goals for the experience. These can include outdoor recreation activities, teambuilding exercises, or a combination of both. Participants do not need to have prior outdoor recreation experience. Activities are available for all experience levels, including beginners. In addition, accommodations can be made for participants with disabilities or special needs.

Custom experiences are led by experienced trip leaders, who have extensive training and outdoor skills in many areas. At minimum, all leaders must complete:

• Introduction to Wilderness Leadership course
• Search and Rescue or Map and Compass course
• CPR certification
• Wilderness First Responder certification
• Anaphylaxis training

For more information, contact the Custom Experience Coordinator, Dave Frost, at 856-4092 or send an e-mail to oacustom. [all IU email addresses end in "@indiana.edu"] or check us out on myspace