VVS Outdoors is Verde Valley School’s comprehensive outdoor adventure education program.  It is designed to encourage Verde Valley School students to engage with the spectacular natural environment of the Southwest and to help students increase self confidence through challenging their personal limitations. 

VVS Outdoors offers programming both during the school week as well as on weekends.  Each season, students are afforded the opportunity to take part in outdoor oriented sports during the required afternoon activity slot. 

The 2011-2012 sport options include:

Rock Climbing, Outdoor Multi-sport, Hiking, & Mountain Biking.

On weekends, VVS Outdoors staff typically offers two trips a month.  These adventures give students the chance to travel to different destinations, try something new or further explore the sports they have sampled during weekday afternoons.  These opportunities include: rock climbing, backpacking, hiking, paddle sports, fishing, mountain biking, as well as skiing and snowboarding.  Trips range from half-day excursions to weekend-long adventures.  This variety is designed to complement VVS students’ changing and full academic calendar. 

VVS Outdoors seeks to enrich the VVS community in other ways beyond these programs.  Every fall, VVS Outdoors partners with several trips during the school-wide two-week Field Trip program.  Two examples of VVS Outdoors Field Trips are the Joshua Tree Camping and Cochise Stronghold Rock Climbing trips.

VVS Outdoors provides a variety of student leadership opportunities and allows students to get involved in creating new outdoor programming. VVS Outdoors is cooperating with the Community Action and Service (CAS) program to engage students in environmental service projects, such as trail restoration work in our National Forests. 

Environmental stewardship is one of the core values of VVS and VVS Outdoors mirrors these ideals. This year, VVS Outdoors partnered with the Access Fund, a grassroots conservation and climbing access organization, and Leave No Trace (LNT) Center for Outdoor Ethics.  All VVS Outdoor trips follow LNT guidelines; periodically, LNT training courses are provided for both students and staff.

VVS Outdoors also works closely with the outdoor adventure community to form agreements, partnerships, and sponsorships with companies like Evolv, Mammut, Metolius, Trango, Gregory Packs, The Outdoor Gear Exchange, Babbitt’s Backcountry Outfitters, Absolute Bikes, Leave No Trace, and The Access Fund.