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Beyond the rows of rafts, racks of skis, buckets of backpacks, and bundles of sleeping bags, the University of Ģ����ý is quietly backing research activities. 

“Our campus colleagues often forget that we’re here,” says Centre manager Paul Chiddle. “And if they do think about us, it’s mostly for equipment-rental purposes.”

“But we have the knowledge and expertise to support important research taking place at UĢ����ý.”

Preparing for research in extreme environments

For , PhD, an associate professor in the , collaborating with the Outdoor Centre is key to success for his research expedition to Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada, in May 2027. 

Dominelli and his team are exploring how women and men adapt to high-altitude exercise along with how clothing impacts the ability to regulate body temperature for women exercising at high altitude. With support from the Outdoor Centre, the group visited the Freshfield Icefield on the B.C.-Alberta border in April to practise commonly encountered situations in preparation for the expedition to Mount Logan. The Centre was instrumental in pre-trip logistics, including arranging transport, food and supplies. During the trip, Outdoor Centre staff ensured group safety and taught the group critical skills, through experiences such as safe glacier travel, travelling with sleds and classroom-type sessions in a tent. 

“The support of the Outdoor Centre allowed us to focus on testing equipment and other research specific priorities. Without them, these trips would not be possible,” says Dominelli. 

The project also received more than $10,000 from UĢ����ý’s program in 2026.

According to Chiddle, the Outdoor Centre helps make research like Dominelli’s possible by providing the expedition planning, mountain-travel expertise and risk management required to operate safely in remote alpine environments.

“While the researchers focus on the science, we help manage the realities of working in a place like Mount Logan, from logistics and equipment planning to hazard assessment, emergency preparedness and decision making in complex terrain,” he says. “Our role is essentially to create the conditions that allow research to happen safely and successfully in challenging, complex mountain environments.”

Supporting innovation closer to home 

For Ben Pearman, a master’s student in the , the Outdoor Centre was a pivotal piece in the development of RockXR, a mixed-reality prototype that examines the potential for approaches like Worlds-in-Miniature (WiM), spatial route annotations, and conversational assistants to provide navigation cues and guidance during rock climbs.

RockXR is the next iteration of Pearman’s , a mountain-mapping and navigation app for climbers, which could extend the technology to XR devices when they’re small enough to wear while rock climbing. 

“I basically walked into the Outdoor Centre one day and asked an employee if they would be open to doing some research in the climbing wall,” explains Pearman. “The project got cleared pretty quickly on their end, but the trickiest hurdle was getting approval to fly a drone in the climbing wall.”

Since the university is located inside a controlled airspace, drone operators need an advanced licence to be able to fly. Pearman had to explain the risks and how he would mitigate them before he could start his work at the Centre. 

According to Pearman, UĢ����ý’s climbing wall is quite unique — one of the only ones in the world that would actually be able to support the type of research he needed to do.

“The walls are made of concrete, and sculpted to be like outdoor climbing,” he explains. “The fact that you can actually place traditional protection in the cracks is pretty unheard of for climbing gyms nowadays.

“Paul and all the managers, and especially the staff were really great, and a bunch of the employees participated in the study, as well.”  

Research partnerships beyond equipment rentals

From mountain expeditions to mixed-reality research, these collaborations highlight how the Outdoor Centre helps turn research ideas into reality.

“At the end of the day, none of this happens in isolation. It will be the result of the researchers and the Outdoor Centre staff working closely together, each bringing different expertise to the table, to ensure expeditions and projects are both successful and safe,” Chiddle says.