Founded in 1976, the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC) is committed to “experiential education,” providing outdoor activities for all people, including those with disabilities and special needs.  BOEC focuses on adaptive skiing and snowboarding, and on wilderness courses offered on its 39 acres and in the surrounding area filled with ropes courses, rivers and lakes for rafting and canoeing, a climbing wall, and miles of trails and slopes.

Interns are given “an unlimited amount of responsibility,” according to administrators.  While the summer and winter programs are markedly different, both allow people of all abilities to participate in outdoor activities.  Summer interns become staff on wilderness programs after a month of intense training—planning, implementing and evaluating outdoor therapeutic courses for groups (made up of children or adults with traumatic brain injuries, developmental or learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis, at-risk youth, corporate groups, etc.).  Winter interns undergo similar introductory training before becoming assistants and primary ski instructors, specifically for students with special needs.