Outside magazine picks MSU-Bozeman as fifth, UM 15th, U of I 29th in best college town poll

Outside magazine has picked Montana State University as the fifth best university in the magazine’s annual "Top 40 College Towns" poll. The list, which ranks colleges and universities that combine the best intellectual and outdoor potential, was released today (Aug. 12) when its September 2003 edition hit the newsstands.

Carol Schmidt MSU News

Bozeman and MSU are the top pick in the Northwest in the ranking of "the coolest college towns, places where the outdoors and intellectual esprit mingle blissfully."

"It’s not hard to see why Bozeman, the hub of southwestern Montana’s Gallatin River Valley, appeals to the adventurous," says MSU’s copy. "The trout-filled Yellowstone, Gallatin and Madison rivers offer world-class fly-fishing, rafting and kayaking just outside town, and Bozeman is surrounded by four Rocky Mountain ranges, which draw hikers, bikers and rock climbers." The MSU page was accompanied by photographs of a kayaker on the Gallatin River (by Beth Wald) and a high-flying snowboarder at Bridger Bowl Ski area (by Gordon Wiltsie of Bozeman, who is listed as a correspondent on the magazine’s masthead).

MSU ranked behind the University of California at Santa Cruz, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Middlebury College and Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C. Filling out the top 10 college towns were MSU, Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Dartmouth College, University of Virginia, Northern Arizona University and the University of Iowa. The University of Montana, which was ranked in the top 10 last year, is listed as number 15.

Writer Becca Syme of Plentywood, who recently graduated from MSU with a degree in English, was MSU’s student reporter for the magazine. Syme said MSU’s English Department recommended her for the Outside job. Syme was an award-winning English student but was also pan Orientation Leader and Residence Hall Adviser so she knew the university well. However, there were some things about the area that Syme had to research.

"They asked some things I had no idea about, such as the median house price," said Syme, who left this week to pursue a master’s of fine arts degree in creative writing at Minnesota State University in Moorhead.

Syme said she had no idea how high Bozeman/MSU would rank in the poll, "but I figured it was pretty high up. I did my best to convince them this was the best place to go to school."

Allen Yarnell, MSU’s Vice-President for Student Affairs, indicated that university officials were pleased with the selection of MSU and Bozeman to the top five universities in Outside magazine’s prestigious list.

"We believe that we offer a quality education in a world-class setting and we’re delighted that Outside magazine agrees," Yarnell said.

Contact: Julie Kipfer (406) 994-4571

http://www.montana.edu/commserv/csnews/nwview.php?article=1211

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Magazine says UI great for outdoors
Students take advantage of nearby mountains, bike paths, trails

Hannelore Sudermann
Staff writer

MOSCOW _ It may not boast ivy-covered towers or Nobel laureates, but the University of Idaho does some things better than other American schools, especially if you like outdoor adventure.

In the September issue of Outside Magazine, the University of Idaho ranked among the most "adrenaline-friendly" colleges in the country.

Lauded for its 55-foot indoor climbing wall, for the scenic bike path that runs at the foot of campus and along Paradise Creek, and for the miles of trails on nearby Moscow Mountain, UI joins the ranks of schools that turn out "smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environmental ethos and an A+ sense of adventure," the magazine says.

Junior Liz Warhurst, of Boise, doesn’t need a magazine to tell her UI is a great place for nature lovers.

"It was the first thing I looked at when I considered coming here," she said. "I’ve always been really into the outdoors."

Last weekend, Warhurst and seven classmates climbed to the summit of Mount Rainier.

"It was pretty intense," she said. "We spent about 14 hours on the mountain."

Most people in the group were first-timers on Rainier, and all were nervous about the ascent, which they made with ice axes, crampons and a rope.

"The hard work was worth it," said Warhurst. "When we got to the top, it was just amazing. You could see forever."

That was just one of Warhurst’s recent adventures. A few weeks earlier, she was ice climbing on the Kokanee Glacier in British Columbia, and during spring break, she and a group of students traveled to Utah to hike for a week.

When the UI Outdoor Program was formed 30 years ago, "the types of things that we do now were considered fringe activities," said program director Mike Beiser. "If you climbed mountains, or ran rivers, they’d say you were doing all these crazy things. Now many of those things are mainstream."

Rock climbing, river rafting, skiing of every variety, snow-shoeing, fly fishing, camping, biking, even hang-gliding — if it can be done, it’s likely there’s a UI student doing it.

"At the University of Idaho, we’re not just teaching academics, we’re teaching lifestyles," said Beiser. "These activities are lifetime sports."

Idaho ranked No. 29 on the Outside list. The top college is the University of California at Santa Cruz, with beaches, forests and mountains at its doorstep. Montana State ranked No. 5, boasting world-class fly fishing and a number of outdoor fields of study.

But surprisingly, the University of Iowa, in the heart of corn country, and Silicon Valley’s Stanford University, where Mercedes cars outnumber marmots, ranked ahead of the UI.

People don’t go to Iowa or Palo Alto for outdoor recreation, said Warhurst.

"Iowa?" she said. "It’s like, where is Iowa?"

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=081303&ID=s1394494&cat=section.business