When Carroll College sophomore Kara Addison gets talking about the great outdoors and her grand adventures, it's all you can do to remind her that class starts in five minutes.

The former Showdown ski instructor has taken charge of Carroll's new outdoors club after returning from a stint at a Minnesota college.

School, the Great Falls native grinned, wasn't the only reason for coming home to pursue her nursing degree.

"I missed the mountains," she said. "I'm a mountain girl and I've skied my whole life. I missed Montana and everything it had to offer."

Ten years ago, Carroll offered a variety of clubs catering to many different outdoor activities. Yet when Addison arrived on campus, most of those clubs were gone.

"I said, 'OK, we're in Helena, Montana, one of the most beautiful places in the world,'" she said. "I've traveled to many places and we're so lucky with everything we have so close to here."

Upon returning to campus, Addison approached Carroll's student activity coordinator, Patrick Harrison, and pitched him her idea of an expanded outdoor club.

Harrison told her to create a plan and run with it. So far, Addison has done just that.

This past summer, Addison landed $5,000 in grant money to fund the club. The money helped the program purchase new gear and pay for rental costs through The Base Camp and REI.

The effort didn't stop there. Addison organized a team of 10 leaders, all juniors and seniors with outdoor experience in different areas. The grant will pay their certification as a wilderness first responder. That, Addison notes, benefits the entire program.

"We can provide that for them," said Addison. "They're required to lead three trips during the semester and help out with volunteer activities and head a committee."

Addison hasn't gone the road alone. The president of last year's outdoors club, Krister Kroll, has also moved the club forward.

"The funding is a big thing, which really allows us to get out and do more," said Kroll. "We have a leadership team instead of just one leader. We have a different dynamic of people with different specialties."

At the start of the fall semester, more than 80 students signed up for the rafting trip down the Clark Fork River. Another 28 students participated in the freshman backpacking trip to Hollowtop Lake, located up in the Tobacco Root Mountains near Pony.

"We taught people how to use stoves and water filters," Addison said. "We gave everyone a task. We always do the wilderness and no-impact talk before we do anything."

Addison is already pushing to add the Carroll Adventures and Mountaineering Program as a student activity fee, helping the club generate some extra money.

Early in the semester, Addison also visited the University of Montana campus, where she met with the school's outdoor club president. She came home envisioning the changes she could make to Carroll's own program.

"We could eventually put in a rock wall here," she said, planning for the future. "They have their own ski shop and bike shop. They have used gear sales. I think that would be something we could do every year."

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086, mkidston@helenair.com