It is common for outdoor and adventure athletes to find themselves in the ADHD cortex. Many adventure sports demand the very capacities associated with ADHD attention patterns, rapid situational awareness, novelty seeking, hyperfocus under pressure, and regulation through movement. These environments often reward how these brains work, even as they expose challenges that show up differently elsewhere.
For many people, it is in these environments that their brain feels most functional and coherent. The same patterns that can feel disorganizing or difficult to manage in daily life often make sense in dynamic, high stimulus outdoor settings, where movement, novelty, and constant feedback are the norm.
This session explores how the ADHD cortex actually functions, beyond stereotypes or simplified narratives. It looks at how attention, motivation, sensory processing, and emotional regulation operate in high stimulus environments, and why these patterns align so closely with adventure sports such as kayaking, skiing, climbing, and mountaineering.
At the same time, the traits that function as strengths in the field can create friction around planning, transitions, recovery, and group dynamics. Misunderstandings are common when ADHD related patterns are misread as irresponsibility, impulsivity, or lack of discipline rather than differences in neurological wiring.
By grounding these patterns in neuroscience and real world outdoor contexts, this session reframes the ADHD cortex not as a deficit, but as a specialized operating system. Understanding this distinction is key to using the superpowers of the adventure brain well, while also recognizing the scaffolding needed to support where this cortex does not naturally flourish.
Logistics & Details
Cost: Sliding Scale $5-$15
Note: The minimum covers the Learn Local Series operating costs, not the instructor’s time. Additional contributions above the minimum directly support the facilitator for the gift of their time and expertise.
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Registration:
Space is limited to 30 participants.
A minimum of 10 participants is required to run the class.
No refunds given; however, purchases can be gifted to another.
About the Facilitator
Kallie Kurtz is a Behavioral Health Clinician who designed and runs Grove Institute which works on behavioral health care, training and policy. Kallie specializes in trauma, ADHD, and crisis response in emergency departments, individual therapy, and public health policy. An avid whitewater kayaker and mountain enthusiast, she has been exploring the outdoors for over 30 years. Bringing together her passions for the outdoors, wilderness medicine, and behavioral health, she has been working to ensure Backcountry Behavioral Health is fully incorporated into wilderness medicine and outdoor adventure fields. A Wilderness First Responder since 2009, she spent nearly a decade instructing and guiding outdoor expeditions, where she witnessed firsthand the profound connection between mental health, risk, and resilience in remote environments. With expertise in trauma, PTSD recovery, and resilience building, Kallie equips outdoor enthusiasts to understand behavioral health, navigate high-stress incidents and foster post-traumatic growth in wilderness settings.
Contact Kallie by email or check out her website below:
kalliekurtz@groveinstitute.org
www.groveinstitute.org
About Learn Local Series
Learn Local classes are for neighbors by neighbors offerings given from the heart. We partner with you to give to the community accessible-to-all experiences that connect and weave us together. You just need to show up and share, we take care of the details at no upfront costs. Doing one of these classes is right for you if you want to gift on your knowledge or skills to the community in an easy, low pressure way. More details about how to do your own here.
