A group of UW graduate students are going AWOL — Adventure and Wilderness Outdoor Leisure Club that is.

This start-up RSO calls the wild frontier its home away from home but adds a social twist.

According to the group's EPost, available via a link on their Facebook group site, "We are a new grad student club dedicated to all things outside and mountain: mountain winter sports, mountain summer sports and of course, mountain beers (from Oly and Keystone to the classier stuff like Pyramid Snow Cap) and some non-mountain activities too!"

One of the group's purposes is to bring graduate students together who have a common interest in the great outdoors.

"Our members plan all sorts of outdoor activities," said graduate student Kelly Garneski, the group's co-chair. "We do ski days, we're planning a trip to Whistler, we're planning on hikes and hopefully climbs. We try to do one or two major activities a quarter."

Members can either create their own events and organize them or stay up-to-date on official AWOL activities via the EPost.

"We don't have a lot of structure yet," Garneski said. "The group is just starting up and it's mainly a place we go to meet each other for outdoor activities."

AWOL isn't only about roughing it, however. The group has a social purpose.

"I would say that the main focus of the club is social, and it's set against an outdoors backdrop," said graduate student Sarah Baxter, another group member.

Part of this social aspect includes the use of the social lubricant. AWOL uses "Beer Nights" as its meeting format. Members will meet up at a local bar, drink beer and plan events.

"I've been to one or two of the 'beer meetings,'" Baxter said. "We've had a pretty good turnout so far. At the meetings most of the talk has been about a trip up to Whistler on Presidents' Day weekend.

AWOL aims to build bridges between the multitudes of graduate schools at the UW.

"We got the club together just because there was previously no method of communication between the various graduate schools for getting together and hanging out," Baxter said. "This is an opportunity to meet people in other departments."

As the group expands, so do the benefits to its members. There are not only more networking opportunities for carpooling up to the slopes or meeting new friends, but there could be monetary returns as well.

According to the group's Facebook site, there may be a deal in the works with Evo Gear, a producer of winter wear, skis and boards for AWOL member discounts.

AWOL has about 50-60 members, and is still growing. Graduate students are encouraged to come and check it out, even if they aren't blessed with a passion for nature.

"We'd love to have more people join and help build the club," Garneski said. "People should come out who want to be part of it turning it into something big."

Reach columnist Camden Swita at features@thedaily.washington.edu.