National Park Service and Denali National Park Support Expedition Denali

LANDER, WY—The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) announced this week that the National Park Service (NPS) and Denali National Park and Preserve have extended support for Expedition Denali: Inspiring Diversity in the Outdoors.

Expedition Denali is a historical undertaking by the first African American team to attempt to summit Denali, North America’s tallest mountain. To inspire youth of color, particularly African-American youth, to get outside and be active, Expedition Denali will give these role models a platform from which to inspire, both through the expedition on the 100th anniversary of the first ascent in June and the two-year outreach initiative to follow.

The synergies of NOLS and the NPS and the location of the historic expedition make it only natural that the organizations join together on this and other programs. This collaboration will include NOLS introducing participants in the nationwide “10,000 Steps to Denali” events to Denali National Park. Denali National Park is partnering to allow a film crew to accompany the Expedition Denali team, document this historic event and share the results with youth across the country.

“NOLS is pleased to be partnering with Denali National Park on this historic climb,” said NOLS Director of Admission and Marketing Bruce Palmer. “[Denali National Park and Preserve] Superintendent Don Striker and his team have been wonderful to work with and it is exciting to see momentum growing around the goal of getting young people, particularly young people of color, outdoors and active.”

“NOLS is a longstanding common partner in inspiring outdoor leadership values, and we are proud to support their efforts through Expedition Denali,” said Don Striker, Denali National Park and Preserve superintendent.

The support of the NPS and Denali National Park and Preserve, as well as partners The North Face, REI, and the Foundation for Youth Investment, are essential in making this historic climb—and the subsequent legacy it will inspire—possible. To learn more or support Expedition Denali, visit https://expeditiondenali.nols.edu/home. 

About NOLS

Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, NOLS is the leader in wilderness education, providing awe-inspiring, transformative experiences to 17,000 students each year. These students, ages 14 to over 80, learn in the wildest and most remote classrooms worldwide—from the Amazon rain forest, to rugged peaks in the Himalaya, to Alaskan glaciers and Arctic tundra. Graduates are active leaders with lifelong environmental ethics and outdoor skills. NOLS also offers customized courses through NOLS Professional Training, and the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute is the leading teacher of wilderness medicine worldwide. For more information, call (800) 710-NOLS (6657) or visit www.nols.edu.