NOLS Blog
Case Study: Fishhooks
The Setting You’re on the first day of a twelve-day whitewater canoeing expedition down the Green River. Your group consists of fifteen students and four instructors. Everyone is paddling close together down a stretch of flat water practicing strokes, building skills, and getting to know one another. Spirits are high. People are laughing, chatting, and…
When Everything Came Into Focus — Hiking Patagonia’s Torres del Paine O Circuit Alumni Trip
Photo: Libby Poston I first learned about the O Circuit in 2025, a year before I actually did ...
Case Study: Heat Illness on an Early-Season Wildland Fire Assignment
Photo by Kirk Rasmussen The Setting You are working on a Type 2 initial attack handcrew in the ...
Rothberg-Birdwhistel Expedition Fund: Panchachuli III Peak Climb
In May 2025, Bharat Bhushan, Prerna Dangi, and I took on a challenge to climb Panchachuli III (6,349m), believed by local residents to remain unclimbed. We aimed to approach it via the northeast route through the Meola Glacier. Despite occasional visits by military and paramilitary personnel, there was no recorded mountaineering information or documented route…
Case Study: Non-Freezing Cold Injury on a Canoe Trip
The Setting You are leading an early-season canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s mid-May, and while the days are mild, the water is still very cold. Travel involves frequent portaging and wading in and out of the canoe to load and unload gear. Despite good effort, everyone’s feet have been wet…
Lou Gordon: Three Decades of Influence
Louise “Lou” Gordon’s office in the Wilderness Medicine wing of NOLS Headquarters is tucked into the perpendicular intersection of two banks of offices, in the center of the activity but quiet and a little reserved. Like Lou herself.
After more than 30 years, the last 6 1/2 as NOLS Wilderness Medicine’s Wilderness EMT Supervisor, Lou is cleaning and packing up her office in preparation for her retirement. Her last day is May 1.
Climate Medicine: Where Climate Change and Healthcare Meet
Springtime has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. Trees and grasses are greening up, flowers are blooming, and birds have returned to greet the morning with song. As many of Earth’s residents head into boreal summer, they know to expect rising temperatures. But what does that heat mean for human health? What happens when infectious diseases…
Summer Travel Programs for Teens: Why Wilderness Expeditions Offer More Than a Passport Stamp
Most summer travel programs for teens promise adventure. A select few actually deliver it. There is a difference between traveling through a place and learning to move through it with skill and intention. That difference is worth understanding before you commit to any program, and before your teen boards a plane. This guide breaks down…
Staying Power
Shari Kearney didn’t just find a place at NOLS—as our longest serving female instructor, she has worked over 424 weeks in the field and influenced generations of students. Shari Kearney is checking on Three Peaks Ranch’s stable of horses, kept on pastures outside of Lander, Wyoming in the offseason. Each autumn, the horses—dozens of them—are…
The Leadership Project: Competence
NOLS Instructor Sanjana Govind introduces us to competence—being skilled both on our own, and as part of a group.
How to Recognize and Treat Diabetic Symptoms Outdoors
When we travel into the backcountry with someone who has diabetes, it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, know how to provide treatment, and understand when we should evacuate someone.
The Leadership Project: Vision & Action
Vision and action is a two-part leadership skill that combines the planning and the follow-up to move leaders toward their goals.
The Leadership Project: Self Awareness
NOLS Instructor Andy Notopoulos talks about the leadership skill self awareness. Subscribe to the NOLSie News to follow along our series exploring the 7 NOLS leadership skills.
The Leadership Project: Expedition Behavior
NOLS Instructor Molly Herber talks about the power and simplicity of the leadership skill expedition behavior as part of our series The Leadership Project
Case Study: An Undefined Rash
When symptoms are hard to define, the skills of decision-making and problem solving become more important. Test what you know in this case study!
NOLS Wilderness Medicine Courses to Reopen in July 2020
After months of planning, NOLS Wilderness Medicine will start running courses for the first time since suspending courses in March due to the global pandemic .
How NOLS Is Reopening Courses Responsibly in the Field
Through careful planning and preparation to mitigate risks of COVID-19, we will be able to welcome students for select courses this summer.
Growing Access to the Outdoors
Enjoy stories from NOLS alumni and partner organizations focused on increasing outdoor access
Case Study: Cold Injuries on a Hike
Do you know how to prevent, recognize, and treat a non-freezing cold injury (NFCI)? Test your wilderness medicine skills with this case study.
The Leader: Spring 2020 Digital Edition
We're sharing our first ever digital-only publication of The Leader alumni magazine for Spring 2020
How to Communicate with Emergency Services Using a SOAP Note
Knowing the SOAP note steps can help communicate accurate information to providers, which is especially useful now that more providers prefer a phone call before coming in with an ailment or injury
