NOLS Blog
Case Study: Chest Injury with Fall
The Setting You are on a climbing trip in Red Rocks, Nevada. You’ve spent the last week dialing in your climbing, swapping beta with new friends at the crag and soaking up the desert sun. Today, you decide to take a break from long routes and focus on bouldering. You’re chalking up, eyeing a new…
Backpacking the Vilcabamba Valley to Machu Picchu Alumni Trip: Inaugural Trip Reflection
An Interview with Kellsie Forbes, NOLS Alumni Trips Manager Where did the idea to create an alumni trip ...
Alumni Spotlight: How my NOLS Course Impacted My Career
Almost exactly 10 years after coming to Alaska for the first time to take a NOLS course, Asa ...
The Wilderness Risk Management Conference: a Conference and a Community
An interview with Elyse Rylander, Wilderness Risk Management Steering Committee Chair The 33rd annual Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) will be held this fall, October 20 – 22nd, in Portland, Oregon. If you haven’t attended yet, the WRMC was developed from the work of multiple outdoor programs who wanted to create a space to foster…
Case Study: Bear Spray in the Face
The Setting You are almost done with a 3-day backpacking trip in the Wind River Mountain Range of Wyoming with two of your friends. You only have a couple miles left to get back to the car, and you’re already dreaming of the cheeseburger and milkshake you’re going to have once back in town. Prior…
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
I first learned about the O Circuit in 2025, a year before I actually did it. My wife and I were in Patagonia on a Road Scholar trip. It started with a cruise through the Strait of Magellan and the Darwin Passage, followed by a few days in Torres del Paine National Park doing short…
Case Study: Heat Illness on an Early-Season Wildland Fire Assignment
The Setting You are working on a Type 2 initial attack handcrew in the Deschutes National Forest during the early part of fire season. It’s one of the first assignments of the year, and while conditions aren’t extreme yet, temperatures have climbed into the mid-80s°F with full sun exposure on a south-facing slope. The crew…
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…
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
Our Human Expedition: Stories of Courage in Uncertainty
We are committed to highlighting the inspirational and brave work of those in the NOLS community serving others in need during this crisis
Quiz: What’s Your Leadership Style?
Everyone has their own signature leadership style—but where do you find yourself most?
Wilderness Medicine for Summer Runners
To reduce the strain on local health care facilities during a global crisis, you can step up and use your first aid training to treat some injuries at home.
Case Study: Spinal Injuries from a Fall
Do you know the proper protocols for a patient with a suspected spine injury?
Students, Sustainability, and Showing Up
An open conversation with NOLS Instructor and Environmental Stewardship Coordinator Jonathan Williams.
Carbon Offsets: Making Outdoor Recreation More Sustainable
What if LNT also meant taking it a step further and trying to reduce your impact before you even set foot in the wilderness?
How to Make (Irresistible) Fudge No-Bake Cookies
Give these tasty no-bake cookies a whirl on your next backcountry trip (they also taste good at home...).
The Hurrier I Go: What This Winter Taught Me about Patience in the Mountains
Instructor Navarana reflects on what it means to practice patience and compassion in the face of adversity, using outdoor experiences to frame her learning.
