NOLS Blog
Case Study: Dental Emergency while Rafting
A member of your rafting party loses a tooth partway through a 4-day trip. How do you respond?
Case Study: Sea Kayaking Slip
photo credit: Liz Schultz The Setting You are enjoying an amazing day of paddling on Prince William Sound ...
Gap Year Pros and Cons: Solo vs. Group
Taking a gap year can be a transformative experience that expands your horizons, fosters personal growth, and unlocks ...
Trip Report: Inaugural NOLS Alumni Climbing Trip In Greece
In May of 2025, the Inaugural NOLS Alumni Greece Climbing Trip traveled to the Greek island of Kalymnos, one of the most famous climbing destinations in the world. Our small but mighty group of alumni and NOLS instructors climbed, swam, staged breathtaking photo shoots, practiced climbing skills, visited nearby islands, sampled the best spinach pies…
Exploring the World and Finding Yourself: The Power of a Gap Year After High School
Discover the power of taking a gap year after high school—adventure, cultural immersion, and self-reflection highlight this transformative experience.
Case Study: Embedded Tick while Backpacking
In the Appalachian Mountains of New York you friend notices that they have an engorged tick on their leg. How would you apply your wilderness medicine skills in this scenario?
Instructor Spotlight: Caeden Greene
A NOLS experience can truly be a transformative experience for a young person’s life, and that was certainly the case for field instructor Caeden Greene. In high school, Caeden embarked on a 30-day Waddington Range Mountaineering Expedition (WAD), long known as one of NOLS’ most rigorous courses. The WAD expedition had such a profound effect…
Case Study: Jellyfish Sting in Paradise
Ouch! Your friend gets stung by a jellyfish while you're out surfing. How do you respond?
Through the Diamond Heart of Brazil: Our Next Alumni Adventure!
Lush valleys, waterfalls, ancient ruins, and diamonds can all be found in Brazil’s Chapada Diamantina National Park, the backdrop for one of NOLS’ newest alumni trips. Murilo Bellese and Moaci Dantas, the trip’s primary architects, share a little more about the trip and what makes it special. Looking out over Chapada Diamantina National Park. Photo…
Sketchfervor: WFR a.k.a. Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness First Responder course described with cartoons
Sports Guide: Forging New Paths
When Cole Medders signed up for the Spring Semester in the Rockies, he fulfilled a long-held desire to move out West and explore the wild. The course began in February with a winter camping excursion in Wyoming’s Absaroka Mountains. The group practiced backcountry skiing, avalanche rescue, and built igloos to take shelter from the elements, which Medders says was the highlight of his NOLS experience. “It felt like you were really surviving out there,” he says. “It got down to -20 or -30 degrees some nights and we were way out in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, just surviving this environment that people aren’t really supposed to be in. It’s very empowering.”
Recorder: One In-Tent Kid
Deerfield 14-year-old makes outdoors his home for 200 days straight — so far. He also camped out during his two-week National Outdoor Leadership School trip this summer in the Adirondacks, where he hiked 44 miles and up 17,000 vertical feet over 12 days."
High Point: Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph to Speak at HPU
Marc Randolph, the co-founder of Netflix and an entrepreneur who changed the way we watch movies and television, will visit the campus of High Point University on Nov. 2. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, works extensively with young entrepreneur programs and is a trustee of the non-profit National Outdoor Leadership School.
County 10: Lawsuit against NOLS regarding student’s death in India officially dismissed
Last week, in the midst of the National Outdoor Leadership School’s 50th anniversary festivities, it received word that a federal judge in Cheyenne had dismissed a lawsuit against it.
Addicted to Oil? NOLS RVO Bus Runs Independent of Nation’s Energy Woes
Addicted to Oil? NOLS RVO Bus Runs Independent of Nation's Energy Woes
