NOLS Blog
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…
Rothberg-Birdwhistel Expedition Fund: Panchachuli III Peak Climb
Team selfie. In May 2025, Bharat Bhushan, Prerna Dangi, and I took on a challenge to climb Panchachuli ...
Case Study: Non-Freezing Cold Injury on a Canoe Trip
Two people paddle a canoe on a calm river. Photo by Craig Muderlak The Setting You are leading ...
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…
Connection, Resilience, and Dal Bhat: Manaslu Circuit Alumni Trip 2025
In November 2025, five gentlemen, one lady, three guides, and three support staff met in Kathmandu in preparation for a two-week NOLS alumni trek on the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal. Although we were all strangers coming from different parts of the world, our shared excitement for setting foot in the Himalayas was palpable. During those…
Best Summer Programs for Teens: Outdoor Adventures That Build Leaders
Most teens will spend this summer doing something fun, but maybe not so meaningful. Not because they lack ambition, but because the summer camps available to them were designed to center around fun, rather than building long-lasting skills. The difference between a summer that fades and one that becomes a reference point — something your…
How to Ford a River
To learn how to safely ford a river, we called Marco Johnson, a NOLS field instructor who for over 30 years has traveled the globe teaching wilderness courses.
Outdoor Recreation Bolsters Wyoming’s Economy with $5.6 Billion Annually in Consumer Spending and 50,000 Jobs
Outdoor recreation in Wyoming generates $5.6 billion annually in spending, contributes a whopping 50,000 jobs, and $514 million in state and local tax revenue.
Veterans group uses the outdoors, mountaineering to prevent suicides
When the Iraq combat veteran Andrew Collins realized every time he felt lost, or the noise grew louder in his head, he grabbed his backpack and headed outside.
Getting Kids Into the Outdoors Starts in the Backyard
A guy who’s required to know all of them is John Gans, the executive director of NOLS, which teaches survival skills, risk management, and leadership.
NOLS Joins “We Are Still In” Paris Agreement Coalition
On July 17, 2017, NOLS joined the “We Are Still In” coalition of Paris Agreement supporters within the United States.
Should You Become a Wilderness First Responder?
Many park rangers, guides, and outdoor enthusiasts become wilderness first responders, a certification offered by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
How To Be a Nature Lover Without Leaving a Footprint
In 1990, the Forest Service contracted with NOLS to create low-impact pedagogy and training. From this work emerged Leave No Trace and its seven-step program.
Why good leaders need to be comfortable with uncertainty
Tori Murden McClure, president of Spalding University, rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She learned about leadership from her outdoor adventures.
3,600 Miles and a dream
Ben Urmston has lived his life in pursuit of becoming an astronaut. He has degree in aerospace engineering and has been an instructor at NOLS for a decade.
How mentoring built me … and my business
As a “Summer Searcher,” I went on a National Outdoor Leadership School backpacking course in Wyoming. This experience instilled an entrepreneurial spirit in me.
Gap Year Leads to Evanston Resident’s Wild Adventure in Patagonia
When Jack Cleave was thinking about taking a gap year between high school and college, he never dreamed he'd end up hiking mountains in Patagonia with NOLS.
WY Not: Students of the Wilderness
Relying heavily on experiential education, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) works with over 24,000 students a year. Students are pushed to their potential.
