NOLS Blog
Knee Injury While Cross-Country Skiing
The Setting You are cross-country skiing with four of your friends on a beautiful December day. The sun is shining, the temperature is a balmy 25℉, and you’re enjoying feeling the wind against your cheeks as you ski. You are roughly 3 miles into your 6-mile loop. Your moment of enjoyment is broken when, out…
Epistaxis on a Llama Packing Trip
Photo by Nick Springer The Setting It’s day two of a guided family llama packing trip deep in ...
Medicine in Orbit
Space, some say, is the final frontier. For N. Stuart Harris, M.D., M.F.A., Massachusetts General Hospital Emergency Department ...
6 Reasons Why You Should Take A WEMT Course (And Tips for How to Prepare)
Here are the top six reasons why one NOLS Wilderness Medicine grad recommends taking a Wilderness EMT course.
Paul Petzold, the U.S. Army, and NOLS
Paul Petzoldt was 36 years old in 1943 when he joined the U.S. Army’s prestigious 10th Mountain Division, an elite group of soldiers who were trained for alpine warfare. Already decades into his career, the future founder of NOLS had worked a slew of jobs, including farmer, waiter, and used car salesman. He was best…
How to Make Hash Browns with Cheese
Hash browns have a well-deserved reputation as a delicious breakfast treat, but this cheesy version is great for lunch or dinner too—and that’s before you add nuggets of ham or bacon and a few shakes of hot sauce into the mix! This recipe requires a little forethought—both the hash browns and dried onions benefit from…
NOLS Picante Sauce
Picante perks up almost any savory recipe—try it on eggs, beans, in soups and coupled with anything on a tortilla. This, our favorite picante recipe, can be made with a little tomato base and a well-stocked spice kit, but don’t shy away from adding your own favorites! NOLS Picante Sauce (makes about 1 cup) 1…
Backpacking Among Giants: A Trip Report from Norway’s Jotunheimen Mountains
In August of 2025, the inaugural NOLS Alumni Norway Backpacking Trip ventured into the Jotunheimen Mountains for ten days of challenging hiking amongst stunning scenery. Our group first met in Oslo before traveling about five hours by bus to the Jotunheimen region in western Norway. The bus conveniently dropped us off at our first hut of the trip and…
Case Study: Altitude Illness While Trekking
The Setting You are on the trip of a lifetime hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal with one of your best friends. This trip has been in the works for over a year. You’ve spent countless hours training, reviewing maps, and daydreaming about being in the mountains. You can’t believe you’re finally here! You flew…
Grown & Flown: N Phone Calls, No Emails, No Texts
That’s when it hit me: how good it was that we couldn’t connect; that a single phone call or text from me might have undermined the most important part of what he was doing.
My Suburban Life: Life-changing Wilderness Expedition
A three-month wilderness expedition through the Rocky Mountains with National Outdoor Leadership School gave Hellwig focus.
Army and Navy Academy: Cadet Completes NOLS Course
Cadet recently completed a 30-day National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Course in Alaska. The course is designed to develop leadership and ethics while also teaching technical outdoor skills, like map reading and how to exit from a wet kayak
Trail Lovin’: NOLS Pacific Northwest Trip Leader Seminar Overview
Reflections on my own personal outdoor adventure: a 9-day backpacking course with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School)
County 10: CWC Students Make Fascinating Discoveries
CWC students, NOLS grads make fascinating discoveries on Dinwoody Glacier
Huffington Post: I Used to Think The Answer Was a Balanced Life
You would just use map and compass and navigate off landmarks. I learned that at National Outdoor Leadership School, which I did when I was 20. And now I'm insanely into saving the planet with maps through my work. My life has been really different in each of those phases.
Charlotte Observer: Mom of the Week
Mom of the week's early camping days with Girls Scouts led to a summer of rock climbing in the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS ) in the summer of 2014.
Eagle Rock School: Scholarships Foster Leadership Skills
Through our growing relationship with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), Eagle Rock School is awarded a small number of highly coveted scholarships for our students to attend either a NOLS expedition through its Gateway Partnership Program.
Boise Weekly: Mark Blaiser ‘was a dirtbag once’
The evening was calm and peaceful. Mark Blaiser dipped his paddle through the still water of the Kawishiwi River near the border of Minnesota and Canada. The 25-year-old sat silently in his canoe and watched a moose and her calf splash into the river and swim across. The moment struck Blaiser as profound. Now, at 41, Blaiser is the new executive director of Idaho Rivers United, a nonprofit devoted to protecting, conserving and restoring the state's rivers, streams and riparian areas.
Wave3 News: Three Incredible Women Honored for Athletic Achievements
In 1999, Murden McClure became the first woman and American to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She loves to see the changes coming to women’s sports as young women aren't afraid to go after what they want—and it's being recognized
Adirondack Almanack: NOLS Gives Back
This August, NOLS Northeast, in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), hosted a service project trip specifically for NOLS graduates and family members in the Adirondacks.
