NOLS Blog
Love and EB: a NOLS Valentine Story
Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, is the one day on the calendar dedicated solely to love and connection. It conjures up cards and gifts, candy and flowers, time spent together, and—in some circles—questions about relationships’ origin stories. At NOLS, I learned when I sat down with a few couples, more than a few romantic partnerships begin…
Outdoor Leadership Programs for High School Students: Why Wilderness Matters
Parents searching for summer opportunities face an overwhelming marketplace of camps, programs, and experiences. Sports camps, academic enrichment, ...
Why Teens Need Leadership Skills: A Guide for Parents
Every parent wants their teenager to succeed—good grades, college acceptance, a fulfilling career. But there's something that predicts ...
Ship’s Log: Sailing in Greece’s Ionian Sea Alumni Trip
After a few days of moderate winds, good introductory sailing and island exploring while making our way to the north coast of Kerkyra along the southern border of Albania, a change in the weather was on the horizon. With the forecast in mind, we tucked into the protected harbor of Gouvia just north of Old…
Teen Gap Year Programs: Adventure-Based Options for Before College
The traditional path says: graduate high school, start college immediately, don’t look back. But a growing number of families and college admissions advisors are questioning this formula—and discovering that what looks like a detour often becomes the most valuable part of the journey. Gap year programs for teens have moved from the fringe to the…
Best Backpacking Trips for Teens: Wilderness Adventures That Build Character
Something happens when a teenager shoulders a pack, leaves cell service behind, and walks into the wilderness. Something that organized sports, academic programs, and traditional summer camps—though these experiences have their benefits—simply cannot replicate. Backpacking trips for teens offer more than adventure. They offer transformation. And for parents searching for experiences that genuinely change their…
Leadership Programs for High School Students: What Parents Need to Know
Your teenager stands at a pivotal moment. The skills they develop now—how they handle challenges, work with others, and step up when it matters—will shape their path through college, careers, and life. But here’s what many parents discover too late: traditional classroom settings rarely build the kind of leadership that matters in the real world.…
The Poley-Poley: A Chronicle in the Himalayas
It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop. —Confucius The air was thick. My strides were slow and purposeful, careful not to disrupt the group’s cadence. The thrill of spotting Everest Base Camp, still two hours away, motivated me to maintain the syncopated rhythm of deep breathing. Hypoxia…
Case Study: Injury on the Grand Canyon
The Setting You’re on day 12 of a 21-day Grand Canyon expedition, enjoying a well deserved stretch of flat water, staring at the canyon walls and not paying attention to what’s downstream. While enjoying the last of your morning coffee, you hear someone cry out from a nearby raft. You look over and see a…
Polymath Mag: My Journey to Becoming Comfortable Being Uncomfortable Through NOLS
Ever since my cousin told me about his NOLS expeditions that he took in high school I had been interested in going on one myself. The fact that I had always had a little bit of wander lust and a major spirit of the wild only helped encourage me to take the plunge and go on this adventure. The summer after my sophomore year of high school I decided that it was the right time for me to take my outdoor Sabbatical.
BioLite: Why Remaining Calm is the Most Important Preparedness Tool
When was the last time you attended a class focused on scaling a mountain face or navigating rapids? For most of us, spending a class period outside on the quad during college was a one time thing. At the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), class is held on the mountain or walking through the woods. Students embark on expeditions where they learn to rock climb, whitewater raft and lead through outdoor challenges. Instructors guide students through extreme scenarios daily so they can learn to remain calm under stress and make good decisions. For the past 30 years, Marco Johnson has actively instructed wilderness education courses while recruiting and training NOLS field staff worldwide. We sat down with Marco to learn how he teaches students to thrive in off grid situations and how we can keep our cool when faced with an indoor emergency. Here are his top three tips:
Slate: What Counts as Wilderness?
When you hear the word wilderness, what do you picture? Vast woods full of leaping stags? A mountain rearing up into the clouds? Jungles tangling in all directions? Or something else entirely?
Casper Star Tribune: NOLS turns 50, talk with former student and founder of Black Diamond
To help recognize NOLS’ 50th anniversary, the Star-Tribune caught up with Peter Metcalf, founder and CEO of international outdoor gear company Black Diamond Equipment and former NOLS student to explain how his experience in the organization helped shape his future.
WPR: National Outdoor Leadership School Celebrates 50 Years
NOLS was founded in Wyoming and is still headquartered in Lander, where it serves tens of thousands of students each year. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caroline Ballard caught up with John Gans, the executive director at NOLS, to hear his take on the school’s 50-year legacy.
Sierra Club Radio: An American Ascent, the first African American expedition to take on Denali
Photographer Hudson Henry on the new documentary An American Ascent, which covers the first African American expedition to take on Denali.
KDLY/KOVE: NOLS Holds Welcome & Opening Event
John Ganns, Director of the Lander based National Outdoor Leadership School, welcomed over seven-hundred returning NOLS graduates , former staff, community members and officials during opening ceremonies last night (Thursday) of the 50th Anniversary of the school, founded in March of 1965 in Lander.
Casper Star Tribune: Congrats to NOLS on 50 Years
Students learn to be adaptable and resourceful. They learn to persevere and to pursue goals doggedly. Those are life skills – skills that will stay with students long after they leave their mountain, desert, jungle or ocean classroom.
County 10: NOLS Celebrated 50th with Reminiscing, Parties, Workshops, Planning
Fifty years ago on March 4, 1965, Judge Jack Nicholas and Paul Petzoldt signed papers establishing the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander,' current NOLS Executive Director John Gans told a large gathering at the Lander Community and Convention Center. 'While Paul was a visionary, he did not envision that today we would be an international school that taught courses in 28 countries, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have chosen ‘National’ for the name.'
RMFI: Staffer Travels to the NOLS 50th Anniversary Party
This month, on October 8th through 10th, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) will celebrate its 50th Anniversary with an alumni reunion full of events and merry-making. The celebration will take place in Lander, Wyoming, the school’s home base. In attendance will be Liz Nichol, RMFI’s Office Manager, who completed her first NOLS course as a student in 1967
County 10: NOLS Celebrates 50 Years with 10th Mountain Division Living History Display
As part of the NOLS 50th Anniversary Celebration, the 10th Mountain Division is hosting a Living History Display featuring the uniforms and equipment that Paul Petzoldt, founder of NOLS, helped develop for the Army. The display includes mountaineering equipment, skis, sleeping bags, packs, climbing boots, and a display of military mountaineering medicine from that time.
AP: Lawsuit Dismissed Against Wilderness School in Hiker’s Death
A contract that a young man signed releasing a Wyoming-based wilderness training academy from liability before his death on a 2011 backpacking trip to India bars his survivors from suing for damages, a federal judge has ruled.
