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…
NOLS 1965 • 2025 • 2085
NOLS winter camping in the 1970s. It was December 1973, in the midst of a two-week winter course somewhere in the Winds. With our 70+-pound packs, we used seal skins on our wooden Army-issue skis to ascend a steep ridge. The day was clear and very cold. The snow was almost to our knees, as…
How to Make Deluxe Mac and Cheese (and Fried Macs too!) in the Backcountry
Photo by Jordan Cranch Cheesy pasta is a staple for any expedition. This recipe for macaroni and cheese, made deluxe by the addition of butter and dried veggies, is hot and delicious and transitions well from the backcountry to your kitchen at home. Be sure to check out the recipe for NOLS Famous Fried Macs!…
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Mountaineering in Rwenzori Mountains
This 15-day expedition began with an interest to take on a challenge we had not encountered before. One day, after working a contract in East Africa, James “KG” Kagambi, Evan Kuria, and I began discussing enhancing our outdoor skills. Evan suggested we explore the Rwenzori Mountains, the nearest mountains with easy access to a glacier.…
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Climbing in Kyrgyzstan
Thanks to the Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund for NOLS Instructors, Damaris Jaramillo and Nicolas ‘Nico’ Navarrete set out in June of 2023 to spend 17 days climbing in Ak-Su Valley, Kyrgyzstan.
Case Study: A Climbing Fall in Greece
While climbing in Greece with a friend, you witness another climber takes a fall. She swings hard, feet first, into the wall. The rope stops her, but she is clutching her ankle and screaming. what do you and your friend, a WFR and a WEMT respectively, do?
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Canoeing the Hess River
Four friends take to canoes on the Hess River in the Yukon.
Case Study: Fall from a Horse
You witness someone fall from a horse; they are unresponsive. How do you use your Wilderness Medicine skills in this situation?
Alumni Trips: If You Build it, They Will Come: Planning the Inside Passage Expedition
Learn more about the team behind NOLS Alumni Trips.
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Costa Rica Horsepacking
This story tells of the journey of two NOLS instructors and three horses who traveled coast to coast along the Camino De Costa Rica, and learned how community, uncertainty, and laughter became their trusted teachers.
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Patagonia Northern Icefield Expedition
A mountaineering adventure on the Patagonia northern icefield brought four friends together to explore, share, and get challenged in a complex expedition in this remote part of the world.
Case Study: An Abandoned Patient High in the Alpine
After a strenuous hike, you and your team find a tent just off the trail at 11,300 ft. You call out, “Hello, is anyone in the tent? This is search and rescue. We have a report of someone who needs assistance?” See what happens next in this case study.
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa
Lhakpa Sherpa has grit, determination, and goals. As the first woman to summit Mt. Everest ten times and under adverse life circumstances, she prevailed to meet her goals despite the odds by turning challenging situations into opportunities.
