NOLS Blog
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
Photo: Lindsay Nohl The Setting You’re on the first day of a twelve-day whitewater canoeing expedition down the ...
When Everything Came Into Focus — Hiking Patagonia’s Torres del Paine O Circuit Alumni Trip
Photo: Libby Poston I first learned about the O Circuit in 2025, a year before I actually did ...
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…
Case Study: Non-Freezing Cold Injury on a Canoe Trip
The Setting You are leading an early-season canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It’s mid-May, and while the days are mild, the water is still very cold. Travel involves frequent portaging and wading in and out of the canoe to load and unload gear. Despite good effort, everyone’s feet have been wet…
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…
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.
Instructor Profile: Susan Brame
Alumni Trips instructor Susan Brame talks about the impetus behind the new Portugal trips.
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Mount Hooker Expedition
An expedition to climb Mount Hooker in the Wind River Range via “The Optimist.” The trip provided ample learning, an opportunity to scout a new route at Hailey Pass, and a mountain birthday celebration.
Case Study: Shortness of Breath While Fishing
Test your wilderness medicine skills to see how you would respond to this first-aid scenario.
