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…
Aparna Rajagopal Receives Charles (Reb) Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award at the 2019 Wilderness Risk Management Conference
Aparna Rajagopal received the 2019 Charles (Reb) Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award for her significant contributions to the field of risk management in outdoor education and adventure professions.
NOLS Grad Haley Robison Recognized as Top Business Leader
Conscious Company recognized Haley Robison, Kammok CEO and NOLS semester grad, as one of the Top Conscious Business Leaders of 2018.
“Camp Like a Girl” on a NOLS Adventure Course
In an article for Teton Family magazine, Georgie Stanley explains that NOLS adventure courses offer teenage girls like her daughter an empowering opportunity to develop leadership skills while facing real challenges in the wilderness.
UVA Students Test Limits in Patagonia Wilderness
In March 2018, 12 students from UVA’s Darden School of Business embarked on a six-day NOLS course in Patagonia to develop backpacking and leadership skills.
AmeriCorps Grad Uses Education Award to Explore Tanzania
After serving at City Year Boston, Brenna Easton used her AmeriCorps education award to fund her NOLS course in Tanzania.
NOLS Grad Inspires Minneapolis High School Students to Get Outside
In 2013, NOLS grad and high school teacher Randy Baum co-founded the Edison Outdoor Club to expose Minneapolis students to outdoor adventures ranging from backpacking trips to rock climbing and mountain biking.
Outing Clubs: Risk Management and Leadership on Student Trips
In the wake of Penn State Outing Club’s controversial decision to prohibit its student-led outing club from organizing outdoor trips, NOLS Risk Manager Katie Baum Mettenbrink suggests that student leaders complete leadership, risk management, and wilderness first aid training before heading out.
NOLS Grad Advocates for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
Lucas St. Clair, NOLS semester grad and son of the Burt’s Bees founder, played a key role in preserving Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. He's currently the Democratic candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
NOLS and Girls, Inc. Partner to Get Santa Fe Teens Outside
Since 2004, NOLS and Girls, Inc. have worked together to give Santa Fe teens an opportunity to participate in outdoor leadership programs. So far, 22 girls have received scholarships to fund NOLS courses of their choice.
Abby Warner: Leading by Example
One of the school’s longest-serving directors, Abby Warner has the led the team at NOLS Teton Valley since 2003. She was featured in the Summer 2018 edition of the JH Style magazine for her work.
Instructor Marco Johnson Gives Gear Patrol Tips on Building Snow Shelters
In December 2018, Gear Patrol consulted senior NOLS instructor Marco Johnson on how to build snow shelters in the backcountry.
Wilderness Risk Management Conference Welcomes Three New Steering Committee Members and Appoints New Committee Chair
Ahead of the 27th annual Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC), the conference Steering Committee appointed Mike Pigg, Outward Bound USA National Safety Director, as the new chair and welcomed three new members; Elyse Rylander, Partnership Manager at Camber Outdoors and founder of OUT There Adventures and LGBTQ Outdoor Summit; Moleek Busby, Field Operations Senior Manager for the Washington Trails Association (WTA); and Michael Davis, YMCA BOLD & GOLD National Program Manager.
