NOLS Blog
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
Photo by Kirk Rasmussen The Setting You are working on a Type 2 initial attack handcrew in the ...
Rothberg-Birdwhistel Expedition Fund: Panchachuli III Peak Climb
Team selfie. In May 2025, Bharat Bhushan, Prerna Dangi, and I took on a challenge to climb Panchachuli ...
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…
Staying Power
Shari Kearney didn’t just find a place at NOLS—as our longest serving female instructor, she has worked over 424 weeks in the field and influenced generations of students. Shari Kearney is checking on Three Peaks Ranch’s stable of horses, kept on pastures outside of Lander, Wyoming in the offseason. Each autumn, the horses—dozens of them—are…
Connection, Resilience, and Dal Bhat: Manaslu Circuit Alumni Trip 2025
In November 2025, five gentlemen, one lady, three guides, and three support staff met in Kathmandu in preparation for a two-week NOLS alumni trek on the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal. Although we were all strangers coming from different parts of the world, our shared excitement for setting foot in the Himalayas was palpable. During those…
Spend Your Bonus on Experiences, Not Things, This Year
The National Outdoor Leadership School offers trips, of all lengths and focuses, so you can ditch the suit and get in touch with mother nature.
Sierra Club’s Military Family & Veterans Initiative Supports Expedition Denali
Sierra Club's Military Family & Veterans Initiative Supports Expedition Denali
Oregon Native Returns from 75-day Alaska Expedition
After spending several days marooned in a whiteout atop a distant Alaskan mountain, 21-year-old Katiya Gombar ventured outside her tent and was immediately stunned by what she saw.
NOLS All-Women’s Expeditions Featured in The Oprah Magazine
In April 2019, The Oprah Magazine featured NOLS’ all-women’s expeditions as one of the top 15 best adult summer camps in the country.
NOLS Cookery Wins 2018 National Outdoor Book Award
The seventh edition of the iconic NOLS Cookery won the classic category of the 2018 National Outdoor Book Awards.
Recognizing Indigenous Leaders in the Outdoor Industry
In honor of 2018 Indigenous People’s Day, SNEWS recognized five indigenous leaders in the outdoor industry, including NOLS Instructor and Senior Marketing Representative Erica Nelson.
Outstanding High School Leader Happiest in the Wilderness
High school senior Eleanor Asma of Lake Bluff, Illinois, reflects on the importance of teamwork to her group’s success on a NOLS Wind River Wilderness course. Recognized for her leadership skills, Eleanor plans further her outdoor education with a Wilderness First Responder course this summer.
WRMC Presents Risk Management Award to Jay A. Satz
Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) presented the eighth annual Charles (Reb) Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Idaho Rescue Training Brings NOLS Wilderness First Aid to Magic Valley
In May 2018, Idaho Rescue Training hosted a two-day NOLS Wilderness First Aid course for Magic Valley residents.
