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…
Expedition Denali Completes Climb Safely, with Good Style
Expedition Denali Completes Climb Safely, with Good Style
National Park Service and Denali National Park Support Expedition Denali
National Park Service and Denali National Park Support Expedition Denali
NOLS Partners with Sierra Club in Support of Veterans
NOLS Partners with Sierra Club in Support of Veterans
Rocky Mountain Power Grant Supports the Lander Valley Leadership Expedition
NOLS received a $4,000 grant from the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation to give scholarships for the Lander Valley Leadership Expedition.
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.
