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…
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.
Case Study: A Slip on a Slope
Your hiking partner slips on a snowy slope and slides head-first into a tree. What do you do next?
NOLS Alumni Skiing Under Sweden’s Northern Lights: Trip Report with Dirk Kramer
In March 2024, two groups of NOLS alumni ventured into Sweden's Arctic winter. Although they faced the cold, the kind hospitality of Sweden's locals, hard-earned days skiing, and several sauna sessions left them returning home warm and happy with new memories.
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Climbing Alaska’s Mount Fairweather
Thanks to the Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund for NOLS Instructors, John Sims and Brian Sarge set out in the spring of 2023 to climb Mt. Fairweather's Carpe Ridge in Alaska.
Packrafting Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to Essential Packrafting Skills
This beginner’s guide to packrafting basics covers everything from essential gear to paddling and self-rescue skills. Prepare for your next packrafting adventure with NOLS.
The 2023 Denali Science Expedition
During the summer of 2023, NOLS instructor and PhD candidate Emma Erwin led a scientific expedition in the high peaks of Denali National Park to help characterize the behavior and age of glaciers on Denali and Begguya (Mt. Hunter). This all-female expedition navigated a season of challenging weather to come away with an exciting new scientific data set from the summit plateau of Begguya.
Case Study: Heat Cramps on the Rio Grande
On a paddling trip in Big Bend National Park, a participant starts having leg spasms. What do you do?
What is Packrafting?
What is packrafting? Learn the unique history of this adventure sport and what makes it so awesome for exploring water and land!
How to Prevent Altitude Sickness: From Acute Mountain Sickness to Severe Altitude Illness
Learn how to prevent altitude sickness with NOLS wilderness medicine courses. Take a proactive approach to your next mountain adventure.
Case Study: Burn in the Backcountry
A student gets a hot water burn deep in the backcountry. What do you do?
