NOLS Blog
How to Make Hash Browns with Cheese
Hash browns have a well-deserved reputation as a delicious breakfast treat, but this cheesy version is great for lunch or dinner too—and that’s before you add nuggets of ham or bacon and a few shakes of hot sauce into the mix! This recipe requires a little forethought—both the hash browns and dried onions benefit from…
NOLS Picante Sauce
Picante perks up almost any savory recipe—try it on eggs, beans, in soups and coupled with anything on ...
Backpacking Among Giants: A Trip Report from Norway’s Jotunheimen Mountains
Photo by Amanda Klein In August of 2025, the inaugural NOLS Alumni Norway Backpacking Trip ventured into the Jotunheimen Mountains ...
Case Study: Altitude Illness While Trekking
The Setting You are on the trip of a lifetime hiking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal with one of your best friends. This trip has been in the works for over a year. You’ve spent countless hours training, reviewing maps, and daydreaming about being in the mountains. You can’t believe you’re finally here! You flew…
What a NOLS Risk Review Really Looks Like: A Case Study with NatureBridge
In the same year as NOLS’ 60th anniversary, we are celebrating 20 years since the formation of NOLS Risk Services. For 60 years, NOLS has operated in remote locations all over the world, and in 2005, NOLS Risk Services was formed to share what NOLS has learned about operational risk management in the process. NOLS…
Case Study: Dental Emergency while RaftingÂ
A member of your rafting party loses a tooth partway through a 4-day trip. How do you respond?
Where Play Meets Purpose: A Journey Through the Canyons
Since 2022, NOLS and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business have collaborated on a yearly weeklong expedition to the canyons in southeastern Utah. This expedition is the culmination of a semester-long leadership course for Ross undergraduate students. It combines concepts and learnings from the classroom course with the NOLS leadership curriculum in a…
Rothberg-Birdwhistell Exploration Fund: Expedition to the Peruvian Andes
In the spring of 2025, we set out on an Alpine and ski mountaineering expedition to Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. As outdoor educators with experience leading students on NOLS courses, our team shares a deep commitment to learning through challenge and a connection to wild places. Our goals: explore new terrain, attempt several high peaks, and…
How to Make Oat Scones in the Backcountry
Oat scones taste delicious plain or with honey, peanut butter, wild berry jam, or cheese. They are also excellent with soups or casseroles and make good trail food. Oat Scones ½ cup butter 2 cups oatmeal 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder Pinch of salt (allows recipe to use less sweetener) ¼ cup honey or brown sugar…
Andrew Bobilya: Taking the Classroom Outdoors
Now an associate professor at Western Carolina University, NOLS grad Andrew Bobilya still treasures the lessons he learned on his Baja sea kayaking course.
Case Study: A Backcountry First Aid Mystery from the ’80s
Test your knowledge with a case study based on a real event in the '80s where Wilderness First Responders aided a hiker suffering from weakness and lethargy.
Everything You Need to Know About Winter Camping
NOLS instructor Katie Oram shares everything she knows about winter camping—we mean everything.
The Places that Scare You: First Ascents on Patagonia’s Northern Icefield
NOLS Instructor Willy Oppenheim describes the difficulties and exhilaration of a stunning first ascent of two peaks in Chilean Patagonia.
Case Study: Is That Frostbite?
The patient commented that their toes have been cold and numb all day, but thought they could get by until getting into their sleeping bag. Read the full case study to see what you know about frostbite.
A New Map: A NOLS Grad’s Journey to Walking Again
While recovering from a devastating injury, Jim Harris found himself returning to key life lessons he learned as a teen on a NOLS backpacking course.
Best of NOLS Instagram in 2018
Your favorite photos of wilderness, friendship, and leadership from the NOLS Instagram account in 2018.
Your 8 Favorite Wilderness Medicine Posts of 2018
As 2018 wraps up, our team gathered this year’s most popular wilderness medicine topics from the NOLS Blog.
Leading in the Avalanche Safety and Education Industry
NOLS instructor and American Avalanche Association executive director Jaime Musnicki talks about her career in the outdoor industry.
Meeting the Experts: NOLS Winter Instructor Kate Koons
Skiing and winter camping are the bread and butter of NOLS winter instructor Kate Koons
New Perspectives on Risk Management: WRMC 2018
The WRMC is about community as much as it is about improving risk management practices, as NOLS staffer Day Scott writes.
Do NOLS Even (and Especially) If You’re Scared
In the middle of a semester of complete chaos, Olivia Hewitt decided to take a NOLS course and writes about why you should do a NOLS course even - and especially if - you're scared
