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…
The Spring Lineup: 5 Custom NOLS Products You Have to Have
It's April 1st! Time to check out a list of the latest custom NOLS gear you can't be without.
Instructor Expeditions of 2018
Learn about the personal expeditions NOLS instructors undertook in the mountains, rivers, and frontcountry for professional development in 2018.
Why You Should Take a Wilderness First Aid Course
Do you enjoy recreating outdoors? Here are the top 7 reasons why you should consider to taking a NOLS Wilderness First Aid course.
Brave, Not Perfect
NOLS grad Mairin Rogers shares what she learned on her Semester in Baja about being brave rather than constantly trying to achieve perfection.
Case Study: A Blow to the Head
Test your knowledge about caring for patients who may have head injuries with this wilderness medicine case study.
“There Is No Limit:” A Kenyan Mountain Guide Advances Her Wilderness Training
Kenyan mountain guide and medic Carol Wanjiru shares her journey on a NOLS course for East African outdoor professionals.
9 Wilderness Medicine Acronyms You Need to Know
So many abbreviations, so little time! Take a look at these need-to-know acronyms for wilderness medicine.
Discovering My—Slightly Strange—New Normal on a NOLS Gap Year
Tricia shares her story of a gap year filled with glacier walks, ABBA songs, and Kiwi slang on a Semester in New Zealand.
Consultation with NOLS Risk Services: A 5-Step Risk Management Review
Check out our 5-step process to performing a thorough risk management review tailored to your organization.
Learning Expedition Behavior With Kids: Winter Edition
Winter is ripe for lessons in expedition behavior (EB) for everyone, especially kids.
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.
