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…
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
NOLS President John Gans Announces Retirement
John Gans is NOLS' longest-serving director and his tenure has been notable for strengthening the school and prioritizing the well-being and needs of students.
Help Your Friends Love NOLS Alumni Trips
NOLS alumni give advice for taking friends and family on a NOLS alumni trip.
