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…
5 Things You Learn from Climbing (That Also Matter in Real Life)
5 Things You Learn from Climbing (That Also Matter in Real Life)
3 Months in the Rockies to 30 Countries in a Year: How a NOLS Alum Went Worldwide
NOLS alum Erica Levine Weber takes her experience on a NOLS semester and turns it into a lifetime of international travel with her family, taking her daughter to 30 countries before her first birthday.
Why Wildlands Studies Attends the Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC)
Why Wildlands Studies Attends the WRMC
Which Wilderness Medicine Course Is Right for You? [Infographic]
Take a look at all your options for wilderness medicine courses
Gado-Gado Spaghetti: A Classic NOLS Recipe
This recipe for a classic noodle dish with peanut sauce is a treat at the end of a long day of adventuring!
6 Secret Ingredients to Try on Your Next Camping Trip
6 Secret Ingredients to Try on Your Next Camping Trip
Ready for Anything
Vital tips for cyclists including: what to do if you break a spoke, what to do if you bonk, what to do if you come across an injured person, how to avoid dangerous weather, how to get un-lost, and what to do if you're in an accident.
6 Reasons Wilderness First Aid Is for Everyone
Take charge of your adventures, your safety, and your life—take a course. Preferably, before you crack your tailbone snowboarding or have a close call with a bear (like I did...)
Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph on Leadership and How to Learn It
Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph on Leadership and How to Learn It
