NOLS Blog
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…
Rothberg-Birdwhistel Expedition Fund: Panchachuli III Peak Climb
Team selfie. In May 2025, Bharat Bhushan, Prerna Dangi, and I took on a challenge to climb Panchachuli ...
Case Study: Non-Freezing Cold Injury on a Canoe Trip
Two people paddle a canoe on a calm river. Photo by Craig Muderlak The Setting You are leading ...
Lou Gordon: Three Decades of Influence
Louise “Lou” Gordon’s office in the Wilderness Medicine wing of NOLS Headquarters is tucked into the perpendicular intersection of two banks of offices, in the center of the activity but quiet and a little reserved. Like Lou herself. After more than 30 years, the last 6 1/2 as NOLS Wilderness Medicine’s Wilderness EMT Supervisor, Lou is cleaning and packing up her office in preparation for her retirement. Her last day is May 1.
Climate Medicine: Where Climate Change and Healthcare Meet
Springtime has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. Trees and grasses are greening up, flowers are blooming, and birds have returned to greet the morning with song. As many of Earth’s residents head into boreal summer, they know to expect rising temperatures. But what does that heat mean for human health? What happens when infectious diseases…
Summer Travel Programs for Teens: Why Wilderness Expeditions Offer More Than a Passport Stamp
Most summer travel programs for teens promise adventure. A select few actually deliver it. There is a difference between traveling through a place and learning to move through it with skill and intention. That difference is worth understanding before you commit to any program, and before your teen boards a plane. This guide breaks down…
Staying Power
Shari Kearney didn’t just find a place at NOLS—as our longest serving female instructor, she has worked over 424 weeks in the field and influenced generations of students. Shari Kearney is checking on Three Peaks Ranch’s stable of horses, kept on pastures outside of Lander, Wyoming in the offseason. Each autumn, the horses—dozens of them—are…
Connection, Resilience, and Dal Bhat: Manaslu Circuit Alumni Trip 2025
In November 2025, five gentlemen, one lady, three guides, and three support staff met in Kathmandu in preparation for a two-week NOLS alumni trek on the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal. Although we were all strangers coming from different parts of the world, our shared excitement for setting foot in the Himalayas was palpable. During those…
Best Summer Programs for Teens: Outdoor Adventures That Build Leaders
Most teens will spend this summer doing something fun, but maybe not so meaningful. Not because they lack ambition, but because the summer camps available to them were designed to center around fun, rather than building long-lasting skills. The difference between a summer that fades and one that becomes a reference point — something your…
Climbing Higher: The New NOLS Look
For the past year, we've been developing a new look and logo for NOLS. I'm glad to share the behind-the-scenes action that created this look and what's ahead.
2016 Holiday Gift Guide
Whether you're shopping for your favorite sustainability nerd or a backcountry fashionista, here are some gift ideas for anyone on your list.
Just Go for It: Making Gap Year a Reality
We caught up with NOLS grad Bailey Barnes to learn more about the challenges—and fun—of a gap year, and how she made her gap year a reality.
A Night in Norway: Why I’m Thankful for My NOLS Wilderness Medicine Field Guide
A WFR graduate recalls responding to a hypothermic patient while stuck in a hut in Norway's mountains.
Pursuing a Passion: Choosing an Outdoor Gap Year
Choose an outdoor gap year! Gap year parent Eugene Buchanan writes about his daughter's surprising decision to take a wilderness-based gap year.
Real Life Scenario: Helicopter Evacuation on the Bailey Range Traverse
3 days into guiding a 9-day trip on the Olympic Peninsula, my colleagues and I noticed that a 65 year old client was showing more fatigue than we thought normal.
Reflecting on the 2016 Wilderness Risk Management Conference
Walking through the Exhibitor Reception the first evening of the WRMC, I met and mingled with a lot of folks dedicated to that same goal of being a leader in crisis situations.
Blood, Sweat, and Cheese: The 10 Rules of Backcountry Living
23 days, 12 students, 4 instructors, and 1 epic adventure. This fall, I participated in an Outdoor Educator course with NOLS in Lander, Wyoming.
5 Gap Year Tips from the Wilderness
Check out these top 5 gap year tips and discover the transformative power of outdoor gap year programs.
First Aid Kit Advice for River Travel
When it comes to rafting down rivers, especially on multi-day adventures, we can usually go ahead and build our own comprehensive first aid kit.
