NOLS Blog
Stories from the field
Advice, stories, and inspiration from the wilderness
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 to explore the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu come from? Jorge Anhalzer, a NOLS instructor from Ecuador, and his friend Sam Husley, a NOLS instructor who lives in Peru, proposed it last year. It’s such a spectacular place. Most of our alumni…
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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…
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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.
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Learning Expedition Behavior With Kids: Winter Edition
Winter is ripe for lessons in expedition behavior (EB) for everyone, especially kids.
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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…
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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…
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Everything You Need to Know About Winter Camping
NOLS instructor Katie Oram shares everything she knows about winter camping—we mean everything.
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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.
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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…
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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…
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