Avoiding The Crowds
NOLS Alumni trip explores new, less visited, route in Iceland.
NOLS Alumni trip explores new, less visited, route in Iceland.
Celebrating the life of Peter Simer, Executive Director of NOLS from 1975 to 1983, we reflect on a leader, a mountaineer, and a friend.
NOLS' first foray into backcountry skiing in Japan with an Alumni Trip.
NOLS Alumni trips announces the closing of our Bahamas program.
“There is magic in the turquoise waters of the Bahamas and it always felt like returning home. Floating in the salty water while people shared their stories of present and past are some of the memories I hold dearly.
A snap, hasty decision in college led me to attend NOLS. Usually a calculated person, l changed my life course in about 60 seconds.
Over 55 years, we've learned the value of NOLS isn't in accomplishments so much as the way a NOLS education inspires and empowers our graduates to ...
In 1990, two people started a business that was remarkable for 2 reasons—most important because the business was dedicated to teaching wilderness ...
What do Marc Randolph, Jimmy Chin, José González, Knight Campbell, and Kit DesLauriers have in common? Listen to their stories to learn how NOLS ...
See the ways NOLS grads are leading in the field of sustainability
We're sharing our first ever digital-only publication of The Leader alumni magazine for Spring 2020
I had no idea I was going to work toward this masterpiece of a race, where I’d blend skills I'd spent years working on for 1,000 miles in the winter ...
Once upon a time, two young bankers met by chance, bonding over their NOLS expeditions in Wyoming's mountains. The rest is history—a true NOLS love ...
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.
NOLS instructor and American Avalanche Association executive director Jaime Musnicki talks about her career in the outdoor industry.
NOLS alumni give advice for taking friends and family on a NOLS alumni trip.
The post author learned that stepping into life back home is as important a skill as living in the wilderness.
Adventuring in nature has the ability to open our hearts and interpretive learning opens our minds.
We found ourselves in a boat pulling away from the only dry land we could see. It looked like a normal city neighborhood had been built in the middle ...
NOLS alumni of all ages come together to repair a bridge in the Adirondacks.
Len Zanni, co-owner of Big Agnes, Inc. and NOLS grad, talked with us about what he’s learned from NOLS and from his years of working in the outdoor ...
Best Time to Take a Gap Year: Discover how any year can be transformed into an impactful and transformative gap year.
Stand out from the crowd by talking about NOLS on your resume
An incident commander reviews a complex cave rescue
My Playground, My Dad, My Leadership Voice
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 ...
3 Tips to Improve Your Outdoor Photography Game
Bee Prepared: WFR Training Applied in Real Life
Take charge of your adventures, your safety, and your life—take a course. Preferably, before you crack your tailbone snowboarding or have a close ...
Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph on Leadership and How to Learn It
When Urban Environments Go Wild: Wilderness Medicine in the Aftermath of Disaster
7 Musical Instruments to Take Backpacking
AmeriCorps and NOLS grad Travis talks about how combining both programs helped him put leadership experience into practice.
Ready for the Challenge: How I Became a Wilderness EMT
Backcountry Chilling Over Oil Drilling [Book Review]
Swedish master mariner and ships’ pilot Jonas Alexanderson tells stories from his 50th birthday present, a NOLS sea kayaking course in Prince William ...
NOLS grad Maya Johnston shares the lessons she learned on a life-changing semester in the wilderness.
Ugly Boxes Doing Beautiful Things: How You Can Do Sustainability
You can make your own low-cost & lightweight instant backpacking meals using items from your local grocery store.
Recording Herding Songs of the Mongolian Steppe
Scott Briscoe on NOLS: It’s a Game Changer [Interview]
How to learn from failure and making mistakes in the mountains.
The Adventure Rolls On: Thriving through Adversity with Eric Thompson
15 Signs You've Taken a Wilderness Medicine Course
How the Wilderness Lets Us Be Our Best Selves [Q&A]
That summer with NOLS cracked me open, so light could get in. The things that ruin us, the things that have us looking up at a star-filled sky ...
Expedition Denali: Where Are They Now?
Come Meet Our 108-Year-Old Founder
A parent talks about spending time away from family and in the wild in Alaska's remote Brooks Range
Love at NOLS, A Valentine’s Day Story
Austin introduces you to the quirks and fun of his horse Cooper, who was his horse during the NOLS Horsepacking - Prime expedition
Games to Stay Entertained in Camp
A look back in history at the documentary 30 Days to Survival
Why My Semester Group Thrived
Your Favorite Posts of 2015
NOLSie New Year's Resolutions
AmeriCorps awards help pay for Wilderness First Responder certification
Why Getting Outside Is Good for Students
A NOLS course in India inspired this adventurer to pursue a lifetime of adventure
Photographer Kedyn Sierra tells his story of Alaska in photos.
No Borders in the Backcountry
A NOLS gap year student reflects on the homestay section of her Year in Patagonia course.
NOLS graduate talks about his NOLS experience, which he funded with veterans benefits through the GI Bill.
The Alps vs. American Wilderness [Interview with Curtis Bartosik, Part 2]
How an Outdoor Enthusiast Managed Two Decades in the City [Interview with Curtis Bartosik, Part 1]
Writing and Trekking: One Woman’s Mission to Walk from Chile to Alaska
Ways to Celebrate Halloween in the Backcountry
The Engineer’s Return in the Yukon: Part Two
Wilderness First Responder, in Cartoons
Photographer, engineer, and adventurer pulled out his camera to document this canoeing and backpacking expedition in Canada's remote Yukon Territory.
Who Needs a Hat? A Lesson from My Australian Adventure
What's in the Wilderness?
Just a few things many women already do that make them leaders in the outdoor activities they love.
Anniversary Amble Athletes Abound
Carolyn remembers her choice between comfort and wilderness, a life of what's easy and a life of healthy challenges.
Look Good, Feel Good: How Gear Has Evolved over the Past 50 Years [Infographic]
5 Things Not to Miss at NOLS’ 50th Anniversary Party
How NOLS Can Get You into College
Teaching "NOLS and Nature Stuff" in Vietnam
There and Back Again: An Intern's Tale
Hot Tang or Hot Chocolate? The NOLS Experience in 1965 and Today
NOLS’ Pip Coe Named a Wyoming Woman of Influence
NOLS grad Natalie Beittel reflects on why she chose to travel to New Zealand for her study abroad semester with NOLS and what she learned from her ...
How to Get a Job in the Outdoor Industry
NOLS graduates Doug Hurley, Sunita Williams, Bob Behnken, and Eric Boe will proudly participate in the first commercial crew transportation system ...
Leadership in Action: Small Business Owner at Age 15
Partnerships Make NOLS Scholarships Possible
Living History in a New-Old Home
Slowing Down in the Absarokas
An interview with Expedition Chef and NOLS Grad Mary Brent Galyean
4 Unusual Ingredients to Enhance Any Backcountry Recipe
Interview with Expedition Denali members Rosemary Saal and Tyrhee Moore on being invited to the White House.
Educator Expedition: Entry Point to Mountaineering
Should my child take a gap year? Gain insights from a parent's perspective and get great advice on why a gap year is a powerful learning tool.
Happy Fourth of July!
Creating Family Time—with Llamas
Which NOLS Course Are You? [Quiz]
Right Place, Right Time, Right Education
Why take a NOLS gap year? NOLS grad Molly Hunt reflects on what she learned during her NOLS gap semester in New Zealand.
Peter Metcalf: NOLS Impressions
Beyond My City Life: Horsepacking in the Rockies