“Wilderness has no handrails, no telephones, and no simple solutions for complex emergency situations. It does have dangers. Some are obvious: rock fall, moving water, stormy weather, avalanches, crevasses, and wild animals. Others are subtle: impure water, dehydration, cold and damp weather, altitude illness, and human judgment.” -Tod Schimelpfenig, NOLS Wilderness Medicine

The importance of wilderness medicine knowledge and protocols in disaster zones is tenfold. When resources are depleted, emergency access is delayed, and safely functioning environments become austere, an urban setting ultimately transforms into a modern-day wilderness.

Topics: Alumni, Behind the Scenes, wilderness medicine, risk management, education, wilderness, NOLS Wilderness Medicine

There’s been a debate about it since 1980.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been threatened for years because of the oil within its borders. Due to political pressure, a 1.5 million-acre section of coastal plain was left unprotected. In 1980, Congress renamed the region, calling it the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).

Now, the ANILCA prohibits oil and gas development on that coastal plain, but allows for Congress to permit it in the future.

Topics: Alumni, review, adventure, Environmental Stewardship, wilderness, backcountry, Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability

We can’t put our finger on it, what exactly it is that makes the wilderness so touching and transformative. Perhaps it’s because there isn’t one thing alone that moves us to indulge in the outdoors, but rather a multitude of things combined to impact us all at once and change pieces of us along the way.

Topics: Live the Dream, wilderness, leadership, photos

If you’ve spent any time in the wilderness, you know that how you feel there is special. Wilderness isn’t just a space, an empty shoreline or a quiet grove of trees—it’s a state of mind, too.

Topics: Behind the Scenes, Backpacking, adventure, wilderness, backcountry

As the snow begins to melt from the mountains, there is another season approaching as we transition into spring: mud season.

Topics: Expedition Prep, LNT, leave no trace, education, wilderness, backcountry

Food has always been an important part of learning to live outside comfortably (no one should have to live without cinnamon rolls!), and we’ve spent a lot of time studying the best ways to keep folks healthy when the only food they have is what they’re carrying in a boat or backpack.

Topics: Expedition Prep, National Outdoor Leadership School, cooking, wilderness

As NOLS continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary across the globe, the Wilderness Act celebrates its 51st. It’s not a coincidence: NOLS founder Paul Petzoldt testified before Congress in favor of the Wilderness Act more than five decades ago. And almost six months to the day after the act’s passage, Petzoldt founded NOLS.

Topics: National Outdoor Leadership School, Environmental Stewardship, wilderness

Topics: Alumni, NOLS Rocky Mountain, Live the Dream, wilderness, backcountry, whitewater rafting

Backpacker magazine recently posted this piece online touching on the fact that, regardless of outdoor experience, their female readership were less likely to view themselves as leaders than their male readership, and that needs to change. We agree.

Topics: Alumni, NOLS, National Outdoor Leadership School, climbing, cooking, communication, Backpacking, adventure, kayaking, Outdoors, Live the Dream, mountaineering, video, wilderness, backcountry, leadership

I woke in the middle of the night to cold on my nose and a black strip of sky smattered with stars in my vision. It was all I could see, my sleeping bag cinched up around my face, laid out on the bare ground. I lay there unmoving, every cell of my body awake and aware of itself. It felt as though I’d been tapped on the shoulder, as though some massive universal force had tugged at me, whispering “you need to see this.”

Topics: Alumni, Sea Kayaking, NOLS New Zealand, Live the Dream, mountaineering, wilderness

1. Remoteness

Topics: Behind the Scenes, climbing, Backpacking, NOLS Southwest, wilderness, caving

Topics: Behind the Scenes, adventure, wilderness, backcountry

When most folks visit national parks, it’s a fairly tame experience. They drive to an iconic site, pop out of the car for a few minutes or maybe even an hour, and then go on their way. The wildest moment might be a tussle with another visitor over the best vantage point for photographing Yosemite Falls.

Topics: Environmental Stewardship, wilderness, backcountry, Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, leadership

Topics: Expedition Prep, risk management, education, wilderness, backcountry

A few weeks ago, I visited Utah’s Zion National Park with some friends. When we arrived, we saw countless international groups that had ventured across the globe to explore the famed Utah landscape. While excited for their adventure, I noticed a few insecure faces, and parties that looked ill-prepared to get the most out of their visit, perhaps realizing that the territory was vastly different from what they were used to exploring at home.

Topics: Expedition Prep, National Outdoor Leadership School, Backpacking, NOLS Southwest, education, wilderness, backcountry, Wilderness Medicine