Pulling Forms from New Walls
Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus continues to take shape with completion of foundation walls at the main facility. Steel forms, pictured below, are assembled to be perfectly level, square, and plumb.
Before concrete is delivered, blankets are used to keep the cavity between the forms from accumulating snow. After the concrete is poured, hoses with circulating anti-freeze are draped over the forms and then covered by blankets once more.
With mild January temperatures, we could probably get by with a day or two of supplemental heat. Instead, we're choosing to give the concrete heat and support for three days before peeling back the blankets and popping off the forms. Then the heat goes back on with blankets for a few more days.
The resulting walls are pale when first exposed. The photo above illustrates the basement access door, diamond and square shaped pads for future columns, and washed stone that has been backfilled and tamped to a flat compated surface. Rain storage tanks will sit on the gravel between the posts.
The walls top more than 10' in spots but backfilling dirt against insulation will limit the amount of wall that will stick up above outside ground level. No concrete will be visible from the outside when we finish- the wall will be completely insulated and covered with cement based stucco and a blend of different metal finishes.
Six days after pouring, the excavators and loaders are packing dirt into the exterior nooks and crannies to establish the rough elevation of final grade. There will be a lot of hard use of the area right around the building so all landscaping will be put on hold until we are much closer to completion. For now, the limited snow and above freezing temperatures are keeping the site muddy and spring-like but we still have a lot of winter to go.
Permalink | Posted by jstoddard on Jan 31, 2012 in the following categories: Wilderness Medicine Institute, Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus
It's heating up in the Southwest!
Our first and only semester course of the season has begun and we have a great group of students and an all-star Instructor team in the field.
The semester began with a Wilderness First Aid course taught by WMI, the students received some great backcountry medical and CPR training while camping here at the branch.
The semester will consist of a backpacking section in the Galiuro, a river section down the historic Rio Grande, rock climbing at Cochise Stronghold and an Independent Student Expedition to the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico (backpacking).
On the home front, we have outgrown our current compost bin and have been busy redesigning a larger system. Andrew and Travis attended the Tucson Compost Expo, talked with local compost experts and got some great tips on composting in the Southwest.
Permalink | Posted by Lindsay Nohl on Jan 31, 2012 in the following categories: Southwest
Adventure Medical Kits Supports the NOLS Scholarship Fund
Demonstrating their commitment to outdoor education and safety, Adventure Medical Kits (AMK) raised money for NOLS last month at the 2012 Outdoor Retailer (OR) Winter Market. During the first two days of OR, AMK sold their award-winning SOL Escape Bivvy with all proceeds going to the NOLS Scholarship Fund.
The bivvy is AMK’s new, heat reflective, highly water resistant, windproof, and, most importantly, breathable emergency shelter or primary sleep system for backcountry adventures. It weighs a trim 8.5 ounces, and at $50, it’s very affordable. Although it just began shipping this month, the SOL Escape Bivvy has already gleaned awards for 2011 Gear of the Year from both Gear Junkie and National Geographic Adventure.
So why did AMK decide to donate their proceeds to the NOLS Scholarship Fund?
“The question is more like, why didn’t we do this earlier?” explained AMK Chief Marketing Officer Frank Meyer, “I think the opportunity to learn outdoor and leadership skills should be afforded to as many people as possible regardless of income level.”
Each year, NOLS offers more than $1 million in scholarship assistance to applicants who demonstrate great potential to excel as NOLS students but lack the financial means to attend. Without the generous support of staff, alumni, the broader NOLS community, and organizations like Adventure Medical Kits, many students would not be able to experience an NOLS education.
“Adventure Medical Kits’ donation to the NOLS scholarship fund through the sales of Escape Bivvys at Outdoor Retailer was a great way to show our support to a core group of outdoor users,” concluded Meyer, “We look forward to continuing to support NOLS in the future.”
To learn more about the NOLS Scholarship Fund and Campaign NOLS: Endowing Our Core Values, click here.
Permalink | Posted by Larkin Flora on Jan 31, 2012 in the following categories: Campaign NOLS, In The News
NOLS Works With Wildland Firefighters
Members of NOLS Professional Training recently journeyed from Wyoming to California to prepare for the Wildland Firefighter Apprenticeship Program’s L-380 course. Modeled after other NOLS wilderness expeditions, the seven-day L-380 is run primarily in the backcountry where elements like environment, terrain, and weather create realistic and relevant leadership training for wildland firefighters.
The instructor teams for each of the six courses (pictured above) are comprised of NOLS instructors and Agency Unit Instructors (AUI). While NOLS and Wildland Firefighters operate in similar environments and share many goals regarding land preservation, the pre-course briefing addresses some of the cultural differences between the two organizations.
Above, a group of NOLS instructors reacts to an image of wildland firefighter boots sitting by a fire. Below, the AUI hold a similar dialogue about a picture of hiking boots under a tent.
Although each pair of boots is tailored for a specific purpose, none of the instructors could perform their job without foot protection, just as both jobs require leadership. In the end, leadership is leadership, no matter what type of boots you wear.
Permalink | Posted by Alison Hudson on Jan 30, 2012 in the following categories: Leadership, Professional Training
NOLS NZ IS BACK IN ACTION!
After a break through the holiday season the NOLS NZ branch is back in action. It is buzzing with energy from a full house of excited staff and students who are ready to kick off and head out on their adventures ahead...
Currently we have our first two Semester groups arrive and prepare for their 75 day expedition…
New Zealand Semester 1 01/26/2012
NZS 1: M Belisle, W Chichester, B Jansen, M Jones, A Lewis, R Malouf, M March, S Mason, M McGinnis, L Zarske.
They are about to head up to Kaikoura where they will be learning about some of New Zealands cultural history and from there heading towards the Clarence river for the canoeing section of their expedition. Below is a photo of their canoeing instructors:
Karen Bruce, Sheldon Lee, Marcelo Silveira and Dale Shaw
Here is an outline of their expedition:
Cultural: 28 Jan
1 – Canoeing: 29 Jan to 21 Feb
Field switch: 21 Feb
2 – Sea Kayaking: 21 Feb to 14 Mar
In town: 14 & 15 Feb
3 – Hiking: 15 Feb to 10 Apr
In town: 10 Apr
Course ends: 11 Apr
New Zealand Semester 2 01/26/2012
NZS 2: S Carlson, M Chase, R Crabtree, J Downing, J Elwell, W Hodde, T Huntington, E Pauken, L Sagatov, J Trousil.
They also are about to head up to Kaikoura, where they will be learning about some of New Zealands cultural history and from there heading towards the Marlborough Sounds for the sea kayaking section of their expedition. Below is a photo of their sea kayaking instructors:
Karin Ochsner, Mike Downs and Was Noles.
Here is an outline of their expedition:
Cultural: 28 Jan
1 – Sea Kayaking: 29 Jan to 28 Feb
Field switch: 28 Feb
2 – Hiking: 28 Feb to 30 Mar
Field Switch: 30 & 31 Mar
3 – Sailing: 31 Mar to 10 Apr
In town: 10 Apr
Course ends: 11 Apr
We wish our first two Semester groups good luck on their journey. Within the first 24 hours they have already experienced New Zealand's classic weather patterns from a blistering hot nor-west system to a wet n wild southerly leaving snow on the mountains. Welcome to summer in New Zealand!
Permalink | Posted by Jacqui Berry on Jan 26, 2012 in the following categories: New Zealand
NOLS Leadership Visits National Parks
For the third consecutive year, NOLS Professional Training offered leadership training to the National Park Service's Generating Organizational Advancement and Leadership (GOAL) Academy. The photo below depicts NPS employees participating in a team challenge for a Leadership Navigation Course held in a snow-covered Grand Teton National Park.
Each year the GOAL Academy invites NPS employees to participate in a 10-month program focused on leadership development and managing projects to support the National Parks. In 2009 and 2010 the training was held in Grand Canyon National Park for 20 NPS employees. The 2011 program expanded to include a training in Grand Teton National Park as well as a training at the Grand Canyon. Interest in the program was high, with applicant numbers far exceeding the allotted spaces.
NOLS Professional Training enjoys the overlap of values and a shared "backyard" when working with the National Park Service. Congratulations to this year's GOAL Academy cohort!
Permalink | Posted by Alison Hudson on Jan 26, 2012 in the following categories: Leadership, Professional Training
NOLS receives Anchor Award
Last Friday, the Lander Chamber of Commerce presented NOLS with a special honor. During the annual Community Awards Banquet, NOLS was named the community’s anchor business of 2011.
This award is presented to “a business that has survived the challenge of time with endurance and perseverance,” traits NOLS has always rxpected of its staff, faculty, and students.
NOLS Alumni and Development Director Pip Coe, NOLS Rocky Mountain Program Director Chris Brauneis, and NOLS Finance and Investments Director Jeff Buchanan attended the annual Chamber Banquet Friday to accept the honor, which Chamber Board member Krista Lobera presented.
In 1965, Paul Petzold selected Lander as the perfect host to his unprecedented business idea: a school in which outdoor leaders would be molded. In the nearly 47 years since the first course embarked from Sinks Canyon, NOLS has developed into an international organization, still proudly based in Lander, Wyo.
As NOLS has expand from that first 30-day course in the summer of 1965, it has reached a point of educating 16,500 students annually about those things that mean the most to the people who make Lander home: outdoor recreation, backcountry appreciation, and wilderness protection.
It is an honor to be named a community anchor of Lander, and NOLS will only continue to find ways to give back to the community that has nurtured it from its beginnings.
Permalink | Posted by Casey Dean on Jan 25, 2012 in the following categories: In The News, Rocky Mountain
NOLS Southwest off to a great start
We have hit the ground running here at NOLS SW with two Outdoor Educator courses already in the field!
We have one group traveling in the KOFA Wildlife Refuge and another in the Galiuro Wilderness. They will be transitioning to the climbing portion of the course in a few weeks.
SOE 1 and 2 both enjoyed their first re-ration and were glad to see some new ingredients after a hard but rewarding week in the backcountry.
SOE 1in the KOFA had the opportunity to meet with land managers and ended their re-ration day with a campfire talk about the history and wildlife of the refuge from members of the Fish and Wildlife Service. The following morning the group participated in a service project with Fish and Wildlife to help preserve a historic gold mining camp and reclaim some heavily used areas within the refuge.
SOE 2 had a successful re-ration as well and has had favorable weather in the rugged Galiuro.
Both courses are in high spirits and are excited to be in the Southwest!
Permalink | Posted by Lindsay Nohl on Jan 20, 2012 in the following categories: Southwest
Patagonia Summer Season Begins!
The NOLS Patagonia summer season is off to a great start. In the last two weeks, we've had 6 courses leave for the field. The weather here has been atypically warm and sunny and generally beautiful and, while I hope not to jinx them, we hope it remains this way throughout the rest of the season.
Three Andes Mountain Traverse (AMT) arrived at the branch on January 6th and left the following day. They will all be in the mountains for one month and will finish their courses on February 8th. AMT1 (see photo below) started by hiking up Rio El Cañal towards the Meliquina Ridge. Currently they should be traversing the Meliquina Plateau, which they will continue to do for approximately one week before heading to Leones, where they will finish their course.
The AMT2 students (see photo below) rode the NOLS bus south towards Cochrane to start their course at Cordón Salto, where they've been hiking for the past 10 days. At the moment, they are ferrying their re-ration food and fuel to their next hiking destination at Cerro San Lorenzo, the second-highest peak in the Patagonian Andes. They will spend most of the remainder of their course exploring this magnificent mountain before embarking on their Independent Student Group Expedition (ISGE) in the Cordón Esmeralda region.
The AMT3 course will spend their course exploring Cerro Colmillo and the surrounding area. On this mountain, they will develop their camping and navigation skills before moving onto the snow and working on glacier travel and alpine climbing techniques.
The January 13 Semeter Course (JSPM 1/13) arrived at the campo and spent 2.5 days finishing their Wilderness First Aid requirements. Throughout the following two days, they were issued kayaking and mountaineering gear and they bagged nearly two tons of food to sustain them over the next 12 weeks. They left the NOLS branch Wednesday morning heading towards the Archipiélago de Los Chonos, where they will be sea kayaking for the next month. They plan to paddle NW from Puerto Aguirre out to the open ocean before heading east again to their pick-up point at Las Toninas.
Last but certainly not least are the two PY courses. They arrived back at NOLS Patagonia anxious to get back into the field. The PY1 students are spending the month in their sea kayaks in the Archipiélago de Los Chonos. Starting at Las Toninas, they will paddle north, exploring the archipelago before arriving at Puerta Marin Balmaceda at the beginning of February.
The PY2 students are spending two weeks on the 'Cultural Section' of their course followed by two weeks of rock climbing camp near Puerto Ibañez. During the cultural section, students live with Patagonian families in order to get a real-world taste of the local culture. On the rock climbing section, they will learn safe and efficient techniques for climbing in sport, trad, and top-rope situations, often in areas that have never been climbed.
We wish all of our courses the best of luck and are anxious to hear all about their experiences in Patagonia!
Permalink | Posted by Nathan Fry on Jan 19, 2012 in the following categories: Patagonia
Comment While You Can
If you've spent time in or around Lander, Wyo., on a NOLS course or otherwise, you've likely eperienced the access it offers to world class recreating. This week you have the opportunity to impact how these lands are managed in the future. Friday, Jan. 20 marks the end of the public comment period for the new Resource Management Plan (RMP) prepared by the Lander Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The RMP will provide instructions for the management of 2.5 million acres of BLM surface land and 2.7 million acres of BLM mineral estate in central Wyoming. For more details on the RMP, take a look at the BLM website.
The RMP's management prescriptions have potential impacts for both NOLS operating areas (including Split Rock, Sinks Canyon, Sweetwater Canyon, and Red Canyon), and other popular destinations (such as Johnny Behind the Rocks, The Beaver Creek Ski Area, and The Bus at Baldwin Creek) in and around Lander.
Photo Credit: Brian Fabel
Sunset at Sweetwater Rocks
Up for debate is whether these popular areas remain under the current, more protective, Special Recreation Management (SRMA) designation or transition into the more permissive Extensive Recreation Management (ERMA) designation. This change is encompassed in a range of alternatives that the Lander BLM has developed for the region. Alternative C prescribes the most intensive resource utilization; B, the most resource protection; A, a continuation of the current RMP; and D, known as the “preferred option,” a compromise between Alt. C and Alt. B.
Photo Credit: Rick Bieterman
Views like this make the Lander Field Office planning area a spectacular place to recreate.
If you appreciate the amazing access available in the Lander area and want to protect these public lands for future generations, send a comment to the BLM. In your comment, specify support for an RMP that values and maintains the recreation options that define Lander and make it such a great place to live and visit.
Outcomes to consider:
Folks who enjoy climbing at Sweetwater Rocks (Split Rock and Lankin Dome) may want to support the closure of oil and gas leasing in that area. They should also consider supporting Alternative D for the National Historic Trails, which prescribes a five-mile buffer, preventing surface occupancy or controlled surface use with visual impacts. This condition includes the Sweetwater Rocks area.
Johnny Behind the Rocks: Mountain bikers, trail runners, horseback riders, and hikers who enjoy use of this area will want to express their support for its continued management as an SRMA closed to motorized use, and restricting mechanized use (bikes, etc.) to existing trails.
Sinks Canyon: Though the BLM land in Sinks Canyon is adjacent to State Park and Forest Service land, those who enjoy recreating in this area will want to express their support for keeping the area closed to motorized use (excluding county roads, highway, and private roads) and under management to enhance the area for climbing and hiking.
The Bus at Baldwin Creek: Mountain bikers, hikers, and trail runners may want to comment on the planned development of an informational kiosk, implementing closure to motorized use, and continued use of mechanized travel on existing roads and trails.
Comments can be submitted via the BLM website, an email to BLM_WY_LRMP_WYMail@blm.gov, or snail mail to Lander Field Office, Attn: RMP Project Manager, 1335 Main Street, Lander, WY 82520. The deadline is Jan. 20, so act quickly to be sure the BLM hears your perspective.
Permalink | Posted by Dave Clark-Barol on Jan 17, 2012 in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, Rocky Mountain
