NOLS Receives Better Business Bureau Ethics Award

Last night NOLS’ Executive Director John Gans was in Fort Collins, Colorado to accept the Rocky Mountain Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award. The Torch Award goes to businesses that exemplify ethics in business.

NOLS was nominated for the award by business students from the University of Wyoming and was the first non-profit to have received the prestigious award.

Gans, accepting the award on behalf of all 800 NOLS staff worldwide, commented that when an organization has a purpose that inspires its staff and customers that ethical behavior occurs organically. NOLS’ purpose to develop active, positive leaders with an environmental ethic and outdoor skills that last a lifetime inspires everyone at the school to be the best and do the best that they can.

NOLS will now be considered for the BBB’s International Torch Award.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Silk Continues NOLS Bus Sponsorship

Silk, organic soymilk, will again be the exclusive sponsor of the NOLS on the Road program when the bus starts its second season in August. Yesterday I met with Silk communications manager, Ellen Feeney and Scott Stevens, Silk vice president to discuss the program and to plan for the coming season.

To date the NOLS Bus has hosted 11,500 visitors who have gotten a NOLS catalog, climbed on the wall or just hung out with the crew. The bus has been featured on at least 68 TV news programs and more than 20 radio news shows. Some of these have been syndicated shows that have been broadcast multiple times all over the country.

We are very excited to have Silk back on board the bus. NOLS and Silk are organizations that both value the environment, community and healthy living. Thanks to Silk for their generous support!

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Good Day in New Hampshire

Met today with Lisa Senecal from Big, Bright World. BBW has produced "Snow Daze", an educational, reality video that introduces winter outdoor sports to kids ages 7-12. NOLS teamed up with BBW to provide the instruction and handle the logistics. The video looks great. On May 9 we start filming the next two episodes in the series. Very cool.

Next I spent a few hours with the management team at EMS, Eastern Mountain Sports- CEO Will Manzer, Scott Barrett, CMO and Gary Ehlers, Director of Promotional and Presence Marketing. We had a great conversation about NOLS and EMS and the directions the two organizations are moving. There seems to be a lot of synergy between the two organizations and we agreed to start working on some projects together. EMS has a bus so they have to be alright! Bio-diesel, not RVO. No accounting for taste.

Tomorrow- a meeting with White Wave, Outdoor Industry Association and on to the Torch Awards dinner with the Rocky Mountain Better Business Bureau. Stay tuned!

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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The Crux

Notes from Southwest Semester climbing camp at Cochise Stronghold:

Tired heads rise from friendly shoulders as our white Ford van stumbles into camp.  My body smiles acquiescently at the possibility of barbeque chicken pizza for dinner (Amanda, my tent groups designated cook for tonight is constantly raising the culinary bar in the backcountry kitchen.).

Embracing a warm Nagene bottle with callused hands, I retire soon after dinner sipping hot apple cider and apologizing for my lack of energy.  A small group of students have found Gin Rummy a favorite post-prandial activity in which points, corresponding to specific cards, are recorded and the highest point scorer at the end of night decides on an embarrassing punishment for the other players to carry out the following day in front of the rest of the group.  Tonight, crashing will be best for me, as it will set me up well for another day of climbing.

5:30am: I fumble every zipper on my way out of the tent (temporarily stirring Pete and Amanda from their dreams) and rush to The Groover (If you are unfamiliar with The Groover, just ask your son or daughter, or any NOLS alumnus, and I'm sure they'll be more that delighted to enlighten you and maybe even share a story of scatological detail.).  For breakfast we have a bacon, egg, cheese bagel sandwich... not bad, huh?

11:45am:  The whole group is scattered at the base of Pale Face, our crag for the day.  I just finished my safety check with Liam, a good friend and my belayer.  With The Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" fresh on my mind, I gaze up at the rock, decide on a line, and take a mental snap shot that I will carry with me on the climb.  My hands are chalked, I'm on belay, and I'm starting to climb.

Pretty easy so far: there are plenty of positive footholds and some good crack within reach (... enter your own joke here).  Slowly but surely, as mental snap shot confirms, the number of good handholds diminish and foot placement gets trickier.  I begin to smear my C4 rubber soled climbing shoes on the thin rock face to balance and position myself for a series of difficult maneuvers.  Wedged fingers in the shallow crack hold my weight as I strategically place feet.

This is the crux.

I know I can pull it off, but I still holler down to Liam to "watch me" as my arms and calves tremble in an anticipatory and exhausting position.  Breathing is essential in climbing so I take a second to supply my muscles with oxygen before I attempt any movement.  "At least there are some decent options," I tell myself after spotting some irregularities in the rock.  Without thinking, I pinch, crimp, smear, and extend my way up through the crux and to the anchor.

"Hell ya!" I scream triumphantly.  My exuberance is quickly echoed with a resounding "Yes!"  I look to my right and see Jordan, the top of his route in a cloud of chalk clapping his hands.  "Well done!" I congratulate him.  "Thanks, bud!"

As I'm lowered to the ground I stare back at the recently conquered route and smile--knowing that other students will share the same satisfaction in topping out, and at the end of the day we'll sit around our stoves bragging about how well we climbed.

Willie Oakley is a Southwest Semester Two student geographically and culturally far from his home of Charleston, South Carolina.  Willie has written several other entries for the Southwest Blog during his semester.  Currently, he is serving as the leader of his Independent Student Travel Group in the Gila.
 

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From the Memoirs of a Veteran Spleunker

A story by Southwest Semester Two student Jordan Danis...
.. starring Charles Wellington-Conrad Butterswithe III

Day 4

5:06AM:  "Enter Helios, my celestial nemesis," I herald as the rays of day break my somnambulistic trance.  My espresso machine awakens reminding me of the hour of my birth.  I emerge like a Madagascarian Monarch from a goose down cocoon, descend my loft striding valiantly from the confines of my nylon prison.

[For, in his mind, Charles has transcended beyond the trivialities of the earthly realm taking up arms against his foe, the sun]

After 37 minutes of yoga, I partook in a facial peel followed by une petite dejeuner.  I observe my tent group (an unkempt culture of groundlings) shamelessly flouting their naiveté while preparing "hot drinks" and reheating the previous night's culinary abortion they called "cheesy hash browns."

9:12AM:  Emigrating from the cattle pen my instructors refer to as the meeting area, I deciphered ineloquent blather imploring me to assemble with the rest of the pedestrian collective.  I surmised it would be a wise endeavor to briefly allay my sultry comestible and attend to the beck and ca of the herd.  Accoutered n my lynx skin slippers, silken undergarments, and monogrammed Egyptian cotton robe, cleverly juxtaposed with my chartreuse frock coat, I begrudgingly sauntered my way toward the heathen commune.
"You're late again," Phil said.
Phil's stoicism failed to impress me.  I had expected my incessant tardiness would yield a more vigorous chiding.  What a quizzical vexation!

1:41 PM:  I find myself at the mouth of Endless Cave: truly an abysmal fissure—pillaged abrasion on the otherwise karsts alkali topography of the Southwest.  Fearing hystoplasmosis, I subtly imply that it might be best if I retire to an afternoon perusal of some 16th century Prussian verse I had stowed away for a hiatus from out subterranean exploration.  Phil graciously appraised me of my almost certain loss of practicum credits should I abstain from spelunking for the 4th consecutive day.  Surely Yorkshireington College would not allow matriculation with such a detrimental pock mark of my record...

Jordan Danis, a Southwest Semester Two student, hails from Kennebunkport, Maine.  He proudly sports a Virginia Tech Hokie hat, though he claims that he doesn't even know who the Hokies are.  If asked how that is possible, this talented tale weaver will spin you a yarn not unlike the one above.

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Petzoldt woulda said: "NOLS NY Alumni, Take the Survey!"

NOLS is conducting a short, web-based alumni survey of grads in the New York State area. Our aim is to improve NOLS' alumni services. We're opening the survey region-by-region, so ultimately all 115,000 NOLS and WMI alumni will have the chance to help us identify and provide services that graduates and their families value.

If you're a NOLS grad living anywhere in New York State, please give our anonymous survey a go by clicking on the link above. Thanks in advance for your help.

/s/Rich Brame
NOLS Alumni Relations Manager

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The Blue Hills

I'm just getting back to the hotel after spending the day with NOLS Waddington Range Expedition grad, Drew Pollick. Drew is now the director of the Eagan Center, the new conference center of the Boston-Minuteman Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Drew invited me out to take a look at their facilities, located in the Blue Hills Reservation, just south of Boston. It is a great location, ten miles from downtown. There are spots where you can look from a beautiful wooded area and see downtown Boston on one side and the ocean on the other. Drew, John Kanengeiter and I have been discussing using the Eagan Center for NOLS Professional Training.

Today, in addition to a facilities tour that included the Quincy Quarry climbing area, Drew and I made visits to human resources directors at State Street Financial and Liberty Mutual insurance. Both visits were great and they offered great insights into how NOLS Pro could work with corporate clients.

Yesterday on the way to Boston I had a chance to drop in and visit former NOLS publications intern Susanna Helms. Susanna is working for the Orion Society which is located in my hometown, Great Barrington, Mass. Susanna is doing great as an editor/writer/webmaster.

Bruce Palmer. NOLS marketing director

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NOLS on the Tube

We have just received confirmation on two upcoming television shows that will include NOLS.

On Monday, May 9 NOLS will appear on the MTV show, Trippin'. The show airs at 10:30 PM Eastern Time. Cameron Diaz, Mat Hoffman, DMX and friends joined several NOLS instructors exploring Wyoming's Sinks Canyon and Red Desert.

On Saturday, May 14 NOLS will appear on the Science Channel special, "Astronaut Diaries:
Remembering the Columbia Shuttle Crew." The show will air at 9:00 PM Easter Time. The Columbia crew spent 2 weeks developing leadership and expedition behavior with NOLS in Wyoming's Wind River Mountains.

Stay tuned for further details.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Earth Day, 2005-New York City

Happy Earth Day everyone. Today marks the 35th anniversary of Earth Day and the NOLS Bus celebrated it in style. We are at Earth Fair at Grand Central Station in New York City. The event was non-stop with huge crowds at the bus from the moment we parked.

Ashley, Winter, Jared and Matthew rolled in about 10:20 this morning after an unplanned day in Berkshire county getting brake pads replaced. NOLS grad Alice Bond took a day off from her masters program at Yale to help out as well.

Hands down it was the biggest media day the bus has ever seen. We did 7 TV interviews, 3 radio interviews and hosted a writer from Fast Company magazine. Everyone wanted to learn about used vegetable oil fuel.

Tomorrow the NOLS Advisory Council will be meeting at the Yale Club directly across the street from the bus. We look forward to visiting with these enthusiastic NOLS volunteers when their meeting wraps up in the afternoon.

Earth Day is drawing to a close and so am I. G'night!

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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NOLS Grad Racing with Lance

NOLS grad, Jason McCartney, is competing this week in the Tour de Georgia as a member of Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel Team. On Wednesday Lance finished third in the stage. Jason was part of an early breakaway.

Jason completed a NOLS Semester in the Rockies in 1991 and was featured in the Fall, 2004 issue of The Leader. “I think one of the keys to any NOLS course is group dynamics, and working in a group is what cycling is all about,” says McCartney. “The impact NOLS had on me was to open up new ideas about trying new things and tackling fears.”

Best wishes to Jason and the Discovery Channel team as they tune up for the 2005 Tour de France.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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