"It's All a Virtuous Cycle": GoLite and Backpacking Light Visit NOLS HQ

Wait… no tents? no stoves? no hiking boots and no Nalgenes?!  The concept of ultra-lightweight backpacking is such a new idea that it remains, as yet, something relatively unheard of and left to the fringe.  But the guys at the lightweight backpacking companies GoLite and Backpacking Light Magazine, in partnership with NOLS, seek to change that.

The Admissions and Marketing Department at Headquarters on Thursday was treated to a presentation by GoLite president and co-founder, Demetri Coupounas, and Backpacking Light Magazine founder and publisher, Ryan Jordan, who spoke to some of the philosophy and technology that goes into lightweight backcountry travel.   

“Our mission is to evangelize the concept to potential backcountry users and to disciple a core-user group to drive awareness,” says Jordan of his magazine. Coupounas agrees that their companies are not fierce competitors in the industry, but rather “colleagues in a movement.” 

“We want to transform the outdoor experience en masse by making gear as light as possible with a full warranty that the average customer expects,” he adds.

Both gurus passed around some of the gear that has the potential to revolutionize backpacking by allowing for significantly decreased pack weight and, from there, increased mobility and ease of travel. “It’s all a virtuous cycle,” said Coupounas as he described the joys of hiking while unencumbered by a heavy pack.

Backpacks of ‘mylar film with reinforced thread,’ tarps of ‘silicon impregnated nylon,’ as well as torso-length inflatable sleeping pads, fire-starting tablets, and an array of micro-puff synthetics and lightweight shells were introduced to the group as elements of a pack that can weigh, without consumables, as little as, or less than, 10 pounds.  But as Jordan insisted, “the gear is not required to do the work, [backcountry] knowledge and skill sets are so much more important.”

With that said, enter NOLS.  Coupounas and Jordan head into the Winds this week to train NOLS instructors how to teach living safely and comfortably in the backcountry while carrying minimal weight.  This August, the first Light and Fast Backpacking course will pass on those simplicities of lightweight travel to a new crop of devotees.

For more information on lightweight backpacking and NOLS’ role in this phenomenon, watch your mail for the Spring 2006 issue of The Leader or check out the articles online , don't forget to peek at the sample gear list and the book reviews too! If you still haven't had enough, navigate in depth and check out all the amazing lightweight gear Couopounas and Jordan have to offer at GoLite.com and Backpackinglight.com. Happy Packing!

Joanne Kuntz, Publications Intern
Chris Morris, PR Intern

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Immortalize Your NOLS Course

We want your pictures! It is that time of year again - time to immortalize your coursemates, your instructors, yourself, and your overall NOLS experience by sending us photo submissions for our 2007 Course Catalog.  The due date for catalog submissions is April 15.  So, get those taxes done quickly and move on to more important things, like formatting your amazing course pics.  Here are our guidelines:

1) Slides must be submitted according to the following specifications:   

- Slides must be submitted in slide pages.
- Slides must be individually numbered and labeled with the photographer's name.
- Original slides only. Duplicates and prints will not be accepted. Prints turned into slides will also not be accepted

2) Digital images must be submitted on a CD at their original file size (do not alter image size or resolution after downloading them from your digital camera).

3) Both slides and digital submissions must be numbered and accompanied by an image directory containing the following information for each photo:

- specific location,
- any relevant technical information, and
- the subject's name and identification as student or instructor.
This information is necessary so the NOLS Publications department can caption images accurately.

4) All slides/digital submissions must also be accompanied with a cover letter including the following information:

- photographer’s name, address*, phone number and email,
- the quantity of slides submitted, and
- any special handling instructions.
* For slide submissions, make sure to include a physical address where slides can be returned in October/November.

Remember, to be considered for the 2007 Course Catalog we need photo submissions by April 15.  Photos selected for use on our website or in The Leader are accepted on a rolling basis and used throughout the year.

Please mail your submissions to:
NOLS Publications
Attn: Photo Submissions
284 Lincoln St.
Lander, WY 82520

For further inquiries and a copy of our full Photography Terms and Conditions email Cara Rudio, Publications Manager at cara_rudio@nols.edu

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NOLS Alumni Rock

Spring is in the air. The sap is running. Grass is greening. Critters of all types consider romance. And NOLS Alumni naturally turn their minds to... climbing.

Ten adventurous NOLS Alumni recently completed a seven-day climbing trip in sunny Arizona outside of Tucson. Their ages (24-71!) and backgrounds were different, but all shared a bond with NOLS and a desire to reconnect in the outdoors.

Not only did they have an educational and fun vacation, one of their group crafted a short video about their alumni adventure. Click here to view some fun images from this recent trip before the Sundance folks send it out to Hollywood.

NOLS Alumni Trips are designed to meet the interests and schedules of busy graduates. It's a great way to come back to the school, introduce friends and family to NOLS and to get reacquainted with our precious wild lands.

Enjoy the video. See the NOLS Alumni website for more ways to rejoin the school and reinvigorate your outdoor passion.

Cheers,

/s/Rich Brame
NOLS Alumni Relations

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SWNW 2: Start

We had our second Semester on the Borders head out last week. While they were in town working on their Wilderness First Aid we had a cold snap with some snow in the mountains. You can see more pictures of the students as they got ready to leave here.

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Goodbye and Goodbye

               

Alex Schirer

Alex Schirer left the NOLS veggie bus this week after a 10 month tour of duty.  Alex managed to cover a good portion of the country and greet a multitude of prospective NOLS students during his tenure.  Coming to the bus after with a Semester in the Rockies under his belt, Alex hopes to work again for NOLS sometime in the near future.  In the meantime, he’ll spend the spring and summer working for a horsepacking outfit in his native Utah.  Good luck, Alex.

               

Curtis Tronolone

But no fear!  The NOLS bus won’t lose much talent and charm with the addition of Curtis Tronolone to the crew.  After 3 months working as a Student Service Representative in Admissions in Lander, Curtis is ready to go for his time on the road with the bus.  While he’ll be missed dearly, we send him forth and wish him well.  Bon Voyage Curtis! - Chris Morris, NOLS Grad/Intern

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Flickr: The NOLS Bus Pool

Link: Flickr: The NOLS Bus Pool.

The NOLS Bus was in New Orleans the other day visiting Tulane University. Amy has posted a few pretty sobering pictures on Flickr. There are now more than 1600 NOLS tagged photos on Flickr.

Check out the NOLS Bus blog for stories about the bus crews adventures "on the road".

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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WebGeek Now Official NOLSie

NOLS Webmaster Brad Christensen just returned to the office yesterday after completing his NOLS Winter Ski Course. Brad spent two weeks working on telemark skiing, dragging a heavy sled and living in snow shelters. Brad and his nine coursemates did a lot of snow shoveling, building huge digloos with super deluxe snow kitchens. A winter course brings out the snow-sculpting kid in all of us!

Chas Day, one of Brad’s instructors was an instructor on a ski course that I did in the mid-nineties. Chas is a remarkable story. He started working for NOLS in the early 90s after his retirement from the U.S. Navy. Chas was a surface warfare ship commander. He also has a masters degree in oceanography. Many marathons and winters “on the ice” in Antarctica later, Chas is a stalwart in the NOLS instructor’s corps. Brad and his course were lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from this fascinating gentleman.

With their winter skills down Brad and his coursemates are now well prepared to enjoy the outdoors in any season. Congratulations to Brad and all the students on WSC 2/26!

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

Click here to see more photos from the course.

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Flickr: Photos from nolssouthwest

Link: Flickr: Photos from nolssouthwest.

Some fantastic photos of NOLS Semester in the Sothwest caving have been posted. Check' em out.

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SSW1: Proctor Shots

The first semester has moved on to their climbing section. In the transition, the proctor, Ash Wise, stopped by the branch and dropped off some pictures from the backpacking (Galiuros), caving (New Mexico) and river (Rio  Grande) sections. They look great and you can see more here.

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An Era Ends

In a moment of near perfect symmetry, tomorrow, on her last day of work at NOLS, Molly Hampton, our administration and partnerships director, will be participating in the NOLS Wellness Ski Day. Molly’s NOLS career started on skis when she was a student on a NOLS Winter course in Yellowstone Park. The skis used in the backcountry have changed a lot in the 31 years since Molly first hit the slopes with NOLS, but with Molly’s leadership, the changes that the school has experienced in that time, are more remarkable.

Since 1975 the school has grown from around 1,000 students per year to 10,500. Those 1000 students were spread across 3 NOLS locations. Now NOLS operates in 14 locations worldwide. From a funky little outdoor school in 1975 NOLS has distinguished itself as the industry leader in wilderness education. Whether it is risk management, curriculum and publishing, student satisfaction and educational outcomes, alumni relations, employee satisfaction, you name it NOLS leads the way.

The incredible thing about Molly is that she has played a leadership role in nearly every aspect of the school. As the school has grown Molly has also grown and expanded her portfolio. Most recently she was a key player in NOLS acquisition of the Wilderness Medicine Institute, but more importantly she oversaw the integration of WMI into NOLS. The school had never done anything like this before and through diligence, compassion and hard work on the part of both Molly and the WMI team an incredibly smooth transition took place.

Molly was also responsible for the launch of NOLS Professional Training paving the way for a new business model for NOLS, assembling a winning team to run the programs and measuring the results. Just five years later NOLS is an important element of NASA’s astronaut training, the US Naval Academy chooses NOLS for portions of their leadership training and schools, colleges and corporations around the country look to NOLS to train their staff and consult on risk management.

Personally, Molly has been a great friend and mentor. From 1991 until 1997 Molly was my supervisor and since then we have served together on NOLS’ executive team. I have learned a ton from her and am constantly inspired by her passion for NOLS and our unique style of education. Molly leads with balance, recognizing the many sides of the issues, but always centering on the NOLS mission and values. She cares deeply about NOLS, wilderness, people and inspired, ethical leadership.

In two weeks Molly starts her new career as the Philanthropy Director at the Wyoming Field Office of The Nature Conservancy. They are getting a passionate, fun, steady leader. I hope they realize how lucky they are. 

Have fun on the slopes tomorrow NOLS Wellness skiers. Have fun at TNC, Molly. It’s just across the street so I imagine we’ll be able to stay in touch, eh?

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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