Memorial Service for Sam

The memorial service for Sam Esmiol will be at 101 Park Avenue in Aspen, Colorado this Sunday at 12 noon. NOLS Patagonia Director Judd Rogers and his wife Carolina will be attending. Sam's brother, Caleb, invites any member of the NOLS community to join the Esmiol family in remembering Sam.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Sad News

The NOLS community is coping with very sad news today. Longtime NOLS instructor, Sam Esmiol, died yesterday morning in a paragliding accident in Aspen.

Sam was a three-time NOLS grad—North Cascades Mountaineering, 1983; Fall Semester in the Rockies, 1986; and Instructors course, 1990. He began instructing for the school in 1990 and accumulated 172 weeks in the field as a NOLS Instructor. Much of Sam’s time with NOLS was spent in Patagonia where he was well known and much loved by staff and students.

After a long hiatus from NOLS, Sam just recently accepted a contract to work the cultural section of the inaugural Patagonia Year this fall.

Sam is survived by his wife. They had just married in the last year after meeting in Nepal. Our thoughts and prayers are with her.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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NOLS Welcomes Home Discovery Crew

Monday July 17, 2006
NOLS Welcomes Home Discovery Crew

Today at 9:14am EDT, Discovery crew STS-121 landed safely at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  The crew conducted a successful 13-day mission to re-supply the International Space Station, drop off a new member of the space station crew, and conduct multiple space walks and repair exercises.  NOLS extends a congratulations and a warm welcome home to the entire crew returning safely to earth on a job well done.   In particular, we would like to welcome back NOLS alumni Colonel Steven Lindsey (Mission Commander), Commander Mark E. Kelly, Lt. Colonel Mike E. Fossum, Commander Lisa Nowak, and Dr. Piers J. Sellers as  NOLS grads in Space. 

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