Epic Redesign

Gary Cukjati, Assistant Branch Director and Cheyanne Pearl, Special Projects Intern, have been working tirelessly. Over the past few weeks they have been redesigning the hallway that leads to the briefing room. From adjusting the maps, to picking a new paint color (Straw), they have made lots of decisions about the future of this hallway. This week, all of the interns (including some help from HQ marketing intern Shara Brown) contributed to this epic remodel by spending a couple of days painting. Take a look at our process!        -Josh

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Stonyfield named in Inc.'s "Green 50"

Stonyfield Farm, the NOLS Bus' exclusive sponsor, was just named as one of Inc. Magazine's "Green 50." The article highlight's Stonyfield's green roots and their ability to maintain a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 26%.

NOLS partnering with one of the most successful and innovative environmental businesses in the nation: coincidence? Not likely.

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Git down little doggies!

Last week, Shara, an intern from HQ joined the three Rocky Mountain interns and Lara on a road trip to Boulder, WY to visit the latest crew at NOLS’ Three Peaks Ranch. Three Peaks Ranch, a NOLS facility since 1978, typically boards 30 horses and is largely used for horsepacking courses, food re-rations, and classroom support for other NOLS courses. In the busy summer months, NOLS will commonly lease another 30 horses to meet increased logistical demands. While at the ranch, we were able to visit sections 1 and 2 of the Fall Semester in the Rockies students, who were in the midst of their 10-day Wilderness First Responder course. As there seemed to be a shortage of ranch photos, we made sure to snap plenty of pics on our tour around the facility. Our host for the night was the new Three Peaks Ranch manager PeeBee VandenToorn. PeeBee is by no means a newbie to the NOLS community, and we are all excited to welcome her into the new position!  Stay tuned for future posts about PeeBee and the ranch.

-Ainsley

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Going Caving!

FSW2 - Fall Semester in the Southwest, which began on Sept.11th - Came through town this past weekend. They spent two days enjoying the branch, running errands in Tucson, relaxing and cleaning their gear. After a reload of supplies and meeting their new caving instructors, they headed out to explore new marvels underground.

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FSR-1 Floats the Flood!!

The enthusiasm grows for Section 1 of the 2006 Fall semesters (FSR-1) as they perfect their backcountry first aid skills during their Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course at NOLS’ Three Peaks Ranch. These brave souls have hiked Wyoming’s enchanted Wind River Mountains, climbed Idaho’s renowned City of Rocks and successfully canoed through the latest flood of Utah’s San Juan River, where their most thrilling tale of adventure transpired. This time of year the flow of the San Juan averages about 1000 cfs (cubic feet per second) but mid-way through FSR-1’s whitewater canoeing section, the river soared to an astonishing 11,000 cfs!! The group reported a plethora of floating debris including 20+ oil cans, at least 18 basketballs, a refrigerator, a dead cow, as well as a myriad of other deceased wildlife and various rubble. I can’t wait to see the pictures!

This group has teamed up with FSR-2 for the WFR course this week and soon the two groups will mix, match and re-divide into 3 student groups before heading out on the last section of their semester – The Canyons…  Make sure to check back for pictures of the flood and updates about this semester group! -cheyanne

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Semesters Moving Along

All semesters are in stages of transition, moving from one activity and place into their next adventure. Here is the Southwest Semester that began on September 4th (FSW1).
This photo was taken just as they returned to base, after 13 days of caving.
Right now they are on the Rio Grande in West Texas, learning to smoothly navigate canoes down river. The other Southwest Semester (FSW2) will be returning to Tucson on Saturday morning. After Spending a few days at the branch, they will take their newly acquired climbing skills underground, exploring several caves in Arizona. The Sonoran Semester just moved from an unusually rainy time in the Gila Wilderness to Climb in Cochise Stronghold. They are anticipating some sunny weather and good Rock Climbing.

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Adventure Travel World Summit

Jeanne O'Brien are in Seattle for the Adventure Travel World Summit. This is a gathering of the top destinations and tour operators in the adventure travel industry. NOLS is a bit of an anomoly in this group as a non-profit educational institution, but we are playing a key role in the conference. For the last two days NOLS has been teaching a pre-conference Risk Management Training. Thirteen conference attendees from around the world have been in attendance.

Tomorrow I will be a presenter for two sessions on Customer Relations Management. On Saturday I will be involved in sessions on public relations and risk management. These are great opportunities to share some of NOLS experience and help improve the level of professionalism in this important international industry.

Later,
Bruce Palmer, NOLS marketing director

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Special Forces Squad Goes to College...

On October 6th, the Special Forces Squad ([left→right] Josh Newman, Cheyanne Pearl, Ainsley Chew  & Lara McCluskey ←behind the camera) traveled to Central Wyoming College (CWC) in Riverton for the Wyoming Women in Science (WYWIS) conference.  Young women (and a few gentlemen) from across the state gathered on the CWC campus for this annual event that gives middle and high school girls an opportunity to learn from positive women role models who have been successful in all types of careers related to science. The Special Forces Squad had the pleasure of chatting with women of all ages about opportunities available with NOLS and enjoyed all sorts of amusing stories about outdoor adventure, family pets and middle school romance. We’ll surely have the pleasure of seeing some of these lovely ladies again in the NOLS community!

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Sonoran Semester: Enjoying the Gila

Here is our Sonoran Semester (FSS1) fresh off the bus! They have been hiking and enjoying the New Mexican Wilderness for two weeks now, growing closer and a little dirtier. In another week, they will be heading to Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona, to Rock Climb and continue having fun and honing their skills.

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The Next Generation of Gulch Girls?

Yes, thats right...pink was the theme of the day last week in the Gourmet Gulch.  Mike Penick, Fritz Lodge and Chris York got hold of the “Gulch Girls” beaters and showed off some skin last week when their Fall Semester in the Rockies section swung by the Rocky Mountain branch to prepare for their climbing section.   

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