End of March "Lamb" Drops Lion's Share of Snow

From the second week of March on, springtime seemed to be in full effect, with Lander greening up nicely, temperate weather sending Frosty down the drain until next year…or so we thought.  March was going out like a Lamb this year, but this lamb had teeth!

It was to be a busy Wednesday at NOLS Rocky Mountain.  With the ISOLS seminar less than a day away, there was lots to do to get things ready.  But, as the stalwart interns arrived that morning, the steady snowfall that began to cover the ground foreshadowed things to come!

By the time we headed for home Wednesday, the non-stop snow had accumulated nearly six inches…and still it snowed…

…and that night… more snow!

…forecast for Thursday?  100% chance of SNOW!! 

Finally, when the sun popped out Friday afternoon, nearly 30 inches of the wonderful white stuff had dusted Lander. 

“…I’m dreaming of a white….Easter…”

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Light and Fast Backpacking Seminar

March 16th through the 18th, NOLS Southwest hosted the Light and Fast Backpacking Seminar, which was sponsored by the company, Go-Lite.  The group of NOLS instructors attended the seminar to learn state of the art methods for light weight backpacking.  The course took place in Saguaro National Park, and was co led by NOLS instructor, Ryan Hutchins and a team of Go-Lite instructors. 

Below, Steven Brutger carefully weighs the contents of his pack. 

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Second Baptist Wilderness Expedition

On March 11th the first NOLS Pro course of the season left NOLS Southwest for the Galiuros.  NOLS Pro creates custom courses for schools, corporations, even NASA and the ARMY.  This particular group was from Second Baptist High School of Houston, Texas.  The students chose the NOLS course to fill a two week interim term, and will receive credit at school for thir participation in the course.  The group was composed of 12 high school aged students and 2 chaperones who teach at the high school, the course was led by 3 NOLS instructors Scott Christy, Jenny Hawke, and Buddy Gurnari. 

Below Katie LeVrier is all smiles after packing her pack on departure day.

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Wendy Davis Wins Again

Dogs eager for the race, as shot by David Brosha.

NOLS Instructor Wendy Davis pulled off another stunning victory – this time conquering the Diavik 150 Canadian Championship Dogseld Derby. Wendy completed the 150 mile course over the span of three days with a total time of 10 hours 38 minutes beating the second place finisher by a mere 19 seconds!

The race has been running through Yellowknife, Northwest Territories for the last 52 years and has become world-renowned. This year Wendy outraced 14 other competitors to take home the first place prize. Congratulations Wendy!

To check out the race click here.

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Spicin' it up

Interns gathered around ominous bowls of garlic, black pepper, cinnamon, spike, baking powder, and oregano to assemble summer spice kits last week at NOLS Rocky Mountain.  Surgical masks were donned to prevent sneezy disasters as the intrepid group set out to assemble 150 of the newly designed kits. Frustration and patience were the name of the game, as well as the goal of free pizza to eat at noon.

Erin concentrates a little too hard on her cinnamon packet production, as she braves the task without a surgical mask.

Ounces equal pounds, pounds equal pain; a NOLS instructor mantra sets the goal for these new lightweight kits.  Former kits weighed 2.2 pounds while these new babies are just under one.  40-pound (or less) packs are the summer goal for NOLS Rocky Mountain.

150 cinnamon packets ready to assemble into lightweight kits.

Susan looks a bit more pleased about the progress.

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Made Dear Abby...Not too Shabby

There’s nothing better for NOLS than good solid word of mouth advertising.   Well, nothing except getting mentioned…nay…TOUTED in a nationally syndicated advice column, none other than Dear ol’ Abby herself!!

Well, needless to say, Ms. Abby has a few readers, and a good number of them have a new favorite outdoor education program, NOLS!  Not a couple hours after the papers hit the stands, the catalog requests started rolling in.  Several hundred catalogs were sent out Thursday and Friday, with 1800 more (many moved by your loving RM Interns) waiting in wings to meet the informational needs of a new cache of prospective students and parents.

What a cool way to end another great week at NOLS Rocky Mountain!  See ya next week!

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State of the Art Climbing Helmet

Above John Abel, one of NOLS Southwest's fantastic program supervisors, models his new climbing helmet.  The stetson hard hat, is a federally certified helmet, that brings local flavor to the sport of rock climbing. 

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Dear Abby, my NOLS course changed my life!

On February 10, "Needs Help in Chicago" wrote to Dear Abby, disillusioned and frustrated with her lack of enthusiasm for her college experience. Many readers wrote in with suggestions published in today's issue.

One reader, Kate, wrote about her experience at NOLS. "I dropped out of an Ivy League school after one semester due to burnout and boredom. Everyone I knew was sure I was making the wrong decision. It was the best choice I ever made.

During my 2 1/2 years off, I participated in a semester program through NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School (www.nols.edu). NOLS offers scholarships, financial aid and college credit. I recommend it to anyone seeking direction and challenge in life.

Eventually, when I was ready, I returned to school and graduated with honors. I now own my own business and attribute my successes to NOLS. I hope "Needs Help" will seriously consider this alternative to college."

We couldn't have said it better ourselves! How did your NOLS course change your life?

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A little extra green in the Rocky Mountains

St. Patrick’s Day Blog

It’s quiet at the Rocky Mountain Branch with all our current courses out of town, but it has been a fun-filled week of office work, packing buses with gear for Alaska, and working on the OTHER green initiative. With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, we put Hank the cow dog on patrol for Leprechauns.  Thursday afternoon a wee Irishman was spotted in the main hallway throwing recyclable bottles and cans into the trash, and Hank was all over him!  It was only a matter of seconds until Hank was down to the soft chewy center.  May he rest in peace, or at least little green pieces!  Recyclable pieces.

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An Unfortunate Title...

Link: Outward bound for inner change - Nashville, Tennessee - Wednesday, 03/14/07 - Tennessean.com.

for an article about Colin Pigott's semester with The Leader in Wilderness Education!

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