New Face For NOLS Rocky Mountain

Shown here are some of the folks from Creative Energies.  They are a team of professionals who are here at NOLS Rocky Mountain helping us "green up" our buildings.  They are taking measurements for our new solar panels.  After the panels are installed they are expected to account for 40% of the overall power used here at the RM.  I would say its definitely a step in the right direction.  Good job to everyone involved. 

Share |

Two-time NOLS grad is selected for Fulbright

Link: MSU filmmaking students win Fulbright Scholarships.

Maria Frostic, a graduate of the Montana State University Science and Natural History Filmmaking program, has been awarded a Fulbright to make a film about puffins in Iceland.

Maria credits NOLS with introducing her to wild, pristine places. She completed a NOLS semester in the Rockies in 1997 and returned for a Baja Sea Kayaking course in 2003.

Congratulations, Maria!

Share |

Ryan 1 - Spiders 0

This past summer the Southwest branch added a brand-spanking new canoe shed to house, you guessed it, spiders. Spiders? Yes, that's right, spiders. And not just any spiders but gargantuan, female Western Black Widow spiders (Latrodectus hesperus). Upon first entering the canoe shed early this fall, I was quickly reminded of the scene near the end of the movie Arachnophobia in which Jeff Daniels' character stumbles into his barn to find the Volkswagen-sized "mother" spider nesting up in the rafters with her clutter of offspring.
Seeing as our canoe shed was designed for storing canoes and not for hosting scary huge spider slumber parties, something had to be done. The National Guard told me they had more important things to do than running around killing spiders at peoples' houses, so Ryan Hutchins, our dirt boy extraordinaire, stepped up to the challenge, "retiring" the spiders and constructing a work bench and a hanging platform for storing river gear. Way to go Ry!

Transpo. man Shay Coe brings his own style of grunts and grimaces to the job.

Ryan hookin' it up.

The Canoe Shed Spider

Share |

An Autumn Day

One hallmark of Wilderness Medicine Institute courses is our realistic scenario-driven curriculum. WMI Instructor Daniel Dekay shares an example of a scenario from a Wilderness EMT course going on right now in Yosemite National Park.

   "We got up early, had breakfast and fed the dog, packed a daypack.  Jerry said, "don't forget to fill the thermos with hot chocolate"..... we were off for a long awaited hike with some friends".

   Mara, Jerry and several others were taking a bus to Badger Pass area for a long day of hiking and enjoying the crisp sunshine of Yosemite National Park. The bus followed a snowplow as it made its way up the mountain road through yellowing oaks and tall pines.  Dozing in the back as the bus rumbled along, all was well for Mara and Jerry.   

   Suddenly the brakes screeched, the bus swerved, and there was the sound of metal against metal, and breaking glass.  The white Volvo stationwagon had crossed over into the oncoming lane, colliding head-on with the snowplow.  The bus smashed into the back of the plow, throwing many of the passengers into the aisles.   Screams, shouts and chaos ensued.  Through the front window of the bus Mara could see a cloud of smoke coming from the direction of the Volvo.  Many were hurt, some already unconsious, a trickle of blood seeped along the tilting bus floor. 

   Stay tuned to find out how what happens next to Mara, Jerry and their friends.      

 

Share |

A Facelift for the Gulch

At NOLS Rocky Mountain, new murals are being painted on the Gulch walls this fall.  They will replace the ones painted in 1989 by former instructor Carolyn Gillette Neary.  Jon Cox, a noted Fremont County artist, is doing the work.  The themes are similar to the ones that were previously displayed but with a different color scheme and presentation.

Share |

NOLS in Space!

On October 23, 2007 at 11:38 a.m. EDT NASA’s shuttle Discovery successfully blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. On board was commander Pamela Melroy, pilot George Zamka, Expedition 16 flight engineer Daniel Tani, and mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Doug Wheelock, Stephanie Wilson and Paolo Nespoli. All seven crewmembers are proud NOLS grads of a NASA-specific course organized through NOLS Professional Training. Before heading into space, all astronauts come to NOLS to learn leadership skills, teamwork and communication.
    Longtime NOLS instructor Missy White attended the shuttle launch to proudly see her NOLS NASA grads off. “The impact of watching a launch is hard to describe,” Missy said. “The ignition of the engines was stunningly bright and outrageously loud. Within seconds the shuttle was a mere bright blip way up high in the sky. As a NOLS instructor, I seek to have my students learn enough to be independent of me, and for them to lead the way. STS-120 is doing just that! I smiled to think that these folks are the great explorers of the modern world. I am proud of them in a way that knows no words.”
    Good luck and safe travels STS-120! We’re all proud of you!

Share |

Live from Banf-f

In just a few hours this year's  Wilderness Risk Management Conference kicks off at the Banff Mountain Centre (that's Canadian for center!). Of course a lot of folks have actually been here for quite a while. The NOLS Pro gang are in charge of the conference logistics and came up on Sunday to make sure everything was in place for this years conference.

Additionally, there were a number of pre-conference workshops that have been in progress for the last few days.

This yearly event brings together the best minds in managing risk in the wilderness environment to discuss everything from how to minimize risk to crisis response should an incident occur. Gotta run a keynote speaker is on in justa few minutes!

Bruce Palmer
NOLS marketing director

Share |

Brand Spankin New Skis!!!

Tom and Emily are mounting a whole set of brand new skis here at NOLS Rocky Mountain.  The issue room received 80 new pairs of skis recently, and are now in the process of getting them ready for the field.  I wonder who the lucky crew is that will take them on their maiden voyage?  I would just like to thank all the hard working folks in the issue room for all their time and effort to make this possible.

Share |

To the Canyonlands!

Instructors say good-bye to Lander as they head off to Three Peaks Ranch to meet up with Fall semester students.  For the canyon portion of their semester, FSR 5 and 6 will come together and then be divided into three separate groups.  It is a unique element of these semester courses, as they will be welcoming new course mates mid-semester.  All the best to FSR 5 and 6 in beautiful canyon country.

Share |

FSR-3 Climb Section prepares to head into the field

These are your instructors for the FSR-3 Climb Section.  They spent a couple of days briefing here at NOLS Rocky Mountain before heading into the field.  All of us here at the "RM" wish you a safe trip.  Missing from the photo is instructor Craig Muderlak.

Share |