Long Island Woman Completes Gap Year at NOLS

Link: LongIslanderNews.com > The Long-Islander.

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'Twas the night before solstice. . .

'Twas the night before solstice and all through the halls,
not a student was scurrying, and nary a phone call; 
The backpacks were hung in the issue room with care,
in hopes that our students would soon be back here;

The assistant director nestled all snug in his new space,
With visions of permits plastered all over his face;
With Gary in his 'kerchief and Latane in his cap,
They both are settling down for a short winter's nap;

And what did our wondering eyes did appear,
But several gulch angels bringing us all cheer.

And thus, you shall hear us exclaim as we temporarily duck out of sight,
Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night!

Fall Outdoor Educator-1 at the Vernal River Base

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Send us your winter stories!

To help entertain us through the long, dark winter hours, we're seeking your stories about this chilly time of year! Have you taken a winter course at NOLS? Do you have a tale of a particularly epic ice climbing trip, or do you mush dogs in your spare time? Maybe you've got a recipe for a winter camping breakfast that shouldn't be missed? We want to know! Leave your stories as comments on this post!

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End of Season Comments

Whew!
What a season for NOLS Southwest: Two Fall Semesters in the Southwest courses, a Caving Seminar, the first half of the Year in the Sonoran (which included a 9-day in-town WFR course), a NASA group to the Galiuros, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On top of all the tremendous accomplishments by the fantastic NOLS Southwest in-town staff, proctors, and instructors who worked this fall is the fact that all students from the Fall Semester courses graduated, and the eight gentlemen who started their Year in the Sonoran course this fall in the Southwest are all still together, loving the NOLS student life, and ready to move on to the next leg of their year-long course.
We all are proud of our students and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
We are also proud of the very successful fall season we had this year. I think a celebration is in order…
Eggnog anybody?

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FSR 5 and 6: fly the coop!

Another bittersweet goodbye to two of our fall semesters.  Freshly showered with only remnants of the wilderness funk smell lingering, semester students spent their final day and night together debriefing their expedition, deissuing their gear and celebrating the end of their semester.  We will miss watching them progress through their semester as they grow more competent and confident expedition members, and we wish them well on their next endeavor.

FSR 6

FSR 5

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Solar panels going up

Yesterday NOLS Rocky Mountain was busy with some unusual business. In addition to the usual debriefing and de-issuing of semester courses that goes on around this time of year, the troops were rallied for a construction project. Staff from NOLS Rocky Mountain, and some folks who came down the street from Headquarters, were directed by Creative Energies staff (former NOLSies themselves) to complete the installation of solar panels for the branch!

Thanks to everyone who came out to help! For more photos from the project, click here.

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Sonoran Year Wilderness First Responder (WFR)

Knowledge is power, or so I like to say. Ok. Maybe it was Sir Francis Bacon and not me who said that, but I have to agree with the philosopher.
This past fall, the Year in the Sonoran students completed a critical course in wilderness first aid referred to simply as a WFR (pronounced: Woofer). Knowledge of wilderness first aid is hugely important when you or a party of folks want to expedition in the Wind River Range or even if you just want to go on a day hike on the Appalachian Trail.
Well, good news is that all the Sonoran Year fellas graduated from their WFR course, and now they're prepared to assess and treat anything from a broken femur to severe frostbite.
Congrats, guys, on a job well done.

WFR scenario by the Southwest Branch pool

Assessing a scenario patient

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FSR 3 and 4 : Before and After

The Fall Semester in the Rockies 4 Brodeo from "Where are we going?" to. . .

"Where have we been?"

The Fall Semester in the Rockies 3 crew from hardly knowing one another. . .

to hanging all over each other (and speaking in their own language of acronyms).

Congrats FSR 3 and 4 grads!  Click on the photos above to see photos of student semesters in the field and around the base.

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Urban Climber mention

Urban Climber Magazine gives away a pair of climbing shoes a month to the reader who sends in the best letter to their Word department. In this month's issue, one reader sent in a DVD featuring a slideshow of "10 reasons why UCMag should send me climbing shoes." One of the reader's reasons she should be sent the free gear? "I want to become a Wilderness EMT through NOLS. Sending me shoes could save someone's life."

I'm thinking it's more about the quality training she'd get from WMI than the shoes on her feet...but you have to give her credit for trying!

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