Latest Craze @ NOLS Rocky Mountain: Gulch Bars

At NOLS Rocky Mountain, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all students are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are the right to a nutritious and flavorful energy bar. 

Providing high quality wilderness education to our students is no easy task.  It requires enormous focus, motivation, and sustained energy on behalf of the staff.  No one embodies these qualities more than Rations Manager Claudia Pearson and Assistant Rations Manager Stefani Smith.  The two “Iron Chefs” of backcountry cooking are always looking for ways to improve the NOLS Rocky Mountain experience.  With a myriad of energy bars on the market, it is hard for a student to know which bar to trust.  Thanks to Claudia and Stefani, a student’s life has become less complicated.

It’s delicious.  It’s nutritious.  It’s the Gulch Bar.  Straight from the producers that brought you the Gulch Spice Kit and the NOLS Cookery, the Gulch presents an energy bar whose origins are founded on 44 years of wilderness expedition experience.   The Gulch Bar is wheat and gluten free!.  With an emphasis on texture, flavor, cost, durability and presentation, the Gulch Bar is a quintessential culinary masterpiece.

Here is what NOLS Rocky Mountain Director Gary Cukjati had to say about the bar:

Q: How would you describe the Gulch Bar?
GC: It offers something different from a typical energy bar.  It has a great combination of flavor and texture, while leaving a pleasant honey after taste.

Q:  If the bar were a human, who would it be?
GC: John Travolta in Grease.

Q:  In your opinion, is the Gulch Bar the key to peace on earth?
GC:  Absolutely not.  That’s a ridiculous question. 

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NOLS Southwest at Summit Hut Outdoor Expo

NOLS Southwest staff recently spent a sunny Tucson weekend at the Summit Hut spring sale and Outdoor Expo.  Summit Hut is a NOLS Preffered Retailer with friendly, skilled staff who love to help folks get outdoors.

NOLS Southwest has long had a fun and interactive relationship with Summit Hut, often attending the annual used gear swap meet and now the outdoor expo.  Southwest Director Janeen Hutchins, Assistant Director Scott Christy, and Special Projects Manager Ryan Hutchins-Cabibi spent two days sharing information with a broad group of outdoor recreationists and networking with other local non-profits.

"Summit Hut began its entry into the outdoor retail industry modestly in 1967 when two fifteen year-old friends, Jeff Conn and Summit Hut, Ltd. President, David Baker, collaborated to offer a special order service for Tucsonans who desired backpacking and mountaineering equipment. The boys conducted business from their bedrooms and stored the inventory under their beds. In 1968 David, a senior in high school, bought out Jeff's interest in the company and rented a 150 square foot room attached to a small bicycle shop across the street from their high school.

As an independent Tucson, Arizona based business, the Summit Hut actively supports local, state and regional outdoor recreation related causes and events to the best of our ability. We feel it is our obligation, as an outdoor retailer, to do our part in maintaining the very land that allows our business to exist."

We were excited to watch Dave Baker, Summit Hut President present an excellent clinic on lightweight backpacking techniques, and to get upclose and personal with some raptors from the local animal rescue program.

With deals on gear, onsite coffee and tri-tip BBQ, afun and diverse group of local non-profits and of course your friendly Neighborhood NOLS Staff, this event was great fun!

A huge Thanks to all the Summit Hut employees for running a great Expo and inviting us to attend, We look forward to being a part of this great Tucson event in the future!

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Omnibus Public Lands Management Act Hits Obama's Desk

Today the National Outdoor Leadership School celebrated passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 by the U.S. House of Representatives, which included the Wyoming Range Legacy Act. The bill will now move to President Obama’s desk and await his signature. Since 2004, NOLS has been closely engaged in a broad grassroots effort to protect 1.2 million acres of Wyoming’s namesake mountain range from oil and gas development, which is a key year-round classroom for backcountry wilderness courses.

“Passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act verifies that protecting wildlife and wild places in addition to healthy rural mountain economies is a high priority for Congress.” said John Gans, NOLS Executive Director. “The National Outdoor Leadership School would like to thank Senator John Barrasso, Senator Mike Enzi, and Governor Dave Freudenthal for their unwavering support of this bill, and for their commitment to the legacy of the late Senator Craig Thomas.”

Today, the passion and commitment of those who value wilderness, wild rivers, and wildlife habitat has paid off.   Once signed, the 160 bills that make up the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act will designate 2 million acres of new Wilderness, create 1,000 miles of new Wild and Scenic Rivers, and expand our National Park System. This is the largest Wilderness bill to be passed since 1994.

photo courtesy of Gary Amerine

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OES Spring 09 Luncheon

Last Monday, March 16th, NOLS Rocky Mountain hosted a delicious luncheon in the Noble dining room for our Outdoor Educator Semester.  The OES met with the NOLS Lander community to discuss how NOLS operates and gave students a chance to network with people who have chosen outdoor education as a profession. 

NOLS Rocky Mountain encourages ongoing student education throughout the semester in the back country and front country.  During the OES’s brief stop over in Lander between their Winter and Canyon sections, the luncheon provided an opportunity for students to connect with NOLS employees and explore a future in outdoor education.  In addition, the end of an extended Winter camping adventure always calls for a large delicious celebration.

Thanks to Gnat Wells and the Noble Kitchen staff for an amazing lunch!

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NOLS Rocks the House

The U.S. House of Representatives, that is. NOLS staff took time out of their busy lives this week to participate in the Wyoming Range Call-A-Thon, phoning alumni in key congressional districts to build support for the Omnibus Public Lands Act. Over 450 alumni in 12 key congressional districts were called and asked to contact their Congressional Representatives in support of the bill. The Public Policy department predicts that Representatives could be hearing from 10 to 20 NOLS graduates in each district.

The Omnibus Public Lands Act designates more than 2,000,000 acres of new Wilderness on Federal Lands, creates more that 1,000 new miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers, and withdraws 1,200,000 acres from oil and gas development in the Wyoming Range, a crucial NOLS classroom.

Two weeks ago, supporters' hopes were dashed as the Act fell two votes shy of the 2/3 majority required to move it swiftly out of the House and place it on the President's desk. This week, the U.S. Senate pass a different version of the bill that would be more amenable to the U.S. House.

NOLS and other supporters of the legislation hope that constituent calls to moderate Democrats and Republicans can gain additional votes before the revised bill is reconsidered, which could be as soon as March 25 or 26.

photo courtesy Gary Amerine

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NOLS Graduates in Space

Last night, NASA's space shuttle Discovery successfully launched into space with crew STS-119 on board for their mission to install the final set of solar arrays on the International Space Station.

All seven astronauts have completed NOLS courses, practicing leadership and expedition skills to prepare them for missions in space. These courses were custom designed by NOLS Professional Training for NASA astronauts as part of their two-year training for spaceflight.

Read about the mission on NASA's blog or follow them on Twitter.

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Getting a Grip on Sustainability

With branches across the world, sustainability can sometimes feel scattered at NOLS.  Our Sustainability Coordinator, Karly Copeland is saddled with the important task of unifying all  these great ideas into sustainability  purchasing guides.  Although we are still in the planning phase of this assignment, the NOLS sustainable purchasing research team stumbled upon a few interesting ideas people have for reducing, re-using and recycling. 

Reduce:
While reviewing travel-purchasing research, filled with practical sustainable suggestions like taking only non-stop flights and carpooling, one suggestion seemed to stand apart from the rest. Reduction guides suggest that people start planning their trip routes to minimize left hand turns.  At first glance, this suggestion seemed a bit over the top.  My mind instantly created a scenario where families like the Griswolds from “National Lampoon’s Vacation” are expected to plan their cross-country route in a counter clockwise fashion, so they do not offend the left hand turn rule.  However, after discussing my ridiculous idea with colleagues here at NOLS, I was brought back to reality and quickly realized I currently implement the same strategy in my everyday life.  Minimizing the amount of left hand turns you take on average minimizes the amount of time you are on the road.  I am always trying to get my errands done quicker so instead of taking the route to the grocery store that includes 1 stop sign and 3 lights, I go one block out of my way to take the route that only has 1 stop sign and 0 lights.  This way my car doesn’t idle as long and the trip takes consistently less time.  Consequently my car produces less emissions and I use less fossil fuels. 

Re-use:
Re-using takes the form re-purposing when reviewing green cleaning purchasing research.  The majority of research we compiled suggested that “green cleaning” is not only achieved by purchasing expensive name brand “green certified” cleaners.  One can achieve “green” by re-purposing what they already buy at the grocery store for cleaning instead of cooking.  Vinegar, baking soda, lemon, and salt hold natural cleaning power just waiting to be unleashed.  Common floor, bathroom, and all-purpose cleaner recipes are available online and in bookstores across the country.  Re-purposing your household goods reduces the amount of chemicals released into our environment and reduces the toxicity of our lakes, streams and animal habitats.

Recycle:
I remember the days when recycling your unwanted paper at the local center was the extent of most peoples paper recycling repertoire.  It seems now, that if you aren’t currently using paper made from recycled content, you are behind the times.  It is common practice throughout the country to encourage recycled paper purchasing.  Many companies even require their staff to buy no less than 30% PCR (post consumer recycled fiber) or they only buy tissue paper with 100% recycled content and a minimum of 50% PCR content.   Its exciting to see how reduce, re-use, and recycle ethics infiltrate every aspect of ones life. 

You can’t bike to the grocery store, to get the white vinegar you need for your floor without stumbling into some sustainable practice you have been doing for years that is just now gaining “green” publicity. 

photo courtesy of Lara McCluskey

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All's Quiet on the Southwestern Front

The spring season is well underway here at the NOLS Southwest. There are currently two courses in the midst of their rock camps at Cochise Stronghold, the Semester on the Borders (SWNW 02/11/2009) and first Semester in the Southwest (SSW 01/09/2009), where they are progressing through the rock-climbing curriculum, and learning to love the balance, strength, and focus required for climbing.

Meanwhile, the second Semester in the Southwest (SSW 02/01/2009) is wrapping up their Caving in the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico, and is getting psyched for their transition to canoeing the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. The Canoe instructors were just here in town, preparing for the 14-day paddle; yesterday they departed bright and early for the full day’s drive- Good luck!

Above are SSW 2/01/2009 Rio Instructors, Larry, TC & AK loaded up in the NOLS SW bus, ready for the drive to Texas! This will leave the branch relatively quiet for a week until the SSW 01/09/2009 and SWNW 02/11/2009 return to the branch hot off the rocks of climbing camp!

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Winter Comes To a Close @ NOLS Rocky Mountain

It's 8:05 AM at NOLS Rocky Mountain Outfitting.  Standing in the middle of the room is Assistant Outfitting Coordinator Andy Spilecki.  The 5’10” brown eyed equipment guru scans the room.  Skis.  Skins. Sleds.  Avalanche beacons. Probes. Shovels. Zero degree sleeping bags… he stops as the familiar aroma creeps over his shoulder and consumes him.  Slowly, the outfitting wizard turns his head and zeroes in on the “jet fuel”, super strong coffee .  In Spilecki’s universe, "jet fuel" keeps him wide awake and running on all cylinders to serve students better.

Spilecki’s agenda this week: properly store winter gear.  With the end of Winter comes a lot of work.  Skis need to be cleaned, repaired, and stored for the snowless summer months ahead.  Sleeping bags, Dacron, and ski boots are laundered then stowed away.  Sleds, probes, and snow shovels are examined and repaired.   Any normal human would show the wear and tear of these arduous tasks, however, Andy is a NOLS Rocky Mountain superhero.

  

Thanks to the hard work of Kevin McGowan, Beth Gerace and Andy in the outfitting department, future NOLS Rocky Mountain students are assured to have top notch, clean and functional equipment.  Bring on the warm spring weather...

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Of Leadership and Weather....

So, I’m walking down the hall the other day into the nerve center of NOLS Professional Training. You must realize that at NOLS Headquarters each deptartment has its own identity and sense of flair. In NOLS Pro it’s along the lines of  “do excellent work, but have a blast doing it.” Well, on this particular day, I noticed on the whiteboard the quote “failure is not an option” attributed to Gene Kranz of the Apollo 13 mission. When I asked about it, I was informed that the department has adopted it as a motto in response to the current economic situation facing our country and marketplace. I smiled, thinking to myself what a classic NOLS response that was.

One of the specific leadership skills we teach at NOLS is tolerance for adversity and uncertainty.  By nature as an organization we excel at this skill. We have had ample opportunity to master it while spending years in the field suffering through storms and making navigational decisions without full clarity of the environment. So when the economy suddenly pulls a u-turn, we hunker down, tolerate the uncomfortable, take stock, and acquire a Zen-like patience for the unknown.  NOLS is an organization that flourishes during crisis and challenge.  It almost seems odd, but we are known for our ability to successfully put ourselves on teams and expeditions in the harshest environments, in the remotest locations on Earth, and accomplish great things. This is because we have a high capacity for the skill of tolerance for adversity and uncertainty.

Crazy circumstances are always going to show up in our professional and personal lives–much like weather does on NOLS courses. The skill of practicing tolerance for adversity and uncertainty is crucial to navigating the challenges. Leaders and organizations that practice this skill will actually flourish.  “Weather” becomes indistinguishable as good or bad, it just represents a changing environment while en route to accomplishing our goals. 

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