WRMC On Twitter

The 2009 Wilderness Risk Management Conference (WRMC) will post new conference topics and speakers, in addition to other important news, via our twitter feed. Follow attend_WRMC to stay up-to-date on conference happenings!

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KT Smith in World Rafting Championships

 KT Smith, an instructor for NOLS and WMI, is in Banja Luka, Bosnia for the 2009 World Rafting Championships. She is a member of the US Women's Whitewater Raft team, sitting "back left" on the six person raft.

There are three events to the championships:

The sprint is an elimination race in which pairs of teams race down a section of powerful rapids.

The slalom demands a high level of technique and teamwork to negotiate the rafts through 12 downriver and upriver gates in powerful rapids.

The downriver race is close to an hour of racing along of a section of continuous and powerful rapids. Technical ability and endurance are essential elements to ensuring a good position.

KT has taught many NOLS students the finer points of whitewater travel on the Whitewater River Expedition, and Rock and River courses. KT also instructs a wide range of courses for WMI, from the Wilderness First Responder course to the W-EMT.

Check out the US Whitewater Raft Team page and blog. Go USA!

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WRMC Workshops - Choose Your Session!

We are excited to announce the 2009 Wilderness Risk Management Conference workshops. This year we have a wide array of new speakers and workshops! Risk Management Issues in the Digital Age,  Hands On Discovery Workshop and Practice with Depositions, Designing and Managing an Effective Staff Training, and The Role of Medical Directors in Risk Management just to name a few!

Registration for this year's exciting conference is open, so plan ahead and join us in Durham, North Carolina!

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Astronaut Grunsfeld On NOLS - From Space

Here is a recent post by NASA Astronaut John Grunsfeld on the "NOLS Share Your Leadership Story" web page. 

From the International Space Station:

This space mission to the Hubble was by far the most complex and difficult of my expeditions to space. We spent over 3 years planning, preparing and training to make the repairs and upgrades to the telescope. The success of our mission can only be attributed to this preparation, and training, and more training. Everyone knew their role and strived for excellence. We knew we'd make mistakes, and planned for it. After all we're all human. The goal was to trap the mistakes early, resolve the issue and then to move on.

The satisfaction we have of leaving Hubble with more capability for science and exploration than it's ever had is huge. My entire crew is NOLS trained--starting with my WRW in '74, when Paul Petzoldt was in the lumberyard, to our Hubble Crew training by NOLS Pro, the NASA Sea Kayaking Leadership Expedition in Alaska in 2007.

Thanks,
John Grunsfeld

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Paul Petzoldt's films of NOLS in the 1960's

Paul Petzoldt's films of NOLS in the 1960's from NOLS on Vimeo.

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The NOLS Buz

The NOLS Buz from NOLS on Vimeo.

In 2009 Emanuel Rosen, author of The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited, joined the NOLS Bus for its spring mid-west tour. Powered by recycled vegetable oil (RVO) and solar power this educational program on wheels provides an active, environmentally conscious way to learn about the outdoors and celebrate leadership.

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A Farewell to RM

“I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.”  These words, the last line of the AmeriCorps pledge, echo like a heartbeat throughout NOLS RM.  The pledge was only meant to be performed once at the beginning of the internship, however, we felt as if the message was so profound, so moving, that it was as essential as an early morning cup of coffee.  Director Gary Cukjati has been known to show up as early as 7:58:45 just to hear the pledge spoken.

As the end of the internship neared, we set out to come up with a way to quantify how well we got things done.  After numerous minutes of bewildered discussions, we failed, miserably.  We then decided to do what any good interns would do and go straight to our vastly more knowledgeable supervisors.

At the RM, the intern desks are located in a precarious spot.  Ten feet behind us, three portals act like viewing windows at a zoo for our bosses.  But this ain’t Sea World and we decided the best way to judge how we’ve been doing is to ask.  Here is what Asst. Director Kevin Bergstrom, RM Director Gary Cukjati , and our boss, Special Projects Manager Lara McCluskey, had to say.

In your mind, what is our greatest accomplishment?
Kevin:  The productivity meter.
Gary:  Uhm… Well… (long pause) you’ve been remarkably quiet.
Lara:  You two worked well together… almost too well. 

If the interns were to run the RM, would you invest in the RM’s future?
Kevin: Oh yes.  Invest in it like a short seller.
Gary: Well, what does it mean to run the RM?  Do I? You sat outside my office for ten weeks.  Do I run it?  Let’s be serious.  Yeah sure, I’d invest.  Of course.
Lara:  Next question.

Describe what you think when you look out your doorway?
Kevin:  What a fine group of gentleman.  Gives me faith in the youth of America.
Gary:  Proud, from the eight o’clock pledge to the closing minute.  Flashes of the Fourth of July, fireworks, and the maestro Lee Greenwood all come to mind. 
Lara:  I really like working with those guys.

The Spring 2009 RM Internship has been a truly worthwhile experience!  Thanks to everyone and we will miss all our friends at the Rocky Mountain. 

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The Time of Year When Parents Thoughts Turn To...

 As I have been traveling over the past few months speaking with students and families about taking a NOLS course quite a few have mentioned that they read a blog entry I made a few years ago when my son, Clay, was on his Wind River Wilderness course. A few have mentioned that it gave voice to some of their concerns as they get their child ready to head off for thirty days with NOLS. Read the entry. Maybe you'll find it helpful, too. 

P.S. Clay had a great time on his course, graduated from high school and is loving life at the University of Wyoming. He is a Wildlife Habitat major and a trip leader for the Outdoor Program, where he leads flyfishing trips. This summer he has a job tracking radio collared sage grouse for researchers studying these birds and their habitat.

Bruce Palmer, NOLS Admission and Marketing Director

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