WRMC Workshop Schedule Posted Online

We are excited to announce that the 2009 Wilderness Risk Management Conference Workshop Schedule has been posted online. The WRMC delivers exciting new workshops that offer take home action steps—what your organization can do immediately to enhance the quality of your risk management practices.

The timing could not be better, as there is still time to register under the early bird rate and save $110! This savings ends July 30, so sign up and prepare to learn, participate, and improve your risk management program!

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Giving Back to the Lander Community

Hello again NOLS community!!  The interns over at the RM are in the process of planning a canned food drive in conjunction with the kick-off of this years Lander Farmers Market.  We will be collecting cans, to benefit the Lander Food Bank, at the Museum of the American West on Tuesday August 4, starting at 5:00pm.  In years past the market has been held out at Sprouts greenhouse but this year it is moving to town.  Local farmers can bring their produce and as of this year can bring home baked goods.   
    Gardens such as the Sustainable Lives Youth Market Garden will be participating.   Sustainable Lives  is headed by Janet Smithson (a NOLS RM employee).  Janet works with groups from Pathfinder High school and other local youth. This involvement in agricultural commerce teaches students valuable life lessons and information which they in turn have the chance to pass on to their community through educational courses about growing your own food, nutrition and cooking. The kids and Janet grow food for sale in the community, for use at the Cowfish restaurant, and to donate to the Lander Food Bank.
   

We are so excited to work along with the people of Lander and the NOLS community to provide food for those in need.  Bring some canned food, buy some local produce, and come  celebrate the lovely community that is Lander, WY.   We look forward to seeing you all out there on Tuesday August 4!!!

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Horsin' Around at Three Peaks Ranch

The RM summer interns are back in Lander after two exciting days at Three Peaks Ranch.  We arrived to the ranch last Tuesday afternoon, in time for a quick tour and a short horseback ride throughout the surrounding open fields.

Three Peaks Ranch is a NOLS owned-and-operated horse ranch located in Boulder, Wyoming.  The ranch is used primarily to run Wilderness Horsepacking courses for NOLS students, and also doubles as a re-ration post for NOLS courses in the Wind River Range.

Last Wednesday was a fun-filled adventure as we had the chance to participate in a re-ration for a Wind River Wilderness course.  We started out early Wednesday morning, loaded the horse trailer, and drove up to the trail head above 8,000 feet.  From the trail head, we rode horseback 5 and half miles into the Wind River Range to our re-ration spot at Elkheart Lake.

The students of WRW 1-A 6/29/09 were all smiles as we arrived at Elkheart lake with their food rations.  This was their second re-ration of the course, and the students seemed to have the process dialed. 

   

As the students organized their rations, we found some time to relax and enjoy a quick lunch.  Pictured below is Nerren Pratt, a NOLS horsepacking instructor and Three Peaks staff member, taking a quick moment to relax alongside his dog Kiddo.

Our experience at the ranch could best be described as "work hard, play hard."  We had an excellent time at Three Peaks Ranch, and I would recommend to anyone to visit this wonderful place. 

In my short stay at the ranch, I found that the hard-working staff and their individual personalities all work together to help make Three Peaks Ranch truly an exciting place.

Ally, Meredith, and myself (Mitch) would all like to thank the ranch director Jen Sall, along with the entire Three Peaks staff for allowing us to visit their piece of paradise.

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Trouble-Free Tyvek

NOLS is pleased to introduce a successful system provided by Dupont, that has allowed us to increase our sustainability by recycling Tyvek products into other useful materials. Tyvek is a very popular product for NOLS to use while in the field and in the office; this durable and waterproof envelope allows NOLS instructors to keep valuable documents safe from harm and dry as well as protect our students very important applications in and out of the organization. Even though this product has its advantages for NOLS rugged backcountry expeditions Tyvek, up until early 2009 has been difficult to recycle. Since DuPont, the company that makes Tyvek, and Waste Management formed an alliance they are now able to manage a nationwide recycling program that provides a convenient envelope to collect used Tyvek envelopes.

Eric Concannon (shown in the photo above) an Admissions Officer for NOLS has head up the effort to return all Tyvek used at NOLS to DuPont. Earlier this week NOLS headquarters sent their first envelope back to DuPont with 10.8 pounds of Tyvek! The routine is quick and simple with the Waste Management Recycling Kit that is provided by Dupont. Recycling these products is practically hassle free, you just need to fill the kit’s envelope with your Tyvek products then seal and ship using the prepaid shipping label from Dupont.

If any of you blog readers are interested in making a difference or learning more about recycling Tyvek you can check out the incorporated links.

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Semester Grad Completes Marine Boot Camp

Spring Semester in the Rockies grad Peter Trausch recently returned from boot camp with the US Marines where he utilized his NOLS skills and then some during his training. Most notably was on a final test called “The Crucible,” during which recruits hiked a grueling 50 miles, throughout which their team of 20 was given obstacles to overcome together before finishing triumphantly at dawn 54 hours later.

Peter, a Lake Forest, IL resident, hopes to become a pilot, and “fly helicopters both in the Armed Forces and in the civilian world." With his devotion and knowledge, we have no doubt he will. Congratulations, Peter!

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Sox-Harris Wins Presidential Award

Former NOLS instructor, Alex Sox-Harris, has been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for his work in mental health care quality with the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. It’s the nation’s highest honor for beginning researchers, and Alex is one of 100 recipients to receive a grant for up to five years of research. The award honors the "pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology."

Sox-Harris will be honored with the other recipients at a ceremony at the White House this fall. Congratulations Alex!

(Wind River Mountains photo courtesy of Rich Brame)

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NOLS in Washington Post's On Leadership

The Washington Post recently added Rick Rochelle, NOLS Professional Training's director to its distinguished panel "On Leadership."

As stated in The Washington Post: "On Leadership will serve as an open and lively forum for an discussion of what makes for great leadership... The world is full of successful leaders who have developed their own sense of what works and what doesn't. Our aim is to tap into that knowledge, understanding and experience and apply it, in real time, to an online conversation about real world developments.

Each week, we pose a question about some recent development that has attracted attention and ask a distinguished panel of nearly 100 leaders and leadership experts to offer their answers and comments. It's an impressive and articulate group, drawn from diverse fields, with very different notions of what leadership is about."

In his first post, Rick Rochelle shares his insight on situational leadership as employed by Sarah Palin during her 2008 Vice Presidential bid.

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Man vs. wild: Student tests limits in wilderness course

Man vs. wild: Student tests limits in wilderness course - Lincoln, MA - Lincoln Journal

Julien Denner took time off from school life at Boston College to do something really wild — in the strictest sense of the word. “I needed something else,” he said. “I needed to be out in the wilderness with nothing. I wanted the skills to know how to survive outside.”

Posted using ShareThis

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From the Gym to the Trail

"Since 10 a.m. I had been descending the 13,350-foot peak of Downs Mountain on boulders the size of a Prius. (The stepping motion was familiar; the thousands of squats and lunges I performed at the gym with my trainer were ingrained in my quads.)"

Lisa Palmer's article Going the Distance, in this month's issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers, describes how her gym training transferred over to her NOLS course. She explains that while helping her son apply for a course, she realized that she wanted to do something similar. She chose a Light and Fast Backpacking course and the rest is history.

From cardiovascular and strength training to getting out on a trail with a pack, Lisa discusses what worked and what she could have done better while preparing physically for her course.

Pick up the July/Aug 2009 Issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers to read the full story.

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It's That Time of Year Again!

It's time to look forward to an exciting week in Lander!  The International Climbers' Festival is back in town, and for its 16th time around, it looks to be bigger and better than ever.  The festival kicks off Wednesday, July 8th and extends through Sunday, July 12th.

This year's festival is jam-packed with thrilling events, beginning with Wednesday night's slide show presented by Dave Anderson, an avid climber and NOLS instructor.  Throughout the week, there will be a large variety of events including climbing clinics, road biking, morning yoga, 20k/10k/5k trail runs, street parties, and a trade fair.

This is just a taste of what's to come during this year's climbing festival.  For more information and a complete schedule of events, check out the International Climbers' Festival website.

Thank you to the 2009 ICF Director Lindsay Nohl, along with the entire ICF board, and the numerous volunteers that are working together to help make this festival happen!  See you out there!

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