Faculty Summit kicks off with clinics
The second annual NOLS Faculty Summit kicked off today, with clinics up and down Sinks Canyon outside Lander. Both the river crossing clinic and rock rescue clinic kicked off early in the morning, and the afternoon included a Tyrolean traverse clinic.
Our pants are flapping in the wind! The famous NOLS wind pants mark the location of the majority o the Summit events, Sinks Canyon Center. Kyle Duba photo
The river crossing clinic, led by NOLS Director of Risk Management Drew Leemon, provided instructors with an opportunity to discuss and practice NOLS accepted field practices across the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River.
Instructors make their way across the river as a team, including those standing downriver as a safeguard.Kyle Duba photo
Meanwhile, the daylong rock rescue clinic gave new and experienced instructors alike the chance to learn and conduct a variety of rescues on the rock walls of the canyon.
Jared Spaulding (right) looks on while two students work through a knot on the ground before putting themselves to the test on the wall.Kyle Duba photo
Students practice rescue techniques on some of the routes in Sinks Canyon. Kyle Duba photo
The afternoon was rounded out with a clinic on the Tyrolean traverse, a means of transporting equipment or people over an obstacle—in this case, a river. You can also find a video of this venture on County 10.
Cool water flows by as students make their way—dry—across. Kyle Duba photo
Each of these clinics was led by NOLS faculty and executed in a safe and fun environment. Over the next three days, the participants will delve into workshops and lectures by experts in the outdoor industry as part of the Summit. Keep an eye on NOLS.TV for videos of the week’s events if you weren’t able to attend in person.
Permalink | Posted by Casey Dean on May 15, 2012 in the following categories: In The News, Instructor News, On The Net
NOLS Pro featured in Businessweek
“Outdoor education, once largely confined to orientation at business schools, is making inroads at a growing number of MBA programs as schools look for more effective ways to teach students the dynamics of leadership and team-building. Many of them are turning to the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS),” writes Alison Damast in a Bloomberg Businessweek article published today.
The article, with headline “MBAs Learning Leadership the Hard Way,” examines the trend of business schools across the nation incorporating outdoor education into programming, specifically with NOLS Professional Training.
A number of business schools and businesses have custom programs through NOLS Pro. David Anderson photo
NOLS has seen a three-fold increase in MBA programs since 2007, and the future looks bright, as conversations are ongoing with a number of renowned MBA programs. The school with the longest history with NOLS, Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, gives the experience and NOLS Pro rave reviews in the article:
“They’re in charge and they have all this responsibility in an environment in which they are not the experts,” Warton’s Director of Graduate Leadership Jeff Klein is quoted saying in the article. “Where we find NOLS to be incredibly skilled is the ability to allow students to lead and then to accept the consequences of success or failure.”
Permalink | Posted by Casey Dean on May 7, 2012 in the following categories: In The News, Leadership, On The Net, Professional Training
Building Gardens, Growing Community
Thank you to all those volunteers from NOLS who came out to Ft. Washakie last Friday to help out with the Earth Day Community Garden Outreach event! Battling through 40 mph winds which made earth moving all the more challenging, we worked alongside students from the local Charter School, Boces Green Construction and the Pathfinder High School, to build over 600 feet of perimeter fencing and 300 feet of raised beds. It was truly an incredible effort!
Fred Groenke, Director of the Wind River Native Science Field Center, and the mastermind behind the project, expects the gardens to be used and appreciated by the community, with the ultimate goal of raising awareness surrounding healthy diet and lifestyle. We were so pleased to be able to support this mission, and hope to see the fruits and vegetables of our labor come summertime!
We would like to give a special thanks to the following for their support: The Noble Kitchen, NOLS transportation, The Gourmet Gulch, Bread Board, The Cooking Crow, Apple Valley Market, Mr. D's and Safeway
Julie, Kay and Dave
Rocky Mountain and Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Interns
Permalink | Posted by Kay Sherwood on Apr 30, 2012 in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, In The News, Rocky Mountain
NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute Announces New WEMT Programming in Northern California
NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) is pleased to announce its California Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT) program has a new home near Mt. Shasta at the College of the Siskiyous.
Photo by Shana Tarter
The College of the Siskiyous is home to established programs for Paramedics, EMTs, and Wildland Fire Fighters. “We feel it is a very good match”, says WMI Special Programs Manager Gates Richards. "The College of the Siskiyous and WMI share similar desired outcomes for emergency and wilderness medicine education, and they are excited to have us bring our WEMT program on campus. We will have the ability to easily transition from accessible urban EMT resources and an excellent indoor classroom right into local wilderness resources."
"A multi-year agreement was signed with the College of Siskiyous to host our WEMT courses. We look forward to developing our partnership with the College," adds Richards.
Photo by Shana Tarter
WMI’s WEMT courses are full immersion intensive training. WMI instructors have broad experience in both urban and wilderness medicine and are able to integrate both curricula for a wide range of students. WMI courses are demanding but rewarding; students leave prepared to deal with emergencies no matter where they happen.
The first WEMT courses in Mt. Shasta will be held this summer.
Permalink | Posted by Leslie van Barselaar on Apr 25, 2012 in the following categories: In The News, Wilderness Medicine Institute
Notes from the Field: Phil Henderson’s first weeks at Everest Base Camp
NOLS senior field instructor and Rocky Mountain River Base Manager Phil Henderson has reached Everest Base Camp and continues to report back from his expedition on Mount Everest. The following are his first notes from Everest Base Camp:
Phil Henderson
March 30: We are now in the high alpine environment. Hiking over the shoulder of the terminal moraine on the Khumbu Glacier, we passed an area where Chortens have been built to honor some of those who have lost their lives in the Himalayas—a reminder of the dangers we face, and the risks we take to travel and climb here.
As I passed a series of Chortens, I recognized a name forever etched in the big granite stone: Scott Fischer, 1996. The stone is painted white, and the letters are painted black. The stone is covered with fresh prayer flags, a sign that he is remembered each year. As I walk past this spot I am reminded of the people who have been, or could be, in my shoes.
The fact that I am here is a result of time spent working, skiing, climbing, watching, or just listening to people with much more experience than me, people who took the time to help me gain the skills and experience to make this journey.
Everest Base Camp
April 3: Third day in Everest Base Camp (EBC): Spent yesterday getting installed (our base camp crew is amazing). We are actually camping on the glacier, so the rocks and ice need to be moved to make flat spots. Our Nepali crew makes everything possible. The Khumbu Icefall is fixed, so we will be ready to climb after the Puja [prayer ceremony] in a few days. Lots of serac falls again last night, I think this will be a nightly occurrence.
Clockwise: Panuru Sherpa (our Sidar) from Phortse, AnKaji Sherpa from Makalu, Tendi Sherpa from Solukhumbu, Phil Henderson and Mingma Sherpa from Taksindu.
April 7: Last night was a rough night. It snowed a few inches and I had a headache, but was better in the morning. Another acclimation day spent hiking around EBC. Met with Luanne at the medical clinic, and chatted with David Brashears for a brief moment.
We made more adjustments to our establishment, and enjoyed the warm morning weather. Since we are camped on an active glacier things move. Slowly, but they do move. I hear rocks moving on the glacier at night, as well as big seracs falling and avalanches that wake me from sleeping.
We often have discussions about why we climb mountains, or go on expeditions. Camaraderie is built within the group—in our case this also means our Nepali staff. But the sharing of stories, emotions, in sickness and in health is truly the bigger reason. Standing on the summit will be but a few glorious minutes within months of time spent with the group, eating laughing, and being cold. Yeah, sound like a NOLS course? Similar, but we get to drink scotch and watch movies in base camp at night.
April 10: The average daytime temp is around 47 degrees; however, with the solar gain it can get up to 80 degrees in my tent during the day, and the nighttime temps are dropping to about 21 degrees and below. Base camp life consists of getting up around 6:30 (cold!), breakfast around 8, and then group discussion for the day. Sometimes we need to scrape rock from the south-facing slope of ice that feeds our water pool to keep it full. Daily maintenance of personal tents—they melt out as well, lunch around noon, and maybe go bouldering on the ice-fall or hike around Manhattan (base camp central).
Permalink | Posted by Mike Hepler on Apr 16, 2012 in the following categories: In The News, Instructor News, Leadership, Southwest
LMS Students Get Outside to Protect the Little Popo Agie
What do you get when you mix 120 middle schoolers, branch loppers, and a need for willow cuttings to stabilize cut-banks along the Little Popo Agie River? You might be thinking missing digits, but on a beautiful spring afternoon this week, the answer was 700 willow cuttings and a highly successful first installment of the Red Canyon River Bank Stabilization project.
One student trimming a willow cutting at Red Canyon. Photo credit: Lindsay D’Addato
We felt incredibly lucky to have such a positive and motivated group of students from the Lander Middle School come out to Red Canyon for the afternoon on Tuesday. Along with harvesting and trimming willows, students rotated through a series of classes, including: a macro-invertebrates class from the Popo Agie Conservation District’s Dave Morneau; a fly casting clinic; a geo-caching tutorial; and a Dangerous Flora and Fauna of Red Canyon class by WMI’s own Anna Gast. It was a great opportunity for students to explore the many ways that they can enjoy the amazing lands surrounding Lander.
Students eagerly participated in a class on Red Canyon flora and fauna Tuesday afternoon. Photo credit: Lindsay D’Addato.
It was smiles all around as volunteers from the Popo Agie Anglers and teachers and staff from school shuffled students through classes and willow cutting. We want to express thanks to Nan Slingerland, Donn Kesselheim, Gary Blackwelder, and The Nature Conservancy who gave us permission to harvest on their land.
An LMS student learning the ins and outs of the fly cast. Photo Credit: Lindsay D’Addato
The willow cuttings that were harvested at this event are going to soak for the next two weeks, and will be planted at the Red Canyon Public Fishing Access on April 20th from 12pm – 3pm with the help of the same group of all-stars from the middle school. We’re also planning to continue developing the Red Canyon-specific curriculum.
If you are interested in volunteering at the planting event on April 20th, please send an e-mail to David Clark-Barol, ES&S intern, at david_clark-barol@nols.edu.
Check out a video of all the action at the County 10 website.
Permalink | Posted by Dave Clark-Barol on Apr 4, 2012 in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, In The News, Rocky Mountain, Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus
Wilderness Leadership in the Harvard Business Review
We at NOLS operate on the firm believe that leadership can be learned. The people we instruct, from teenage students to business executives and everything in between, believe the same. Marc Randolph, among numerous other renowned members of the world of business, was quoted saying so in the April issue of the Harvard Business Review:
“Marc Randolph, a cofounder of Netflix and a NOLS graduate, strongly believes in stepping up to leadership this way. ‘On a hike, it’s a constant process of not being sure, taking a shot, and finding out one, 10, or 100 minutes later whether your decision was a good or bad one,’ he says. ‘That’s what you face in the business world, especially as an entrepreneur.’”
To read more of this thorough examination of the NOLS curriculum as it applies to the business world, written by our own Diversity and Inclusion Manager Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin and Director for Leadership John Kanengieter, pick up the April issue of the HBR, or check it out online.
Aparna Rajagopal-Durbin
Permalink | Posted by Casey Dean on Mar 23, 2012 in the following categories: Curriculum, In The News, Leadership, Professional Training
Desolation Canyon to See Drilling
It continues to be a tough year for NOLS river classrooms, as the BLM released a final environmental impact statement last week assessing the Gasco Energy Uinta Basin natural gas project. If authorized, Gasco- a Colorado-based natural gas company- will build nearly 1,300 new natural gas wells in Utah’s Desolation Canyon and other remote areas. A notice in the Federal Register opened a 30-day public review period, which ends April 16th, after which the final authorization will likely be granted.
The pristine beauty of Desolation Canyon/ Photo credit: Ashley Wise
The highly controversial decision made by the Department of the Interior and approved by the Obama administration has drawn strong criticism. The project poses a major threat to the Desolation Canyon wilderness study area, an oft-frequented NOLS river classroom, and the largest unprotected roadless complex in the lower 48.
It was a surprising decision in light of the fact that in November of 2011 Secretary Salazar, head of the Department of the interior, declared that Desolation Canyon merited wilderness protections by Congress. Furthermore, the administration chose this option over two other, more protective, alternatives.
NOLS has participated in public comment periods throughout the process, expressing a concern “that this project will have a serious impact on the river experience.” NOLS also commented on the threat that development poses to air quality, which will “degrade the outstanding and remarkable values that compelled the Vernal BLM to recommend this stretch of the Green River as suitable for designation under the Wild and Scenic River Act.”
NOLS canoe course running the waters of Desolation Canyon/ Photo credit: Ashley Wise
The proposed final EIS does not strike the necessary balance between development and conservation. As a result, some of the wildest and most pristine parts of Utah and a valuable NOLS classroom are going to be compromised. If you would like to comment on the recently authorized Environmental Impact Statement that allows the development of around 200 natural gas wells in the Desolation Canyon wilderness study area, you can address comments to:
UT_Vernal_Comments@BLM.gov
Attn: Mark Wimmer
Check out the NRDC's Switchboard blog for more information.
Permalink | Posted by Dave Clark-Barol on Mar 22, 2012 in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, In The News, Rocky Mountain
NOLS' Phil Henderson looks to make history on Everest
Since the first successful ascent in 1953, there have been many attempts by those looking to add their names to Everest’s history books. Over the last 59 years, there have been 5,104 successful ascents to the summit by 3,142 individuals. Out of those numbers there is still one thing missing: the first African American male to summit Mt. Everest. Phil Henderson is looking change that this spring.
Phil’s journey to the top of the world started long ago in a much lower place. The story of how Phil came to be where he is today is an incredible one. In 1986, while playing college football as a free safety, he sustained hairline fractures in his third and fourth cervical vertebrae. The injury ended his football career. It would be over a year before Phil would fully recover and return to a healthy and normal lifestyle. From that point on, he has lived a life that most people could only dream of.
He learned about the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in 1991 and the next year came to Lander, Wyo., for a Semester in the Rockies. In 1994 he returned to NOLS for his Mountaineering Instructor Course and has been working around the world sharing his knowledge and love for the outdoors with hundreds of students ever since.
Phil has shared his wealth of knowledge and passion outside of NOLS, as well. He has worked both in his local community and climbing schools throughout the globe, including several years as an instructor with the Khumbu Climbing School (KCS) in Nepal. The goal of KCS is to increase the safety of Nepali climbers and high-altitude workers by encouraging responsible climbing practices in a supportive and community-based program. It is there that Phil was afforded the opportunity to work alongside Sherpas of the area teaching leadership skills while learning from them at the same time.
A veteran mountaineer, Phil has led many expeditions on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, and Denali, but Everest is a completely different animal. Reaching the summit will require climbing 29,029 feet (about five miles above sea level), enduring harsh environmental conditions including temperatures ranging from –80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, winds gusting over 200 miles per hour, and an atmospheric pressure only four pounds greater than Mars at the summit.
During his diverse and global career as a wilderness leader, Phil has become an exemplarily role model to all who know him. In his current venture he will not only try to make history, but broaden the awareness of the benefits and accessibility of the outdoors to minorities, specifically African Americans.
You can follow Phil and the rest of the Expedition Team’s progress during their climb by visiting the National Geographic and The North Face website blogs.
Permalink | Posted by Mike Hepler on Mar 19, 2012 in the following categories: In The News, Instructor News, Leadership, On The Net
Bannon to Sit on Wyoming’s State Parks and Cultural Resources Commission
We are proud to announce that the Wyoming State Senate confirmed the appointment of NOLS Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Director Aaron Bannon to the State’s Parks & Cultural Resources Commission (SPCRC). The appointment is well-deserved recognition of Aaron’s enthusiasm for the natural and cultural wonders of the Cowboy State.
Aaron, who was born and raised in Wyoming, will assume the seat vacated by Ernie Over as the representative of District 7. In this position, he will be charged with fulfilling the SPCRC’s mission of providing quality recreational and cultural opportunities to residents and visitors. Aaron will bring his expertise in land management to the administration of Wyoming’s 22 state parks and historic sites and over 8,500 miles of trails. Congratulations on the appointment, Aaron. We are confident you’ll bring the same energy and vision that you bring to NOLS to the SPCRC.
Permalink | Posted by Dave Clark-Barol on Mar 8, 2012 in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, In The News, Leadership, Rocky Mountain
