Felicitaciones PY graduates!
A huge felicitaciones is in order to our recent graduates of one of the longest programs offered at NOLS, the Year in Patagonia. These students have been in the field since October 16, and have covered all sorts of territory in Region Aysen, Chile using a myriad of outdoor technical skills. These bold participants underwent a hiking section, mountaineering, sea kayaking, rock climbing, lived with a Patagonian family on a cultural section, and even had the opportunity to become a Leave No Trace Master Educators as well as a Wilderness First Responders through WMI.
PY 2, Sonido Acido, finally got their chance to kayak in the south out of Rio Exploradores towards Puerto Chacabuco covering a total of 190 nautical miles. They were granted many days of good weather with frequent sun and little rain. The group focused on Chilean natural history, sea kayaking skills, and wrapping up their Leave No Trace training curriculum. Everyone seemed to enjoy the incredible sunsets followed by bright starry nights, and visits from local dolphins, sea lions and other wildlife.
PY 1, Los Brillos, wrapped up their year with a climbing camp in three distinct locations, on very different rock. They learned the basics in the new development area of Bahía Murta, climbing on granite. They then moved to Cerro Aguila, volcanic conglomerate outside of Puerto Ibañez. They were also able to take day trips to the limestone of Maitenal just down the road for some sport climbing practice. The group also entertained a group of in-town staff for their respective Staff Climbing Day. The students received the staff in a friendly and helpful manner, and continued by escorting them to the crag for a lesson on knots, commands, and climbing techniques. The students showed skill competence by being able to manage a crew of “clients” as well as the added risk factor of high winds that joined them that day.
One student, Jack, expressed to me that he plans on taking many of the skills he has learned to teach others, especially at a summer camp where he is employed. He says he will continually reflect on how this whole Patagonia experience will translate into “real life,” though with confidence he told me that the leadership and personal expedition behavior learned through NOLS will help him to become a better communicator in the future. As the group was departing, Jack confided that “NOLS is such a great community, I feel like I can do so many things on my own now. I feel independent and empowered to continue experiential learning. And the more I think of it, the more I realize how much I am taking away.”
Permalink | Posted by Taylor Feldman on Mar 28, 2013 in the following categories: Patagonia
Have You Seen This Man(nequin)?
Known as: Mr. Hurt
Responds to: Well, nothing really.
Work History: 150-lb. mannequin used for WEMT scenarios
Place of Residence: The WMI Gear Room
Hair Color: Golden Beige
Eye Color: Golden Beige
Skin Color: Golden Beige
Distinguishing Characteristics: Adaptable fashion sense, never
loses a staring contest, often scripted as the unconscious patient in an
emergency scenario, stoic demeanor.
Recently Noted for: His role as a special ops advertising agent
for the March Moulage Madness challenge
If you walked into the NOLS Headquarters break room the past few days, you might have seen this dashing fellow as you grabbed your morning coffee or reheated weekend leftovers in the microwave. Despite his tendency to startle unsuspecting employees who haven’t quite made it to the coffee pot yet, the real purpose of his placement is to raise awareness for the recent “March Moulage Madness” challenge posed to the NOLS HQ community.
With the facilitation of every NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) course comes a turnover of supplies, including splints, cravats and stethoscopes. Additionally, every gear set comes with a set of stage makeup and a bag of moulage clothes - the shirts and pants used in course scenarios that involve simulated blood injuries. Rather than subjecting participants' own clothes to a smattering of “arterial bleeds” or trauma shear cuts, WMI provides gently worn clothing for these scenarios.
In April, May and June, WMI will support over 250 courses ranging widely in length and location. That’s a lot of moulage clothes! To meet this high demand, WMI gathered clothing donations from NOLS HQ staff from March 19-25. Over the next few days, pictures of these high-fashion options, as modeled by your favorite WMI in-town staff, will be posted to the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute Facebook page. Staff donors and Facebook page members who “Like” their favorite photos will be eligible to win WMI swag! Prizes and winners will be announced on April 1 (no joke!). The clothes donated for this event will then be shipped off to support the realistic scenarios that are so critical to WMI courses. These scenarios provide our students with the hands-on experience to become competent and confident graduates.
Vote for your favorite moulage look! Visit the WMI Facebook page and while you’re there, tell us about your favorite scenario on your WMI course!
Permalink | Posted by Megan Budge on Mar 27, 2013 in the following categories: Wilderness Medicine Institute
PR & Marketing Intern Gets a Breath of Fresh Air
Hey I got an idea! I know it’s the middle of winter, but let’s go live outside for two weeks straight and freeze our butts off! We can bring a bunch of dehydrated food that all looks the same and throw it in a pot of water over a miniature stove that is sometimes really hard to get to work! Toilet paper? Don’t be silly. We will use jagged chunks of snow! We can also make the biggest pile of snow ever and dig it out and live in it! How neat does that sound? You know what else we can do? We can climb mountains every day until our calves burn so much we toss around the thought of amputation. Boy, I am getting more excited by the minute! So, what do you say? You in?
Why would anyone want to put themselves through that kind of anguish? I’ll tell you why. When you get to the top of that mountain, you may be huffing and puffing and sweating but the sense of accomplishment far surpasses that. You are suddenly overcome by a 360-degree view offering immaculate vistas. Oh, and after soaking in the beauty you get to rip skins and ski back down the mountain, shredding powder and weaving in and out of trees. Smiling is inevitable and the occasional “whoo!” may burst out involuntarily. And as far as the food goes, everything tastes gourmet out there. It’s really fun to be creative and expand your cooking skills. You may try making brownies and when they don’t set the way you wanted, realize you used the hot chocolate mix instead. This is OK because you can just tell everyone you made chocolate pudding. Any form of chocolate in the backcountry is satisfying, and it will make for a funny story.
All of the former is true of a backcountry skiing course I participated in recently. Let me tell you, the personal rewards of accomplishing something like winter camping far outweighs the minor inconveniences. A graduate from last year’s Spring Semester in the Rockies, I couldn’t resist coming back as a NOLS intern and being an advocate for the school’s mission. When given the opportunity to take another course as part of my internship, I snatched it up quicker than I would a hundred dollar bill lying on the ground (inaccurate but good for the story). On Feb. 27th I signed up, and on March 2nd I loaded up and headed over to Driggs, Idaho from NOLS Headquarters in Lander, Wyo.
NOLS Teton Valley was super inviting and the kitchen cooks could have competed on Hell’s Kitchen. When the rest of the students showed up the following morning the fun began. After the conventional introductions there seemed to be a quickset bond and contentment among our group. It made our social interactions fun and comfortable. We spent our first two days were spent at Targhee Ski Resort. There we all got some invaluable lessons from skiing aficionados. Being a novice skier myself, those first two days improved my skills greatly, and I felt ready to hit the backcountry slopes. On the third morning I loaded my skis in a truck named Goose and we all made our way to the trailhead. My coursemates and I got a quick lesson on pulling our sleds behind us while skiing and then took off up Plummer Canyon. I immediately felt nostalgic, remembering my winter section from last year. Our destination was Plummer Canyon yurt. We spent the first two nights out there; as it was an ideal place to quickly access some great skiing. Next, we headed farther out into the backcountry on a B-line toward Wow Basin. That was when things got real and the winter camping began. It felt great to have had prior experience in that type of setting, as I was able to step into a peer leadership role and assist others who were new to the system. It’s crucial to be aware of your body and how it reacts to a cold environment. Careful not to touch a fuel bottle or shovel with exposed hands. Even the little things like walking and boiling water must be given careful attention, as one little injury leaves you far away from any hospital and could compromise your entire trip. Everyone on this course looked out for one another and we were all effective communicators. Since everyone had a high level of energy and worked so hard constructing our snow igloos and kitchens we were able to do a ton of skiing. Our instructors also spent a considerable amount of time dropping avalanche knowledge on us and by the end we all earned our Recreational Level I certificates. Some of my highlights from the trip were summiting Mt. Wow and listening to inspirational readings around a warm, cozy fire at night.
Being in the backcountry allows one to reflect on his/her life in the “real” world. Some nights I laid in my sleeping bag all bundled up thinking about how much fun I had that day and how I couldn’t believe I was on another NOLS course.The journey that has led me to where I am today is an unforgettable one. What’s even more exciting is what lies ahead. All I know is whether in the snow or on a white sandy beach in Hawaii, I believe it’s essential to get away from it all from time to time and satisfy that craving for adventure. It also allows you to gain perspective on how powerful and majestic Mother Nature really is.
Permalink | Posted by Brent Wallen on Mar 27, 2013 in the following categories: Teton Valley
Watch the Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus video
Completed in the fall of 2012, the Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus provides classrooms, practice fields, residences and dining facilities for WMI students and instructors. With over twenty years of experience, we know what attributes a state of the art wilderness medicine facility should have, and ours is specifically crafted to aid in the delivery of the very best wilderness medicine training.
Permalink | Posted by NOLS on Mar 22, 2013 in the following categories: Wilderness Medicine Institute, Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus
Risk Management Training: Kick Your RM Practices into Tip-Top Shape
After years spent churning around the corporate buzzword blender, the phrase “risk management” has too often become associated with lengthy legal documents filled with useless jargon and stale policies. For the thousands of organizations in the outdoor recreation industry, this perceived norm is not acceptable. Neither lingo nor blanketed universal procedures are suitable when peoples’ well-being and, in many cases, lives are on the line.
Recognizing a need to strengthen risk management practices throughout the outdoor community, NOLS created its first Risk Management Training (RMT) in 2005, which has since grown to 10 trainings annually across the United States. The two-day seminar is designed to provide a structured approach and tools to build risk management plans appropriate for individual organizations.
RMT instructor, Nate Ostis believes participants benefit from the training because it enables them “to look down on their program from 1,000 feet and see how every component plays a significant role in generating a healthy culture of risk management.”
Eleven years after first becoming a NOLS instructor, Ostis continues to teach field courses, Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) courses, and Professional Training courses including RMTs, the most recent of which took place in Seattle, March 5-6. Following the training, Ostis shared his belief that, “the best way to travel and work in the outdoors is to prepare proactively rather than reactively.”
In addition to working for NOLS, Ostis also owns and operates his own swift water rescue training company. He reflected, “I had to start at ground zero establishing our own risk management practices. I can relate to RMT participants that find the task of writing a risk management plan to be somewhat overwhelming and enjoy sharing my experience taking small steps toward big gains.”
Ostis emphasized that, “risk management isn’t a checklist; it's a culture—a journey along an endless track.” He went on to explain, “It's one thing to require first aid certification. It's another to run a monthly first aid scenario to keep skills sharp. It's the little details that separate amateurs from professionals, and it's the little details that allow risk management to become a culture versus simply a checklist.”
Sarah McKerlich, Director of Risk Management for grades 6-12 at Glenlyon Norfolk School, participated in the Seattle RMT earlier this month. GNS, a co-ed independent day school in British Columbia, offers a variety of outdoor and service learning opportunities to its student body.
In her position, McKerlich supports daily field trips to natural and urban environments, the extensive outdoor education program, as well as local and global service projects and international student travel. McKerlich said of her role: “I like to think of myself as ‘Director of all things fun.’ My goal is to create structurally safe programs and to establish steps to maintain that safety in order to ensure learning and enjoyment for all.”
McKerlich looked to the RMT to “gain insight into how to further develop the school’s risk management practices and to build a framework allowing [her] to audit the programs in the future.” Following the training, she said her “goals were absolutely met. The pragmatic approach to the scenarios, templates, and action plan gave me tangible, useful takeaways to apply directly to my work at GNS.”
Ostis reiterated the importance the RMT places on individualization: “We don't train you to do it our way, we train you to do it the best way you can based on your values, your mission, and your goals for providing amazing experiences for your participants.”
Permalink | Posted by Erin Daily on Mar 21, 2013 in the following categories: Professional Training
You Grab the Shovel, I'll Grab the Buffel!
NOLS Southwest in-town staff teamed with Caroline P., a Tucson Clean and Beautiful representative, to remove a local desert invasive specie—buffelgrass, commonly mistaken as "buffalo grass."
Buffelgrass is seemingly invincible. It was initially introduced to the Sonoran Desert to assist in preventing erosion. Quickly locals realized buffelgrass' ability to prolifically grow and produce seeds after just a light rain. When removing buffelgrass, it is imperative that it is put into plastic bags, as seeds can withstand fire or lie dormant for years. Above, Matt M. and Andrew M.R. unearthed a large buffelgrass plant.
Another characteristic of buffelgrass—arguably one of the more concerning attributes— is its rapid growth often takes water and light resources of native plants. When clearing away buffelgrass, Ally V. came across a Prickly Pear cactus that was completely encapsulated. Not only was Ally V. doing a good deed for her community, she was saving lives!
Eliminating buffelgrass is no easy task, and it often requires teamwork to remove. Lindsay N. and Ryan W. are demonstrating the “you grab the shovel, I’ll grab the buffel” technique. With its intricate, heavily-rooted system it often takes an additional person pulling on the grass to enable the shovel to remove the plant.
Sydney H. and Alison S. are modeling the two tools we used to remove the buffelgrass. While the shovel proved useful on many occasions, it was great to have the digging bar as an option as well. Digging bars allowed us to “harpoon” underneath the plant and a fulcrum to lift and excavate the grass.
Many Tucsonans were enjoying the nice weather and thanked us as they rode by! This certainly brought smiles to Kathryn S. and Ally V.’s faces.
In four hours, we were able to fill over 40 40-gallon bags of buffelgrass! NOLS Southwest in-town staff were happy to help their community through Tucson Clean and Beautiful’s vision of removing this invasive species.
Permalink | Posted by Sarah Murphy on Mar 20, 2013 in the following categories: Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability, Southwest
Sequester Impacts National Park Service
In the wake of the March 1, 2013 implementation of the Federal sequester, some Department of the Interior Bureaus and Offices have released statements that help to explain how their operations will be affected, particularly during this year’s approaching spring and summer seasons.
On March 8, the National Park Service (NPS) released a memo outlining the specific programs that have been revised and what the revisions mean for the public, for Park Service employees, and for the land itself. What is considered a nominal budget cut in the national context will result in major setbacks for America’s Best Idea.
The sequestration requires a 5% overall cut to the service’s fiscal year 2013 budget. The annual budget for the Park Service usually hovers around $3 billion. The NPS permanently employs approximately 15,000 people, with the total number of employees rising to about 22,000 during peak seasons. The budget cut will result in the hiring of around 1,000 fewer seasonal employees than in years past. Many of those denied contracts for this summer will be search and rescue specialists and wildland firefighters.
Included in the hiring cuts will be seasonal rangers, who serve as valuable environmental and historical educators for the public. A good portion of these part-time employees operate the Park System’s visitor centers. Due to lack of staff, the doors to some of these public educational facilities will remain shut this summer.
Snowplowing will be impacted, and certain parks may remain inaccessible in the early season due to snowy roads left over from winter. Some parks have come up with improvised plowing plans. For example, Yellowstone National Park has teamed up the Wyoming Department of Transportation in order to ensure a timely opening of the park’s east entrance. This area is a tourism hotbed and home to many local businesses that depend on park visitors during the summer.
Students working their way up onto Denali's lower Karsten.
Photo: Patrick Mettenbrink
NOLS operates principally on Federal land, including several National Parks. Some climbing courses travel to Joshua Tree in southern California, and winter courses will occasionally venture into Wyoming’s Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Backpacking courses routinely go to Olympic National Park in Washington, alumni mountaineering courses climb Mount Rainier, and further to the north students navigate rivers in Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic National Park. Some courses (including Expedition Denali) even make summit attempts on North America’s highest peak in Denali National Park. It is currently unclear about how exactly the sequester cuts in National Parks will impact NOLS courses.
For now, despite the budget cuts, park officials remain optimistic. Don Striker, superintendent of Denali, is concerned more about the long-term effects of the cuts. Earlier this week he commented, “We are going to be OK in the short term but less okay as the months stack up.”
Permalink | Posted by Jack Fisher on Mar 15, 2013
The final switch for NZS1
Photo: R.Hoffman
NOLS New Zealand Semester NZS 1 - 01/24/2013 has just switched into their final section of their expedition. During their last section, the group sea kayaked in the Marlborough Sounds for 22 days. The Marlborough Sounds is a partially submerged mountain range at the northern end of the South Island.
Photo: R.Hoffman
There was a big focus on this section to learn technical sea kayaking skills, seamanship, risk management, leadership and wilderness first aid. Working hard in these areas the group managed to achieve the skills necessary to travel independently from instructors - giving them a lot of confidence in their own abilities as sea kayakers and as a group.
Photo: R.Hoffman
The Marlborough Sounds provides an excellent classroom for students to learn a lot about NZ natural history and cultural experiences. Visiting the local people of the sounds is always a highlight to their experience, below a student learns the art of shearing a sheep.
Photo: R.Hoffman
The group travelled a total distance of 117 nautical miles and ended their section with a four-day independent student lead expedition (travelling without instructors). Well done NZS 1!
Photo: R.Hoffman
After a quick transition at the NOLS base the students moved out of their boats and into their backpacks. After 46 days they enjoyed the luxuries of a shower, they received some mail from friends and family and enjoyed some fresh fruit and vegetables. They were introduced to their new hiking instructors and continued south the next day to Ruataniwha and Ahuriri conservation parks, where they will finish out their final 26 days of their expedition.
Instructor Hayden introduces how to pack a backpack
Students enjoying lunch before they head out on their next adventure
Hiking instructors Sally, Hayden and Andy
Permalink | Posted by Jacqui McCracken on Mar 14, 2013 in the following categories: New Zealand
Montañismo en Español y Primeros Auxilios al Aire Libre
Hace solo un par de semanas regresaron los alumnos del curso de Montañismo en Español (CMT) quienes estuvieron por 2 semanas aprendiendo habilidades de liderazgo, técnicas de montañismo y mínimo impacto (No Deje Rastro); en el área del Cordón de Melikina.
Fue un gusto contar con representantes de la ciudad de Punta Arenas, Coyhaique y Santiago entre otras. Y como es característico en estas latitudes en nuestros cursos hubo representantes de 3 países diferentes.
Todos se fueron muy contentos pero deseaban que el curso durará más días, y ademas que se realizara en otras zonas el pais.
Por otro lado, finalizaron 2 cursos dirigidos a la Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) en el área de primeros auxilios con WMI. Las personas que participaron se capacitaron fuertemente. 30 fueron los profesionales del área forestal que se capacitaron y aprobaron el Wilderness Advance First Aid (WAFA). A ellos se sumaron 5 particulares provenientes de otras regiones y organizaciones.
Gracias a todos quiénes hicieron de estos cursos una realidad. Esperamos seguir aportando como NOLS Patagonia en la región.
Especial gracias a los alumnos e Instructores por las buenas vibras y estar atento a los detalles.
Búscanos en Facebook!
Recently, students from the Chilean Mountaineering Course (CMT) returned from the field after two weeks learning skills of leadership, mountain techniques, and minimum impact through Leave No Trace; in the area of Cordón Melikina.
It was a pleasure to have representatives from the Chilean cities of Punta Arenas, Coyhaique, and Santiago among others. We also had representation from three different countries!
All left the course very content but wishing the course was longer and could visit other regions of the country, the sign of a good course!
In other news, we have competed two WMI courses for the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF) in the subject of First Aid. The people who participated in the program trained hard to achieve their Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) certification. 30 professional forest rangers from CONAF passed the course, along with five others from different regions and organizations.
Thank you to everyone who made these courses a reality. We hope to continue contributing to the Aysen region with NOLS Patagonia.
A special thanks to the students and instructors for their attention to details and their good energy throughout the programs.
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Spanish and English translation contribution from Patricia Soto, Mercedes Lagos, and Taylor Feldman
Permalink | Posted by Taylor Feldman on Mar 14, 2013 in the following categories: Patagonia, Wilderness Medicine Institute
NZS-3 switches from Backpacking to Sea Kayaking
Students on NZS-3-02/03/2013 have completed just over 40 days of their semester in New Zealand. After their initial briefing days and a two-day cultural section, they spent 34 days backpacking in the Nelson Lakes region. This was a challenging route because of the distance; overall, the group traveled 240 km through river valleys, forest, alpine tussock grass and boulder fields. Rivers were low so crossings were generally easy. Weather was uncharacteristically sunny, and the one rainy day yielded a spectacular rainbow and general awe.
Photo by Owain Williams
Typical of New Zealand tramps, the route stitched together long valley walks and steep ascents up and over ridges of the Southern Alps. Below we see students pushing through thick beech forest, then enojoying the wide open spaces of the tops.
Photo by Owain Williams
Photo by Owain Williams
The backpacking section ended at a campground near the village of St Arnaud. Branch staff arrived to meet the group and bring mail from home. Students swapped backpacks and hiking boots for paddles and PFDs, then said goodbye to their Backpacking instructors. Oscar and Yuri, both from Mexico, will be their instructors during the Kayak section:
Permalink | Posted by Amy Davidson on Mar 13, 2013 in the following categories: New Zealand
