NOLS Alumni Magazine - The Leader Fall 2020 by NOLS

THE

LEADER 85 Combined Years of Leadership Education NOLS Celebrates 55 Years Wilderness Medicine Celebrates 30 Years

NOLS ALUMNI | FALL 2020 | VOL. 36 NO. 1

FROM THE PRESIDENT

THE LEADER Fall 2020 • Volume 36 • No. 1 Published twice a year in spring and fall.

EDITOR

Anne McGowan DESIGNER

Kacie DeKleine

s NOLS heads into the close of 2020, it is worth taking a pause to reflect on the many events of this landmark year. Certainly, we have seen the global reach and impacts of a pandemic, economic hardship, social unrest, and climate change across our worldwide NOLS locations. These challenges highlight the relevance of a NOLS education in navigating a world more tenuous and challenging than many of us have known. It somehow seems fitting that we celebrate two important milestones in NOLS history despite difficulty. In 1965, Paul Petzoldt launched the first course to train a group of outdoor leaders in the Wind River Mountains. Fifty-five years later, a school that has always been gritty and hardworking persists, and even is operating a robust domestic fall season where possible. As we watch our students in the time of COVID, we see with even greater clarity the value of the NOLS experience. The pride in the instructors and program staff that are keeping NOLS alive with their ingenuity and hard work across the globe is inspiring. Thirty years ago, Melissa Gray and Buck Tilton launched the Wilderness Medicine Institute, popularizing the Wilderness First Responder certification now widely required across our industry. Merging with NOLS in 1999, and rebranded as NOLS Wilderness Medicine, it is now the largest wilderness medicine educator in the world and sees alumni serving in critical health care and leadership roles around the globe. 2020 also brings a close to our five-year Step Forward fundraising campaign. This effort has bolstered scholarships, and as donors unrestrict their giving to help NOLS weather the 2020 pandemic, philanthropy has been critical in helping blunt the impact of business shutdown and red-uced operations. It is this faith and belief in NOLS that will help us through one of the most challenging business environments in decades. This issue of The Leader features some really amazing grads who have gone on to great success in many fields. Their ages range from about 20 to 90, and their stories convey the diversity and versatility of a NOLS education. Their stories remind us that NOLS’ achievements are not measured so much in years of operation, but in the over 300,000 students who come to us for a time and then take their NOLS experiences onward into our global community. I hope you will enjoy this issue of The Leader; curl up with a fudgy no-bake cookie and a hot drink, and enjoy your remembrance of the people and experiences that have created the fabric of our amazing NOLS community.

Terri Watson NOLS President

2 | THE LEADER

ALUMNI RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Rich Brame NOLS PRESIDENT

Terri Watson EDITORIAL BOARD

Molly Herber

The Leader is a magazine for alumni of NOLS, a nonprofit global school focusing on wilderness skills, leadership, and environmental ethics. It is distributed to NOLS alumni. NOLS graduates living in the U.S. receive a free subscription to The Leader for life. The Leader welcomes article submissions and comments. Please address all correspondence to leader@nols. edu or call 1-307-332-8800. Alumni can direct email changes to alumni@nols. edu or 1-800-332-4280. For the most up-to-date information on NOLS, visit www.nols.edu or email info@nols.edu. The Leader is available online at www. nols.edu/leader. Cover photo: NOLS Archives

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ENGAGE

EXPOSE

Recognize the wild that every person faces

Push people to experience the uncertain

Feedback | Letter to the Editor

Feature | How Much Gear Do You Really Need?

NOLS in Action | Resources for Anti-Racism

Featured Location | NOLS Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus

Feature | Jimmy Chin, José González, and Kit DesLauriers On Their Trails to Success Feature | Ode to Wyoming

Staff Profile | Tod Schimelpfenig

Alumni Profile | Philliph Mutisya

Cover Story | NOLS Anniversaries: 85 Combined Years of Leadership

Alumni Profile | Pat Erickson

Alumni Trips | Wind River Backpacking & Fly Fishing With Llamas and Rock Climbing in Arizona’s Cochise Stronghold

Featured Course | Summer Expeditions on the Salmon River

Alumni Events | Join Us Online

Alumni in Action | Grad’s Artwork Benefits NOLS’ DE&I Efforts

EDUCATE

Teach the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate uncertainty Research | Turn Your Phone into an Emergency Beacon

How To | Camp in COVID Conditions

How To | Practice Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty

In Memory | Joe Austin

Nutrition | How to Make (Irresistible) Fudge No-Bake Cookies

In Memory | Claudia Pearson

Book Review | That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea

Book Review | Musa Masala

NOLS.EDU | 3

ENGAGE

FEEDBACK

Letter to the Editor “I heartily endorse the electronic version. I love the paper version, but this makes much more sense for NOLS, both the financial side and sustainability.” –John Grunsfeld

“The Leader in digital format worked out really well. I would be happy if future editions were digital—save those trees!” –Eric Wessman

“Just letting you know that I really liked the new digital version of The Leader. The color and the articles are outstanding. I actually prefer it over the hard copy!” –Mary Absolon

Dear NOLS staff, It is wonderful news that you are able to have some courses in the field during this ever-so-trying year. I look back over my career and all of the glass ceilings that I smashed through, and still, NOLS is the one of which I am most proud. My 1971 Wind River NOLS coursewas one of the most formative experiences of my life and one that I have relished my entire life... although some moments were rather difficult. The lessons are quite ingrained, and the skills have been put to use. My husband and I are active hikers and skiers. We carry rather extensive first aid kits on all adventures and have found ourselves needing to use them to help other hikers in the backcountry. Most have been minor injuries, and yet if we had not been there with bandages, the hikers would have suffered more. Today,

there seem to be many unprepared folks running and walking into what used to be wilderness (overuse is another story). The other lesson, well ingrained from having to back track 5 miles on a 20-mile day at NOLS, is to always leave a clean camp. This summer we hiked the northern half of the Colorado Trail, finding it a marvelous way to social distance. As we approached the ski areas we found disconcerting amounts of trash. I am determined to find out what agency to support so they can take a crew back to effect a clean-up. While I am writing to thank you, I also want you to hear, from yet one more person, how critical your lessons are today. Your lessons are vital. In the 1970s we worried about being too isolated in case of an emergency. Today I worry about the destruction of our wilderness. Too many ignorant people, too much trash, too many dog poo

bags left beside the trail, too much fire risk, too much focus upon self-achievement, and too little focus on reverence for what is left. Being a grandma has given me a laser focus upon nurturing the Earth rather than our own egos. NOLS also taught me to recognize outdoor excellence when I see it. We check out every “camp” with adult leaders and kids as we cross them on the trail. The point being that there are so very many incompetent camps out there. It is distressing to see kids being “led” so poorly. I wish all kids could go to NOLS. Please know that I am your ambassador, sending people your way whenever I am able, and most importantly, I follow your lessons to the letter...even 49 years later. I am deeply indebted to you all, –Carol McLellan McConica, Wind River Course 1971

Will Covey

4 | THE LEADER

ENGAGE

NOLS IN ACTION

Resources for Anti-Racism By NOLS

he national movement protesting systemic racism and police brutality has demonstrated the urgency to address deeply rooted problems that activists have been calling out for decades; to engage with difficult history and an uncertain future; and to act with compassion, empathy, and willingness to change. Naming these needs is far from doing the difficult work to address them. We at NOLS know that it’s difficult, because we recognize that when it comes to dismantling systemic racism, we’re beginners. Whatever skill areas we might have developed in 55 years as a school, in this area we’re at the start of a steep learning curve. As educators, it’s our responsibility to make sure we create learning environments in which students and staff feel safe and have equal access to learning. Doing this demands that we engage in dialogue around dismantling systemic racism, examine our practices, and own up to what We’re at the start of a steep learning curve. Hannah Price we don’t know. Even though it makes us uncomfortable. Even though we’re going • The Trouble with Wilderness; or, • The Psychological Experiences of to stumble—and stumble again. But as any Getting Back to the Wrong Nature Students of Color (Academic paper) good teacher will tell you, discomfort is (Essay) • What We Mean When We Say ‘Race critical to growth. It’s how we learn. And • Why Diversity Matters: The Importis a Social Construct’ (Article) it’s what leads to change. ance of Racial and Ethnic Equality • Racial Microaggressions (Chart) If you’re someone who, like us, is lookin Conservation (Academic article) ing to the leadership of those who have White Privilege and White Culture • Wilderness, Race, and African invested years in anti-racism advocacy, • From White Racist to White AntiAmericans: An Environmental especially in the outdoors, following is a Racist: The Lifelong Journey (Essay) History from Slavery to Jim Crow selection of resources that can provide a • Seeing White (Radio show) (Academic paper) starting point. • What White Children Need to Know We know it’s only a start. We know we History & Culture About Race (Academic article) have a lot to learn and do. And we hope you’ll • 13th (Documentary) • What ‘White Privilege’ Really Means keep learning with us, too. • 1619 (Podcast) (Op-ed) • The New Jim Crow (Book) Resources For Anti-Racism • What Riding My Bike Has Taught • Thick: And Other Essays (Book) Environmental History and Activism Me About White Privilege (Personal • I Said I Wasn’t Outdoorsy...But I Lied Teaching Tools narrative) (Personal narrative) • Black-Owned Independent Book• White Culture (Chart) stores by State • The State of Diversity in EnvironPeruse the NOLS Blog for stories about mentalism (Report on diversity in the • Microaggressions (Presentation) skills, first aid, leadership, risk management, environmental movement) and much more.

NOLS.EDU | 5

Andy Burdin

FEATURED LOCATION

NOLS Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus By Ben Lester NOLS Wilderness Medicine Business Operations Manager

s NOLS Wilderness Medicine celebrates its 30th anniversary, NOLS is also recognizing another big milestone: the ongoing expansion of NOLS’ Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus. Ever since its founding in Pitkin, Colorado in 1990, what was then WMI always operated out of buildings built by others, retrofitting them as much as possible to the needs of the school. Almost a decade after WMI’s sale to NOLS and move to Lander, the dream to design their own facility became a reality. NOLS supporters Charles and Mary Ann McMahon agreed to sell a beautiful 243-acre property in Red Canyon to NOLS for the campus, and Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss philanthropist with interests in land conservation, medicine, and education, provided $3 million of the $6 million total cost. The main educational facility and original cabins received LEED Platinum

certification when they opened—the highest sustainability rating possible. “The project embodies all these things that are really important to NOLS,” says Gates Richards, who oversees the campus and the EMT program. Not only is this facility optimized for teaching wilderness medicine, the building itself provides education for NOLS students on environmental sustainability and conservation. “We couldn’t have undertaken this expansion without ongoing support from our amazing donors,” says Melissa Gray, director of NOLS Wilderness Medicine. “It’s inspiring to see our community express the value they continue to see in the education they’ve received at NOLS.”

WILDERNESS MEDICINE QUIZ QUESTION | Which of the following is a treatment principle for a tooth knocked out of your mouth in the wilderness? a) gently irrigate the tooth b) abandon all hope of restoring the tooth c) preserve the tooth in a salt solution d) preserve the tooth in a sugar solution Answer on page 35

6 | THE LEADER

Ben Lester was the editor of A Worthy Expedition: The History of NOLS. As NOLS Wilderness Medicine’s business operations manager, he balances office time with teaching field courses.

42° N, 108° W

Location Located about 12 miles south of Lander, the Wyss Campus was specifically designed for the purpose of teaching wilderness medicine. The campus offers cutting-edge, environmentally friendly design from solar power and composting toilets to geothermal heating and cooling, against sweeping views of the stunning red rock formations of Lander’s Red Canyon.

Courses Offered Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and Wilderness Medicine Instructor Training Courses (ITC).

Fun Fact The physical buildings cover only a small portion the 243-acre campus. NOLS’ decision to leave most of the property undeveloped assists in the conservation of valuable wildlife habitat within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

ENGAGE

STAFF PROFILE

Tod Schimelpfenig

By Anne McGowan Development Communications Coordinator “

’m one of the people who saw 30 Days to Survival on TV and read the LIFE magazine article on Paul Petzoldt,” said Tod Schimelpfenig, NOLS Wilderness Medicine Curriculum Director, explaining what kicked off a 47-year-long career at NOLS. Raised in a suburban New Jersey family who “didn’t do much outdoors,” Tod was 16 in 1970 when the film and story piqued his interest in NOLS. “I wanted to experience the challenge, the wilderness, and especially the ‘survival’ experience,” Tod said. “I thought of it as a rite of passage.” The Wind River Wilderness course he signed up for was “an arduous adventure”—just what he was looking for. “We post-holed, crossed wild rivers, climbed and rappelled with gold-line rope around our waists, and cooked on fires.” An instructor by 19, Tod went on to hold jobs at the NOLS Rocky Mountain campus and world headquarters that ranged from issue room help to purchasing agent, branch director to the first risk-management director, all while instructing students on field and wilderness medicine courses. Those field courses led Tod to wilderness medicine, when he realized those were among the most difficult challenges he would face–and where he lacked experience. “It was much easier to hone my climbing skills than to learn how to help the ill or injured in the wilderness,” Tod said. “I’d joined a volunteer ambulance service during college. After several years, I found myself teaching an early version of the Wilderness First Responder course for NOLS field instructors. Now, I’ve been

a practicing EMT in both Emergency Medical Services and Search and Rescue for 46 years. And I’m still at it.” He’s also still instructing NOLS Wilderness Medicine courses, in addition to determining all wilderness medicine curriculum in his position as curriculum director. “I teach. I talk with other wilderness medicine experts. I do a lot of research and I decide what should be incorporated into the curriculum,” he explained. He has also served on the board of the Wilderness Medical Society and authored NOLS Wilderness Medicine. While he relishes the challenges of his curriculum work, it’s teaching that holds a place in his heart. “Leading wilderness courses at a young age was the best job I’ve ever had; the independence, the adventure, the sense of serving a mission. It just doesn’t get any better.” Until it did. In 2012, Tod worked on the first—and so far, only— father-son instructor team with his son Dave, one of his four adult children with his wife, Betsy. Tod’s planned retirement has been delayed as he helps NOLS Wilderness Medicine navigate the challenge of the pandemic. If he works into 2021 it will be 50 years since his first course. With such a varied resume, how does Tod want to be remembered? “That I served the mission with good expedition behavior,” he responded. Anne McGowan grew up camping and hiking with her family in Pennsylvania. She followed her love of words and books to a career in writing.

Top: Tod early in his NOLS career. Bottom: With son and fellow NOLS instructor Dave. Courtesy of Tod Schimelpfenig

WILDERNESS QUIZ QUESTION | What state in the USA has the most 14,000-foot peaks? How many does it have? Answer on page 35

NOLS.EDU | 7

ENGAGE

ALUMNI PROFILE

Philliph Mutisya

By James Wynn NOLS Wilderness Medicine Staffing Coordinator

“Through NOLS I learned to ask the hard questions of my students and of myself. If we can do this, we can eliminate the barriers of humanity.”

James Wynn is a Wilderness Medicine grad who, when not changing diapers or chasing monsters out from under beds, can be found outside looking for adventure.

r. Philliph Mutisya is sitting in his kitchen in North Carolina, relating a tale about the first time he put into practice the lessons he learned from NOLS. Fresh off his Instructor Training Course, the then 28-year-old Kenyan fell asleep at the wheel while driving a borrowed Nissan Duster from Lander to Colorado. “I was just outside of Laramie,” he said, his lilting accent emphasizing the memory, as if it happened just yesterday. “The coffee wasn’t working and I fell asleep. It was then that I had the accident.” Philliph’s car hit the guardrail and careened across Interstate 80, somersaulting three times, and throwing him through the windshield. “I barely had a scratch on me,” he said. “I know a lot of people would have been very scared, but I was not, because of what I had learned from NOLS.” It was the fundamental NOLS value of resiliency in the face of an adverse situation that led Philliph to view his accident as a lesson about his ability to overcome hardship. “That is what I learned from NOLS,” he said. “The ability to understand who we are and our unique identity.” Now in his seventh decade, Phillip credits his lifetime of goals met to that first course he took so long ago.

His path from Kenya to the Wind River Mountains began in 1978. “I was working for the Peace Corps in Kenya, but I felt I was not learning anything,” he said. “I wanted more but I didn’t know how to find it. I was approached by George Newbury, who was director of NOLS Kenya at that time,” Philliph said. “I came to work for NOLS and I have never looked back.” Those first few months working for NOLS Kenya opened up a world to Philliph he never knew existed. “Before NOLS, I realize now I didn’t know about things,” he said. “I didn’t know about biology, psychology, and the growth of human behavior. I began to think in terms of group dynamics, critical approach dialogue, and sharing small spaces with people.” Eventually, Philliph became the first Kenyan awarded a scholarship on a NOLS Instructor Training Course. “And so I came to Wyoming,” he said. He will never forget his first views of the Wind River Range and the Lander Valley. “Where I was from in Kenya, no one knew that nature still existed in the way it did in Wyoming,” he said. After his course, Philliph taught NOLS students all over the Rocky Mountain West, shaping an entire lifetime of education. “NOLS has always been the roots for me,” he said. “Everything from there has been the branches.” Philliph’s path led him to earning his doctorate of education in Instructional Education; he is now a professor of education at North Carolina Central University. “NOLS trained me to teach to the students, and to make sure that my students focus on their abilities,” he said. “Through NOLS I learned to ask the hard questions of my students and of myself. If we can do this, we can eliminate the barriers of humanity.” Philliph, second from left, with NOLS Rocky Mountain employees in the 1970s. NOLS Archive

8 | THE LEADER

ENGAGE

ALUMNI PROFILE

Pat Erickson

By Rich Brame Alumni Relations Director I recently caught up with NOLS grad and adventurer Pat Erickson. I sought Pat out because I’d heard that she’s hiked on all seven continents and has more plans in the works. It took a while for me to track her down—she’s been traveling. Last year included camel trekking in Mongolia and this year’s more constrained travel notched trips to California and Delaware. She also recently had a party to celebrate a notable birthday: number 90. What led you to NOLS in 1977? Originally a city girl, I was a high school physical education teacher in Illinois for thirty-five years. My first taste of the “mountains” happened in college on a trip to South Dakota’s Black Hills. I also had a friend who was involved in outdoor education and ropes courses—I felt that outdoor education elements might fit well at my school, which had access to lots of green space. My NOLS Outdoor Educators course was in the Uinta Mountains on the Utah/ Wyoming border. We practiced self-arrest on snowfields, learned rock climbing and the classic Tyrolean Traverse, were re-rationed via horses, and had really eye-opening learning about minimum impact camping. Many of the men and women on my course chewed tobacco—that was something really new to me! As NOLS courses did in those days, we had a multi-day student expedition out of the mountains—with no food. Luckily, one of my student partners had a grandfather who taught her fly fishing, so we had plenty of fish to eat with our foraged salads.

Tell us about your other adventures beyond NOLS. I started alpine skiing in Aspen in 1960 and was on several regional ski patrols for decades—I gave up skiing in 2016. After a 2003 NOLS Alumni Sea Kayaking seminar, my husband and I did a lot of paddling: the Queen Charlottes, the Bay of Fundy, and Vancouver Island’s rocky coasts. We also raced sailboats for over thirty years, mostly on Lake Michigan. For a couple of decades, we explored North America in a small Airstream, which is a different kind of adventure. I still do a bit of hiking and biking. Before I became a skier, I was a dedicated baton twirler. I won national titles in 1946 and 1950 as well as numerous regional titles. It’s sort of hard to believe today, but baton twirling really opened up the world for me. My husband passed away a few years ago and I’ve recently found a new partner. He likes adventuring too. We have our sights on Eastern European travel—Romania, maybe. Antarctica is nice, but the penguins don’t let you hike very far.

“Pat Erickson’s adventures fill a lifetime. Her path inspires us all to seek new experiences, teach and help others, learn new skills, and to go all-in in the outdoors with those you love.”

Pat Erickson’s adventures fill a lifetime. Her path inspires us all to seek new experiences, teach and help others, learn new skills, and to go all-in in the outdoors with those you love. Rich Brame, Alumni Relations Director and Instructor, came to NOLS as a Fall Semester in the Rockies student and worked his first course at Wind Cave National Park in 1984.

Pat won national titles for twirling. Courtesy of Pat Erickson

NOLS.EDU | 9

ENGAGE

ALUMNI TRIPS

Wind River Backpacking and Fly Fishing With Llamas Rock Climbing in Arizona’s Cochise Stronghold Continue the adventure and learning by adding a NOLS Alumni trip to your calendar. Join a trip and trust NOLS to run the show. Our trips are often suitable for non-grad guests too. Alumni trips cater to the interests and calendars of our grads—last year our participants ranged from ages 10-78! We have a variety of offerings across a spectrum of physical challenge and are always adding more options. If you don’t see what you want, contact us for custom trip ideas. For more information or to sign up call 1-800-3324280 or visit www.nols.edu/alumni.

Brad Christensen

NOLS Alumni Reunions in the time of COVID-19 As with communities around the world, we canceled our recent alumni reunion plans to protect our people and neighborhoods. We’re hopeful future on-site reunions and alumni gatherings will occur soon, but we don’t know when. In the meantime, to connect, network, learn, and entertain, we’re teeing up a series of interactive Zoom calls. Watch NOLS’ social networks, emails, eNewsletters, and the alumni reunion webpage for more details and topics. We hope to virtually see you soon! Thanks for standing with NOLS.

Wind River Backpacking and Fly Fishing With Llamas Date | Summer 2021 Cost | $1,495 Relive your memories of Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains with your family. This trip travels into the Winds with llamas transporting the majority of gear as you shoulder a light pack of necessities. With time for fly fishing, photography, hiking, and enjoying these majestic mountains, this is a great way to introduce children, parents, and friends to the essence of a NOLS course. Ages ten and up.

See this course online

Moderate

Difficult

Llamas carry some of the weight, but mountain backpacking is challenging.

Matt Hage

Rock Climbing in Arizona’s Cochise Stronghold Date | Feb 14 - 20, 2021 (7 days) Cost | $1,750 Tailored for climbers of all experience levels, this base-camping trip focuses on climbing techniques, knots, rope handling, belaying, anchors, protection placement, traditional and sport climbing systems, rappelling, and lead climbing theory. You’ll develop face and crack climbing skills and gain experience with multi-pitch climbing on warm Arizona granite with a great team.

See this course online

10 | THE LEADER

Moderate

Difficult

Base camping is comfortable, but daypacking rock gear and steep climbs are hard work.

ENGAGE

FEATURED COURSE

Jessie Longe

Summer Expeditions on the Salmon River By Molly Herber Creative Project Manager

hile many of us cope with cold weather by bundling up into unrecognizable shapes for outdoor activities, or by perfecting indoor hobbies (I am an unskilled but enthusiastic knitter), dreaming of plans for when the weather warms up can also help soothe the winter blues, especially as we plan on spending more time indoors than usual this winter. If you’re one of those people who needs to plan ahead to stay excited, then for summer 2021 I’d recommend you prioritize the Main Fork of the Salmon River. For senior NOLS Instructor Fabio Oliveira, “Rivers provide a wondrous way to travel through the land. You’re literally going with the flow of nature on this incredible journey.” One of the original rivers protected in 1968 by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Salmon River originates in Idaho’s

Sawtooth and Lemhi Valleys of central and eastern Idaho and runs west through areas populated by black bear, elk, and bald eagles. This river, one of the last free-flowing rivers of its size, is part of the ancestral lands of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people and contains gorges as deep as the Grand Canyon. Featuring both exciting rapids and calm stretches of smooth water, this river provides the perfect classroom for honing whitewater skills and appreciating the unique ecology of this alpine river. I’ll recommend two courses in particular: Salmon River Rafting for adults ages 23 and older, and (new for 2021!) Salmon River Rafting Adventure for ages 14-15. Days on the river are organized around learning paddling skills, sharing leadership responsibilities, and helping everyone stay happy and healthy during the expedition. This includes following protocols to guard

against COVID-19, but also playing games, telling stories, and feeding your curiosity about this unique wilderness area—something you don’t get on many river trips. Instructor SJ Johnson points out that “If you’re looking for this level of instruction outside of NOLS, you’d have to take a multi-day class with a kayak school or try to become a raft guide.” So as you’re dreaming, scheming, and putting together ideas for summer 2021, take a look at these courses on the Salmon River on the NOLS website and make a plan to grow your river expedition skills. Molly Herber loves the smell of her backpack and does her best writing before 7 a.m. When she’s not managing creative projects or teaching expeditions for NOLS, she’s running and climbing on rocks in Wyoming.

NOLS.EDU | 11

Connect with NOLS Through Online Virtual Gatherings! In lieu of alumni reunions (we still love you and look forward to bringing NOLS to your community, but, well, COVID), we’re hosting engagement calls like “Boats and Blades” and “The Evolution of the Alumni Experience.” Check the website for details, and sign up today! And if you have suggestions and requests for topics you’d like us to cover, send them our way!

12 | THE LEADER

ENGAGE

ALUMNI IN ACTION

Grad’s Artwork Benefits NOLS’ DE&I Efforts By Anne McGowan Development Communications Coordinator

lina Drufovka has advice for anyone seeking opportunities. Ask and then ask again. Alina is an artist, thru-hiker, former NOLS Teton Valley Diversity and Inclusion Fellow, and a three-time NOLS grad. She is also the person whose artwork will grace a Kula Cloth, the antimicrobial cloth designed for anyone who squats when they pee. And proceeds from the sale of the cloths with her design on it will be donated to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) efforts at NOLS. Alina was a fan of Kula Cloths—whose founder, Anastasia Allison, is also a NOLS grad—long before she made art for the company. It was while thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that she first discovered the cloth and became a convert. “They’ve truly revolutionized peeing in the woods for a lot of backpackers,” she

said. When she learned the company was holding a design competition, but that she’d missed the deadline for entries, Alina wasn’t discouraged. “I really love their mission and that they are a female-run gear company, so I reached out anyways,” she said. “The worst anyone can say is no, and a no to me just means ask again when you’re more established. Before I knew it, I was designing a Kula Cloth!” Combining her love of self-expression and outdoors isn’t new. As a NOLS Fellow—a participant in a three-monthlong mentorship program that provides a pathway for self-identified People of Color to become NOLS field instructors— Alina created materials about historical examples of diversity in the outdoors, and posted them around the NOLS Teton Valley campus during her fellowship there.

“It was my hope that when students from underrepresented groups landed at the branch, they could see themselves in the stories I posted,” she said. Similarly, Alina hopes people see themselves in her art and reflect on how their own journeys in nature have molded them physically and spiritually. The paintings she calls “The Silhouette Series,” including her Kula Cloth design, “are meant to contain all the memories and splendor of hiking thousands of miles within a single backpacker’s form.” Alina’s Kula Cloth is part of the company’s philanthropic “Kula for a Cause” program, which is how a portion of sales supports NOLS DE&I efforts. “I chose NOLS as the recipient since NOLS played a pivotal role in my confidence in the outdoors,” Alina said. “This confidence has trickled down to so many facets of my life. While I’m on-trail, I may not see many other Latina women or people who look like me, but NOLS gave me the skills so I always feel like I belong in any outdoor setting.” She also admires that NOLS addressed diversity in the outdoors as a concern before, as she put it, “it was a trending hashtag.” “That’s exactly why I picked NOLS as the recipient for Kula for a Cause,” Alina said. “It’s my hope that the funds from my Kula can help continue this Fellowship and other DE&I initiatives. My NOLS course was one of the most impactful experiences of my life, and I love the idea of helping NOLS achieve their strategic vision of having more students and staff of color.” Anne McGowan grew up camping and hiking with her family in Pennsylvania. She followed her love of words and books to a career in writing.

Alina’s Kula Cloth, left; Alina is a three-time NOLS grad. Courtesy of Alina Drufovka

NOLS.EDU | 13

EXPOSE

How Much Gear Do You Really Need? By Ben Fortson NOLS Grad and Former Instructor

Above and right: Excessive gear may shrink our interaction with wild, minimize or remove natural challenges, and subtly re-create what we are trying to escape. Nicholas Valentine & Molly Hagbrand

14 | THE LEADER

lpine Trailblazer. Boundless Mountaineer. Mystic Trekker. Although these spuriously-named, home-ina-can behemoths strut past your $12 campsite—mocking your couch-less two-person tent and your shoddy picnic site—no self-respecting outdoor educator is going to haul one of these big-ass recreation vehicles into the Wind River Range. Not only are RVs spectacularly ill-suited for backcountry travel, but they’re the god-awful, life-sucking antithesis to everything you value about wild. At least… that’s what you think you believe. Take the SunWave3 for example. At 3 oz., the solar-powered, portable microwave can heat your freezedried enchilada ranchero in 20 seconds, then fold up into the palm of your hand. What’s not to love about that?! Well…for starters, it kind of sounds like something you’d find in an RV, only more compact. And—more troubling—some of you, just now, abandoned this article to google the fictional SunWave3, just to see if you could spring for it. In spite of our loyalty and lust for wild, we outdoor folks are routinely duped by our own contraptions. Metaphorically speaking, we often can’t see the forest for the trees—y’know, the ones our Enos are tied to.

“What’s our goal? Will this accessory thing-a-majig help us accomplish that goal? What impact will this gear have on our experience?”

In a culture that proclaims, “If you can do it, why not overdo it!” there is a co-dependent billion-dollar industry eager to transform our backcountry excursion into an easier, faster, lighter, simpler, warmer, dryer, bug-free, trendy, luxurious, reassuringly safe, and exceptionally cushy vacation. And we don’t have to drag a Mystic Trekker into the Wind Rivers to note the irony. RVs—and outdoor gear—tend to diminish wilderness. That is to say, “What you bring into the backcountry has a significant impact on what you experience in the backcountry.” Pertinently, gear may thwart death. But it may also shrink our interaction with wild, minimize or remove natural challenges (and the lessons therein), and subtly re-create our petroleum-based urban environment—the one we were trying to escape. While minimalist, buck-naked backcountry travel is not ideal, there is some value in pondering our more common, affluent predicament: How much gear do we REALLY need? It depends. On a personal level, what are the aspirations of our trek? State-of-theart comfort? Nature hike? Exercise? Chill out? Challenge? Enlightenment? Near-death experience? These oft-uncalculated valuations should inform our equipment choices. If we want to maximize wild, the gear we do and don’t haul into the backcountry may require a bit more scrutiny… at least, more than manufacturers let on. On a programmatic level—where philosophies, goals, and participant welfare prescribe judiciousness—gear-scrutiny is paramount.

As an ‘80s NOLS student, with keep-it-simple proclivities, I found that rations, routes, and risks (along with gear) were highly premeditated endeavors. NOLS was employing a time-tested system. I didn’t particularly fancy all the stuff in my pack, but sure enough, every ounce—minus the couscous—improved my chances of pleasant survival. Counteracting this necessary gear-o-sphere, extra poundage (the likes of fly-fishing gear, hefty naturalist books, and route-finding tools), spurred us into the wild. In retrospect, NOLS wasn’t wooing Gearhead converts but rather modeling intentionality. “What’s our goal? Will this accessory thing-a-ma-jig help us accomplish that goal? What impact will this gear have on our experience?” In 2020—the year of Our Exceptionally Fabulous Gear—motives, due diligence, and intentionality can still help us minimize the RV within and maximize the wild without. And occasionally, less is more. Ben Fortson A field instructor in the ‘80s (when frame packs were in vogue), Ben is currently an author, freelance writer, and leadership consultant based in North Carolina.

NOLS.EDU | 15

EXPOSE

Jimmy Chin, José González, & Kit DesLauriers On Their Trails to Success By NOLS

Pictured left to right above: Jimmy Chin, José González, and Kit DesLauriers. Click on their individual headlines in the story to watch their videos.

16 | THE LEADER

OLS graduates are an inspiring bunch. Over the years, we’ve heard again and again that their NOLS courses impacted their trails to success. Whether success means founding a nonprofit that empowers Latinx communities in the outdoors (José González), leaving a set career path for an uncertain future in outdoor filming (Jimmy Chin), or becoming the first person to ski the Seven Summits (Kit DesLauriers), NOLS courses can facilitate learning and growth along the way. Watch these grads share their stories and NOLS experiences in their own words. Jimmy Chin: Filmmaker, Storyteller, Explorer Watch Jimmy’s Interview Jimmy Chin is a photographer, filmmaker, climber, and mountaineer known for his ability to capture extraordinary imagery while climbing and skiing in extremely high-risk environments. His years of experience in the adventure sports world enable him to bring an authentic perspective

Kit DesLauriers: Mountaineer, Advocate Watch Kit’s Interview Kit is an adventurer with a lot of firsts. She’s the first person to ski the Seven Summits, the first woman to ski down Everest, and the first woman to win back-to-back Freeride World Tour championships. She completed the first female solo of the Grand Teton and has made several first ski descents of the highest peaks above the Arctic José González: Educator, Environmentalist, Game-changer Circle in Alaska. Watch José’s Interview Kit is also a passionate advocate for the Alaskan wil José is the founder and director emeritus of Latino Outdoors, a non- derness she fell in love with on her NOLS course. Now profit that connects families and youth with nature, engages and inspires lobbying for the protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Latinx leadership, and empowers communities to share stories of their Refuge, she says “things have come full circle” since that cultural connections to the outdoors. first NOLS adventure. He’s also an accomplished and passionate educator, with experience as a K-12 public school teacher, environmental education advisor, outdoor education instructor and coordinator, and university adjunct faculty. José Peruse the NOLS Blog for stories about skills, first aid, leadjoined the NOLS Board of Trustees in 2019. ership, risk management, and much more. to his storytelling. Jimmy’s documentary Free Solo won a BAFTA, and an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2019. Jimmy joined NOLS as an instructor in 1998 and taught until 1999, and now serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. To this day, Jimmy considers his NOLS experience a gift: “You learn so many hard skills and soft skills that are yours to keep forever, many of them applicable throughout life.”

NOLS.EDU | 17

EXPOSE

Ode to Wyoming By Steve Decina NOLS Grad

Above: The trajectory of Steve Decina’s life changed after his NOLS course. Courtesy of Steve Decina Right: Steve (third from right) pictured with his coursemates. Courtesy of Steve Decina

18 | THE LEADER

“

et in there!” Billy encourages me. I am standing half-naked in a ditch, chest-deep in, shall we say, brisk water, groping around inside a murky culvert. Why? Because I am trying to thwart a dauntless beaver’s umpteenth attempt to dam up an irrigation system. I’m 38 years old with a Ph.D. in biology, a pretty sweet science policy fellowship in Washington D.C., and an upcoming move to Rome to work with the UN Foundation. This, here at NOLS’ Three Peaks Ranch, is vacation. “I think that’s it,” I say to Billy. At this point, we’ve already pulled a small orchard, dammed up with mud, out of the culvert. “Get in there with your feet—this beaver is pretty persistent. I just cleared this one out yesterday.” I hold on to the edges of the metal culvert and jam my leg into the darkness, feeling around for any more of our little bucktoothed friend’s machinations. The suction of the current pulls me into the black cold of the culvert, taking away my breath. Stupidly confident, I tell Billy that I think we got it all. Spoiler: we didn’t—not even close. “I can’t wait until Game and Fish comes to trap this

“I loved wilderness so purely that I needed to go back to school to be a biologist, allowing my work to take me to the places that I first fell in love with on my NOLS course. As they say, the rest is history.”

guy,” says Billy, who has been walking this ditch for months, engaging in tit-for-tat reprisals with a headstrong aquatic rodent. “There’s a guy up in Big Sandy who needs a beaver on his land, and we would really like to send this one over to him.” “Wyoming,” I say to myself with a smile, as I crawl out of the ditch and empty the water out of my boots. I know, I know. And yeah, it’s absolutely as fun as it sounds. But I am not here to live out a weekend warrior fantasy or settle beaver vendettas. I am here to pay homage, to come full circle. It was a two-week NOLS backpacking course in Wyoming at the age of 24 that set the trajectory of my life. Without NOLS, no biology, no sweet fellowship, no work in Rome. Might I also add, no backpacking, no horsepacking, no kayaking, and a life unknowingly diminished, because Wyoming taught this city boy that his heart belongs in the wilderness. Back in 2005, I was an urban kid with a business degree who had never been on so much as a hike. I was teaching middle school in Newark, NJ, where there was a foundation that provided summer scholarships for city teachers to head off into the wilderness with NOLS to blow off some steam. Battered at the end of my first year of teaching, I applied for a scholarship for a short backpacking course in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.

Green and without a speck of equipment, I arrived in Lander and got oriented and geared up at the NOLS Rocky Mountain campus. Despite owning nothing of use for mountain travel, I still brought too much stuff. My course leader, Jen Sall (long before she became head of the NOLS Rocky Mountain campus), ruthlessly cut weight from my pack, an act I was deeply thankful for once I hit the trail. Though I had always been an athlete, running on a court or field requires different physical and emotional endurance than bushwhacking upslope with a heavy pack. Through the burning quads and blistered feet, however, I discovered that I loved this stuff. I loved lying out in frigid Wyoming nights under the starriest sky I had ever seen. I loved rising with the sun to listen to coyotes and watch steam rising off pristine mountain lakes. I loved reading maps and finding routes. I loved making dinner while getting pelted with summer hail, splitting my sides laughing with my new friends, Frank and Jon. And through these experiences, I also discovered that wilderness was something that brought out the best in me. In its magnificence and indifference to my emotions, wilderness taught me just how

NOLS.EDU | 19

adaptable, persevering, open, and wide-eyed at the world I really am. The decision to take that course truly became one of the crossroads of my life. After that trip, I sought backpacking trips anywhere I could find them. With Frank and Jon and our other NOLS buddies Doc and Josh, I explored Isle Royale. Alone, I probed into the Grand Canyon along the Hermit Trail and didn’t see a soul for four blessed days. For miles and miles in Canyonlands one summer, ravens and slickrock helped me work out the trials of a rapidly disintegrating relationship. And on a remote beach in Patagonia, under a brilliant moon with southern right whales huffing and slapping the water right outside my tent, I realized that I loved wilderness so purely that I needed to go back to school to be a biologist, allowing my work to take me to the places that I first fell in love with on my NOLS course. As they say, the rest is history.

that had discovered the rare alchemy of the balance between growing and yet still running according to its principles and the heart of its people. As before, I went from useless and green to confident and capable, leading a packhorse while riding my black mare through perfect mountain summer days. One morning before saddling up, as I was scouring a frost-nipped mountainside for the last of the year’s red currants, the sun broke over the ridge to the east and alighted on my face. It was one of the most perfect moments of my life, a crystallization of gratitude for where I was and who I had been lucky enough to become. And Wyoming had been at the center of all of it. Back at the ranch in 2018, I have come just to volunteer, just to be in this place and in this community. Combatting beavers, clearing sagebrush along a fence line, telling stories with friends late into the night, and holding my dear black mare’s head while her legs are bandaged fills my heart with gratitude for the things that I didn’t even know I loved before that first NOLS trip fifteen years ago. And I will come back and be here every year I am able to, whether as a student, volunteer, or maybe even an instructor. And I think you should, too. NOLS is a beautiful community; it embraced In 2018, I decided to head back to Wyoming to answer a me with open arms more than a decade after I took my first NOLS course. siren song that had been calling to me for years—experi- If you love it, it will love you back–find a way, any way, to get involved. encing the wilderness on horseback. But I wasn’t looking Come to think of it, I know a culvert in Wyoming that is hosting a for a dude ranch, let’s-play-cowboy experience; I actually determined, seemingly invincible beaver. It could use a strong back and a needed a new skill set that I wanted to carry forward into good attitude… the rest of my life. Just like in 2005, there was no better way to acquire it than at NOLS. When I arrived, I found the same ethic at NOLS Three Peaks Ranch that I had found back Steve Decina, a biologist at the U.S. Department of State, is planning a in Lander in 2005: instructors dedicated to making magic great walk through Italy to catalog the plants, dialects, and foodways of his beloved second home. for students, a program built on the education of tangible outdoor skills and of self-knowledge, and an organization Below: Steve (center) and friends frequently took trips into the wilderness after his course. Courtesy of Steve Decina Right: Steve spent vacation time volunteering at NOLS Three Peaks Ranch in Wyoming. Courtesy of Steve Decina

20 | THE LEADER

NOLS.EDU | 21

85 COMBINED YEARS OF LEADERSHIP NOLS: Celebrating 55 Years of Wilderness Education and Leadership Training By Anne McGowan NOLS Development Communications Coordinator With Reporting by Kate Dernocoeur

020 has been a profoundly challenging year for most people, businesses, and organizations around the world, and NOLS is no exception. From mid-March, when we became aware of coronavirus and the majority of our employees were sent home, to the soon-to-follow shuttering of most campuses and the layoffs of many of those valued employees, NOLS locations around the globe felt the impact of this pandemic. Still, we have much to celebrate as we mark NOLS’ 55th year and the 30th anniversary of NOLS Wilderness Medicine, as well as the joining of those two powerhouses in wilderness education under one banner 20 years ago. While we can’t gather to toast this high point, we can look back at our history and raise a glass (or maybe a Nalgene) to all who came along with us, learned with us, stumbled with us, and helped us get to this milestone. It’s been an extraordinary adventure and we’re glad you were on the trail with us. As origin stories go, NOLS—founded as the National Outdoor Leadership School—has a rich one. Fifty-five years ago, a charismatic, middle-aged mountain climber named Paul Petzoldt started the school from scratch, bent on instructing others how to teach mountaineering and leadership skills from a base outside the sleepy Rocky Mountain town of Lander, Wyoming.

Little did anyone guess—except perhaps Paul himself—that this motley outfit would go on to become the most respected outdoor school in the world, responsible for teaching leadership, wilderness skills and, soon, wilderness medicine to more than 320,000 students in the last five and a half decades. Paul was already 57 years old in 1965, and had wide and deep experience in mountaineering, when he saw a need for an outdoor school that “taught the teachers.” He was also a “master scrounger” in the words of Kate Dernocoeur, the author of A Worthy Expedition: The History of NOLS, and, after plenty of planning, spent the spring of 1965 prepping for NOLS’ first course. Scabbing for gear and wool clothing (never cotton) at military surplus and thrift stores in the West and Midwest, Petzoldt was able to outfit the 43 young men who’d enrolled on that July expedition, before leading them into the Wind River Mountains. With NOLS’ roots in mountaineering, lessons taught on that first course included climbing, hiking, shelter building, map reading, fishing and packing. When the course was

CONTINUED ON PG 24 22 | THE LEADER

NOLS Wilderness Medicine: Celebrating 30 years, and 20 years with NOLS By Ben Lester NOLS Wilderness Medicine Business Operations Manager With Reporting by Kate Dernocoeur

n 1990, two people moved to Pitkin, Colorado and opened a business. That was remarkable for two reasons: first, because the move raised the population of Pitkin (53 according to the 1990 Census) by nearly 4 percent. And second, because the business was dedicated to the teaching of a discipline called wilderness medicine. That branch of medicine was still a new idea in 1990; it wasn’t really even defined until the mid 1970s, and in 1990 just a handful of folks were teaching it. Melissa Gray and Buck Tilton were among them, travelling around the eastern US in the mid and late 1980s teaching courses for New Hampshire-based SOLO—one of the first wilderness medicine schools in the world. In 1990, they decided there was an opportunity to expand the business, and relocated to Pitkin, where they founded the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI) with an arrangement that made them SOLO’s western affiliate. The very first program WMI ran was a 30-day EMT course down the hill from Pitkin in Gunnison, Colorado. That year, WMI trained 83 students on three courses. Though wilderness medicine education was a new discipline in those days, other innovators were working towards a common goal. Tod Schimelpfenig, then NOLS Risk Management Director, had been teaching courses with a wilderness emphasis for NOLS expedition instructors

since the late 1970s. He met Melissa and Buck around 1988 when he visited SOLO, in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. After WMI got off the ground in Pitkin, it was an easy decision to contract with Melissa and Buck to provide training for NOLS. Tod gets a twinkle in his eyes remembering those e arly EMT courses in Lander. “We used the basement of the Noble Hotel for scenarios,” he said. “We could control the lights, and there were a lot of small spaces. We put a fogger down there to create smoke. If folks were doing well with the scenario, we’d switch the lights off and turn on some police sirens we’d found to really mess them up.” One of the students on an early WMI course for NOLS was a new instructor named Terri Watson, who in 2019 was named NOLS President. “In the old days, first aid was all about memorization,” she remembered. The curriculum that WMI and other wilderness medicine schools taught was different because it emphasized principles and practice “and it taught you to think through real, complex situations.”

CONTINUED ON PG 25 NOLS.EDU | 23

completed, those same instructors outfitted another group, and returned to the mountains two more times that summer. With the help of many folks, including early instructor and military veteran Rob Hellyer and Petzoldt’s fellow U.S Army 10th Mountain Division member Tap Tapley, NOLS’ first season had been a success. Setting up a procedure that continues to this day, Paul immediately wrote a debrief of the courses, listing ways to improve and do things differently the next time (including welcoming women to courses the next year). What was it about Paul and what he taught that captured the imagination of so many, particularly young people? Certainly, he was huge in both stature and personality (as proven by the television documentary Thirty Days to Survival). More than that, though, according to Samuel “Q” Belk, an early grad and instructor, Paul “totally got” what youth were going through in the tumultuous 1960s, and they trusted him. Though many who met Paul were deeply affected by his energy and magnetism, NOLS was never meant to be a cult of personality. It was and always has been an educational institution that stays true to and grew from its first articles of incorporation: “to develop and teach wilderness skills and techniques, to develop and teach wilderness use that encourages minimal environmental impact, to develop and teach outdoor leaders.” What those lessons produced then are much the same as now: Leaders who are humble, who value hard work, and who find joy in the wilderness. While no one could fault the power of lessons learned in the wilderness and Paul’s commitment to the school he started, his bookkeeping skills fell short, and ten years after NOLS’ founding, the Board of Trustees appointed NOLS Instructor Association president Jon Hamren director of the school, a short-term solution to Paul’s sudden vacancy. Five months later, Peter Simer took the reins. Peter’s strengths—professionalism, objectivity, and a knack for picking the right people for the right job—were just what the school needed to get back on its feet. Besides stabilizing the school’s finances, NOLS started a scholarship fund during Peter’s eight-yearlong presidency. Peter’s tenure was followed (after a stint by interim director Charley Fiala) in 1984 by instructor and former NOLS Alaska director Jim Ratz, who worked to codify curriculum, support instructors, introduce technology, and heal old wounds by welcoming Paul back into the NOLS fold. By this time, new locations in Patagonia, the Southwest, India, and the Yukon all came into being. NOLS Custom Education—originally called NOLS Professional Training Institute, which provides custom services for specific groups like NASA—was founded in 1999. The first Wilderness Risk Management Conference was held in 1994. Jim Ratz retired in 1995 after 11 years, with John Gans, another former NOLS Alaska director, chosen to replace him. John went on to hold the position for an unprecedented 25 years, during which time the school saw enormous growth. During John’s tenure, NOLS acquired the Wilderness Medicine Institute. Renamed NOLS Wilderness Medicine, it now trains more students than any other pillar of the school, and more EMTs than any institution anywhere. (Ben Lester’s companion piece on page 23 fleshes out the story of this critical and ever-growing pillar of the school as we celebrate its 30th anniversary and 20 years with NOLS). In addition, NOLS risk management employees performed reviews and consultations beginning in about 1998, before becoming NOLS Risk Services in 2016. After a quarter of a century at the helm, and with about a year’s notice, John Gans planned his retirement from NOLS, while a search committee sought his replacement. In September 2019, the committee and the Board of Trustees announced that the new president came from NOLS’ own ranks: field and Wilderness Medicine instructor Terri Watson.

24 | THE LEADER

A letter to faculty and staff stated, “After a search during which we considered more than 300 candidates, the board unanimously concluded that Terri’s background, skills and experiences are exactly what the school needs. Terri will be the sixth person to lead the school since its founding in 1965, and is the first woman to do so.” It went on to note that her “deep experience in nonprofit management, education, and conservation in multi-faceted organizations with international reach, have uniquely prepared Terri to address the complex needs of the school today.” The letter ended with these prescient words: “With our 55th anniversary on the horizon, this announcement marks an exciting and extraordinary time for the school.” Extraordinary, indeed. 2020 has challenged all of us—at NOLS and far, far beyond. But it is with grit and good humor and community and—most of all—a love of the wild and of serving our students that has us looking toward NOLS’ future with confidence. In 2020, we greeted a substantially slimmed-down roster of summer students with newly created systems that fit COVID-19 protocols. We reopened select campuses and filled a number of vacated positions. It’s been a wrenching year for many in the NOLS community, but we’ve also stepped forward with new online learning, a revamped organization, and new procedures for teaching in a COVID world. We hosted a virtual Wilderness Risk Management Conference that broke records for attendance. Meantime, Wilderness Medicine rebounded with 50 percent of its previous years’ courses, and field and classroom courses are in greater demand than ever. It’s been a raucous 55 years filled with adventure, tragedy, expansion, some contractions, and lots of growth—in our audiences, mission, classrooms, curriculum, professionalism and capacities. And the future remains bright as we embrace new technologies, articulate our roles and actions on social justice and inclusion issues, and expand our operations and educational reach. If Paul Petzoldt were here today, he’d be amazed by much of what we’ve accomplished, but he’d also recognize the same foundations he built in 1965—our grounding in wilderness, our commitment to our teams, and our pursuit of competence in the outdoors and as leaders. There’s no way to predict the details, but in another 55 years—because of our students, staff, donors, and volunteers—NOLS will still be the leader.

Throughout the early 1990s, WMI was a small, stable business. Melissa, Buck, and a slowly growing cadre of part-time instructors including Daniel DeKay, Michael Ambrose, and Kristin McInaney managed the teaching load. The pace began to change in 1995 when Melissa brought Judy Crawford and Shana Tarter on as full-time staff and instructors. Judy had taken an EMT course in 1990. Shana had been a student on the first EMT course in Gunnison back in 1990, and moved to Pitkin in 1995 with her husband, Steve. “Really, moving to Pitkin might be the wrong way to put it,” said Shana. “The only permanent thing we had was storage locker #11. We drove around the West, teaching courses and rendezvousing to climb.” Melissa refined her role in operations. Judy took on program management. And Shana backed both up with systems. Someone dubbed the synergistic trio the “Warrior Women of WMI,” and the name stuck. Together they led WMI to 1,000 percent growth between 1995 and 2007. “We had different skill sets and attacked problems from very different directions, but we came to decisions easily,” said Melissa. “The combination was very effective.” As WMI grew, it attracted more talent. Gates Richards was already an EMT when he took what is now called a WUMP (Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals) from Judy and Daniel DeKay in 1996, and took his WMI instructor course (ITC) in 1998. Melissa put an emphasis on educational professionalism in the ITC. Terri Watson took it in 1999, and recalls Melissa saying “WMI’s product isn’t wilderness medicine, it’s our instructors. If you can’t live up to that, don’t show up.” But along with those high standards came exceptional support. Gates remembers, “That first spring I was teaching all the time, and I’d worked three courses in 10 days in three different states. I was exhausted. I found a payphone and called Judy Crawford. She said ‘how are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m hot, I’m tired, I’m fried, and I’m going to go see a movie, and WMI is going to pay.’ And Judy said ‘what are you going to see?’ That was her only response...They supported me because I was them out there.” The late 1990s were exciting times for WMI. And in the background of all that growth, quiet negotiations had been going on with NOLS. Melissa and Buck wanted to sell the business, and NOLS wanted to supplement expedition enrollment, at that time “in a flat spin,” in the words of former board member Michael Schmertzler. The sale was concluded on September 1, 1999. WMI continued operating out of Pitkin through 2002, when NOLS’ new headquarters building in Lander was finished. Some changes have occurred since then. WMI became WMI of NOLS, and later NOLS Wilderness Medicine. Course offerings have grown to include a Wilderness Medicine and Rescue

Semester, a Wilderness Medicine Expedition for doctors and nurses, and a hybrid recertification course. In 2019, NOLS Wilderness Medicine educated 24,400 students on courses ranging from two days to 90. Courses are hosted by organizations around the globe. Since its humble beginnings, NOLS Wilderness Medicine has provided education to students in all 50 states and 46 countries. Throughout its history, the business has succeeded by partnering with other organizations. Two of its largest partners include North Carolina-based outdoor education provider Landmark Learning and retailer REI, Inc. Both partnerships have been instrumental in regional and demographic program growth. Melissa is still the director, and she has a loyal team who appreciate her commitment to (as Gates puts it) “Hiring the best people and then getting out of their way.” Gates oversees the EMT program and the Wyss Wilderness Medicine Campus (see page 6), and Shana Tarter is still the associate director. Tod Schimelpfenig joined the team after the move to Lander in 2002 as curriculum director. Judy Crawford and her husband Mark still teach courses, as do many of the names from the early days. The COVID pandemic has affected NOLS Wilderness Medicine as it has the rest of the outdoor industry, and this year NOLS is on track to run only 50 percent of its pre-pandemic course load. But in other ways, the pandemic may spur future growth. “We’re exploring how to better make use of online resources in wilderness medicine,” said Tod. “We’ve been thinking about it for a while now, but the pandemic has given us greater impetus.” Tod is contemplating retirement after nearly 50 years at NOLS and 30 teaching wilderness medicine. Asked what he’s most proud of in NOLS Wilderness Medicine’s legacy, he says: “We’ve trained a lot of people to care for each other. Every time we graduate a class, that’s 30 people who have the skills to care for their friends and family.” Melissa’s greatest aspiration for students when they leave their course is that they won’t wish their instructor was there, but instead feel they have the confidence to act on their own. For the nearly 300,000 graduates who have been trained since WMI’s inception in 1990, Melissa’s wish is their reality.

NOLS.EDU | 25

26 | THE LEADER

NOLS.EDU | 27

EDUCATE

RESEARCH

Turn Your Phone into an Emergency Beacon By Jared Steinman NOLS Instructor

ow can something that makes so much sense and is so seemingly easy have just been invented? That’s the kind of question AirFlare co-founder Eliot Gillum gets asked frequently. I had a chance to steal a bit of Eliot’s time to ask him a few questions about the idea behind and development of AirFlare, a revolutionary new system that only costs a few dollars and turns the phone in your pocket into an emergency beacon.

coverage is expanding every year but will specifically looking at drone footage. I’d never reach every canyon, peak, and square been thinking drones were kind of a way to mile of wilderness. solve everything: all you need to do is fly a drone over the area and search all the pixels. What got you interested in using this But, it turns out, it’s more difficult than technology to assist in search and that because people are hidden. Leaves rescue? block your ability to see people, hunters My degree is in computer science. I’ve wear camouflage, skiers fall into treeworked for a number of tech companies, wells, and it’s just fundamentally hard to including Microsoft. After I left Microsoft find people. I tested a few things, including in 2014, I started doing some other things. I Wi-Fi, and I discovered it worked really What is AirFlare? had been working with 3D printers to make well. It more than met my requirements AirFlare is an app that turns your phone first responder accessories for drones, and for being able to detect a signal far enough into a rescue beacon. It’s not the same as that got me working with search and rescue. away that you could reasonably get through traditional, satellite-based ones, but it has I’ve always been an athlete and then I forest canopy and not have to fly directly big advantages like price (under $5 for the got into the outdoors, hiking and mountain- over the subject or be super close to them. app), powerful abilities, and the potential to eering. I’ve climbed a few mountains and And so that was how AirFlare came to be. achieve the holy grail of ubiquitous usage in have an appreciation for wilderness. the field. It works without cellular service— When a friend of a friend’s husband Who is your ideal customer? and even better with it—which is good since went missing, I participated in the search, Well, theoretically, it’s everyone who goes into the outdoors. The great thing about AirFlare is once you download it, you already have it on you on your phone. You don’t have to plan on bringing it for the day that you think things are going to be risky. Why AirFlare now? The real reason behind “why AirFlare” is because we have an opportunity to put a rescue beacon on pretty much everybody out there. AirFlare can lead to better outcomes for subjects, as well as saving the rescuing agency money, which also keeps the responders healthier because they’re not having to climb down into every crack and crevice to look for people. It’s good for everybody to find people faster.

AirFlare works in places without cell service. Ben Rindler

28 | THE LEADER

Jared Steinman is a Kentucky native and full-time instructor. When not working, he can be found pursuing clean rock, deep snow, flowy single-track, and beautiful locations to make photos.

EDUCATE

HOW TO

Camp in COVID Conditions By John Gookin NOLS Instructor

fter a pause in global programming due to the spring’s global pandemic, NOLS developed backcountry COVID-19 field practices that helped us conduct about 40 summer wilderness adventures. Our successful techniques and strategies were informed by medical advisors, public health professionals, and local/national guidelines and practices. Our basic assumption was that everyone in the group was an asymptomatic carrier of COVID-19.

As a NOLS instructor, I headed into when you need to be close to the team— Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains with a map reading, some stream crossings, diverse group of adults and youngsters last or foot-care. summer. We had a safe, educational blast • Step well off the trail if you encounter in the mountains while implementing other groups. consistent COVID-19 practices. These Cooking and in Camp: practices, summarized below, can easily • Make hand washing and sanitation be used and adapted for your own outdoor easy and consistent for everyone. adventures, especially if you’re adventuring • Form cook and eating teams that with folks outside of your immediate family are family units or other pre-formed or friend bubble. bubbles. Pre-Trip Practices: • Limit the number of masked cooks • Wear a mask while traveling. or food handlers and have them serve • Wash or sanitize hands frequently. others. • Plan for “bubble” or family groups to Backcountry Sleeping: cook together. When possible: • Sleep by family unit or pre-formed • Select backcountry foods that minbubble teams if you can, otherwise: imize handling. • Individual shelters, bivy sacks and • Each person gets a snack bag with all an increase in the number of tents of their snacks (no sharing.) are good options to help spread out • Bring backcountry shelters that the sleeping team. allow for distancing and ventilation. • Select shelters that are airy (e.g. Another option is everyone sleeps in flies) and relatively large. Ideally, a separate shelter. folks can sleep two to a 4-person • Align everyone’s thinking and agreeshelter and be at least six feet apart. ment about performing diligent Alternating head to toe gives extra COVID-19 practices. distance.

Our practices were based on five principles: 1. Informed consent: All participants were informed that the risk of COVID-19 could not be completely eliminated on courses and were informed about our plans for mitigating the risk of COVID-19. 2. Face masks: Everyone wore face masks, especially if physical distancing couldn’t be done. 3. Physical (social) distancing: All participants stayed at least six feet (two meters) from one another and wore face masks if that couldn’t be accomplished. 4. Hygiene: We emphasized meticulous Backcountry Travel Practices: attention to hand washing using both • Spread out while hiking or taking soap and water and hand sanitizer. breaks. 5. Screening for symptoms: Everyone • Keep a mask handy for those times did a daily health check for symptoms.

Getting outdoors with friends and family is a great option that may be even more rejuvenating during a pandemic. With planning, commitment and focus, COVID19 practices are easy to follow, become second nature, and are an integral part of daily activities. Of course, our understanding of COVID-19 risks is evolving, so update your research and possibly your practices before heading out. You can manage this new risk, and still have a fantastic outdoor adventure. John Gookin is NOLS’ former Curriculum and Research Manager, a current expedition instructor, and the Search and Rescue Commander in his hometown of Lander, Wyoming.

With commitment, COVID-19 practices become second nature. Ishani Sawant

NOLS.EDU | 29

EDUCATE

HOW TO

Practice Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty: A Q&A with Terri Watson

ow do you explain the con- who are counting on me to coordinate their cept of Tolerance for Adversity efforts wonder: “Is it really bad now? Should and Uncertainty? we panic now?” they have some solidity. If The phrase Tolerance for Adversity and I can say, realistically, “No we got this. We Uncertainty has three big, important can do this,” and start moving forward with words in it: Adversity is when things are a can-do approach, that lets the whole team really hard, whether it’s physical or you’re function a lot better. just having an awful day. Uncertainty is when you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know the answers, and you don’t know what to do. Tolerance for those things is saying, “Huh, this kind of stinks, and I’m going to figure out what to do next and stay calm and do something worthwhile with what I have right here.” Why do you like this leadership skill so much? For me, it’s the skill that’s the most powerful. If I can learn to live in a world where things are hard and I don’t have all the information, and I don’t know when it’s going to get better—if I can do that, I think I can do anything. What are some of the ways you see yourself practicing Tolerance for Adversity today?

Terri calls Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty “the most powerful skill.” Joseph Hoff

30 | THE LEADER

The recent COVID experience has been the sharpening tool on how this skill really applies now in the frontcountry. In a leadership role, I’ve learned that the way I handle a situation affects absolutely everybody around me. And if I start not doing Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty well, people around me will start not doing it well. So, the biggest piece in leadership I’ve learned is it’s not only a skill I need to be adept at, but it’s one I have to consciously and overtly model, so that when the people

Can you tell us a story about students learning this skill? I was teaching an Alaska sea kayaking course. We instructors sent the students off on their independent travel, when they had four days to get to our pick-up point completely independent of instructors. A few hours later, the sky turned totally black. Stuff started falling from the sky that looked like snow, but it wasn’t. We were like, “What is going on?” It was volcanic ash. Mount Spurr, on the other side of Anchorage, had erupted. At first, we were worried about our students, but we knew they knew how to find us if they had problems. When we reunited at the end of the four days and heard their stories, the students were just living out Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty. “What’s happening? Will this get worse? Will we actually be able to get to our pick-up?” And they, as a group, worked through all kinds of scenarios and came up with solutions and tried to come up with plans. They said that the act of all that problem-solving, feeling like they could take proactive action, made this totally bizarre event more of an adventure than terrifying. I was really proud of them because they had actually used a lot of stuff they learned in classes. They solved their own problems and made their own solutions with the information they were gleaning.

EDUCATE

IN MEMORY

Joe Austin

Katie Baum Mettenbrink Risk Services Manager & Drew Leemon Director of Risk Management

n October 1, Joe Austin, a dear friend and colleague of many in the NOLS community, died while biking near his home in Lander, Wyoming. Joe’s personal and professional impact on our community was vast, and his loss is felt deeply. His career in outdoor education spanned 40 years. He worked at summer camps, outdoor education centers, and with the Boy Scouts of America, in Maine, Arizona, Minnesota, Texas, and elsewhere. Joe came to NOLS as a student on a Wyoming winter ski course in 1980, and became a NOLS instructor in 1983. He worked as a NOLS field instructor and horse packer, in the NOLS field staffing office for 10 years, in NOLS admissions for 15 years—including as the associate director—and most recently as NOLS’ health review manager since 2015, working closely with students and their families during the admissions process and coordinating the many staff who support students’ individual health needs before and during courses. He received a NOLS Employee of the Year award in 2010. Joe served on the Association for Experiential Education Accreditation Council for nine years, co-edited the Manuals of Accreditation Standards for Adventure Programs and Outdoor Behavioral Health Care, and was honored in 2018 with AEE’s Servant Leader Award. He was a speaker at the Wilderness Risk Management Conference and a skilled program reviewer for both NOLS Risk Services and AEE. His experience, insights, humility, and professionalism contributed greatly to the advancement of adventure education. Throughout his career, with a gentle demeanor, clear communication, good humor, and quick wit, Joe welcomed and mentored hundreds of students, instructors, staff, and colleagues. He was a Juilliard-trained percussionist and avid birder, loved biking and skiing, and was a profoundly kind and caring

person. He deployed sarcasm like none Memorial Fund c/o Central Bank and Trust other, in ways that made you laugh but never in Lander, 285 Main St, Lander, WY 82520, made you feel small. He was skilled in using or credit card via phone: 307.332.4730. his eyebrows to communicate. Joe leaves behind the family he loved, including his wife and best friend, Anne, Katie Baum Mettenbrink came to and their two children, Henry and Louisa. NOLS as a field instructor in 2003. She currently leads NOLS Risk It’s an unspeakable loss. Our thoughts are Services, and was lucky enough to with Joe’s family and the community of work, bike, and ski with Joe. friends and colleagues who loved and miss him deeply. Conversation and remembrances can Drew Leemon, NOLS risk management director, has known Joe since the be shared on Joe’s Facebook page, and/ mid 1980s and worked closely with him or on the WRMC Community page. A for the past 20 years. They shared many bike and ski adventures together. memorial fund has also been established. Donations can be made to the Joe Austin

NOLS.EDU | 31

EDUCATE

NUTRITION

How to Make (Irresistible) Fudge No-Bake Cookies Adapted from the NOLS Cookery

It’s the beginning of the holiday season, and easy, chocolatey Fudge No-Bake Cookies may be just the thing to indulge your wish for, well, something easy and chocolatey. Sure, you can eat them all yourself (you probably won’t be sharing them at a holiday party this year), but wrapping up some for friends and neighbors and delivering them to doorsteps is certain to be appreciated too. Last of all, you can practice making these fudgy bites now so they’re committed to memory the next time you go camping and hanker for a sweet snack.

Ingredients • 1 cup brown sugar • 5 tbs. butter • 1/4 cup cocoa mix • 3 tbs. powdered milk (regular, soy, coconut, or Nido) • 3 tbs. water • 1 1/2 cups oatmeal • 1/4 cup of nuts (chef’s choice) • 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Easy, chocolatey, and delicious—perfect for winter camping or gifting. Jordan Cranch

32 | THE LEADER

Instructions 1. Mix brown sugar, butter, cocoa mix, and milk mixture in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. 2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. 3. Drop by spoonsful onto a flat surface such as a fry bake lid or a baking sheet. Let sit for about 10 minutes to set. Enjoy! Find more tasty recipes to try at home in the NOLS Cookery.

EDUCATE

IN MEMORY

Claudia Pearson

By Meredith Hardwick Former NOLS Marketing Representative

laudia Pearson, NOLS rations guru, energetic and outspoken sparkplug, horsewoman, and friend to many, died on Nov. 3, 2020 after a long illness. She retired in May 2019 after working for NOLS for 40 years in the Rocky Mountain campus’s rations department. Her friend Meredith Hardwick penned this tribute. –Editor Claudia has meant more than words can describe to the NOLS community. She was a mentor, friend, inspiration, and mother hen to the many people she worked with. Including me. Shortly after I moved to Lander for a NOLS internship, Claudia took me under her wing, and we became nearly inseparable until the day I left Lander. We even dressed as Thelma and Louise one Halloween! Almost 60 years old when we met, Claudia had the energy of an unsupervised toddler. On mountain bike rides, it was all I could do to stay within shouting distance of her as her surprisingly strong little legs determinedly pushed along more and more technical routes at faster speeds. On local Wild Iris Trail and Fourth of July races, I wheezed and panted steps behind her, 35 years her junior, and listened as she carried on casual conversations about horses and dogs and diesel trucks. Her work ethic was strong. While diligently poring over rations menus for hundreds of courses, Claudia simultaneously entertained old and new friends who endlessly stopped by to chat with her under the pushpin boards of photos hanging in the “Gulch” that depicted her forty years in the

Lander Valley and the NOLS community. Claudia wrote and edited the NOLS Cookery since the fourth edition, published in 1997. NOLS is currently using the seventh edition and all of Claudia’s versions in between. While the number of Cookeries published and circulating in the world is unclear, it’s estimated at least 15,000 copies have been sold. Her influence continues to be felt through that outdoor cooking bible, and by all the NOLS students she inspired to make tasty and nutritious meals from a bag of noodles, some dried milk, and an extensive spice kit. While most at NOLS knew Claudia for her food and nutrition expertise, others in the Lander community knew her as a formidable horsewoman. For years, she and I rode horses in the mountains as she told me endless stories of the “western times” she’d had—the good and the bad. We also spent time critiquing each other’s riding, not always liking it, but laughing just the same. As a horse trainer of considerable finesse, Claudia approached her horses with the same qualities as she did her work, her community, and her friendships: with compassion, unrelenting drive, and a phenomenal sense of humor. So long, Claudia, my friend, mentor, and the Thelma to my Louise. You are missed. Meredith Hardwick is a graduate of a NOLS Wind River Mountaineering course and worked at NOLS headquarters. She lives in Teton Valley, Wydaho, and works as a wilderness horsepacker and guide.

Claudia at her retirement party, May 2019. Anne McGowan

NOLS.EDU | 33

EDUCATE

BOOK REVIEW

That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea By Marc Randolph Reviewed by Travis Welch NOLS Alumni Relations Coordinator and Instructor

is important to success, and if you aren’t failing, you aren’t going to figure out what works better. That was my takeaway from Marc’s first book—and I hope there are more books to come. “That will never work” are the words of Marc’s wife and the thoughts of so many others when he first conceived of online VHS rental. I think it is a fair argument that in fact, it didn’t work, but the evolution of that idea has now transformed the consumption of entertainment media in the world. As advertised, this book is a story about how one idea evolved into a brilliant business and has been evolving ever since. The story comes to life with the injection of people who become a team and usher the idea through the process of changing the world. Great entrepreneurs can create something we didn’t know we wanted. We have Marc Randolph speaking at a NOLS event. Kirk Rasmussen seen this with Steve Jobs and the iPhone, with Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com, and with ometimes you make mistakes, like Marc Randolph and Netflix. With this book, mailing a DVD full of pornography to Marc pulls back the curtain and tells us a few thousand people who were expect- about the hard work and uncertainty that ing something very different (like Netflix went into creating Netflix; but what’s even founder Marc Randolph did). But failure more interesting is how the business we see

today is not quite what he envisioned many years ago. That is the beauty. I found the memoir compelling and the book hard to put down. I laughed out loud many times from great ideas gone awry or from challenges that appeared so daunting they were ridiculous. Throughout all of it, Marc masterfully weaves together concepts of team building, management, entrepreneurship, and grit. He successfully sprinkles in enough education on venture capital, business plans, and group philosophy to inform the reader without boring them, all while keeping the content approachable. On top of excellent writing and an incredible story, Marc throws some love towards NOLS. As a graduate, former instructor, NOLS parent, and past Chair of the Board of Directors, Marc knows the value of a NOLS education and how it helped shape him into who he is today. Pick this book up if you have a chance; I’m confident you will enjoy it as much as I did. Travis Welch, NOLS’ Alumni Programs Coordinator, hails from Austin, Texas. His spirit animal is a sea otter, which makes sense considering the weeks he has accrued on the water for NOLS.

Who Is This? Do you recognize this person? The first ten people to contact us with the correct answer will receive a prize in the mail. The smiling face pictured in the spring edition of The Leader’s “Who Is This?” quiz belongs to none other than photographer, filmmaker, professional climber and skier, and former NOLS instructor (now a member of the Board of Trustees) Jimmy Chin.

CALL OR EMAIL | 1.800.332.4280 | ALUMNI@NOLS.EDU

34 | THE LEADER

EDUCATE

BOOK REVIEW

Musa Masala

By Drew Lefkowith Former Alumni Intern

s a child, I was a fairy tale fanatic. I loved the stories of heroism. And my mom being who she was, we always read fairy tales where women were the heroes, saving everyone, including themselves. I relished the drawings which brought the adventure and magic of the story to life. When I picked up Musa Masala, created by NOLS alum Michael McLaughlin, Tatiana Havryliuk, August Johnson McLaughlin, and illustrator Julie Ramirez, I was transported back to childhood and afternoons spent with my fairy tale books. On first glance, I was captivated by the vibrant and beautiful illustrations. The drawings bring the characters, landscape, and culture to life. The colors enhance the magic and the world the story creates. These are matched with a compelling story about a girl, who, just as in the tales from my childhood, saves herself through her discoveries along the journey to Everest base camp. The book follows the journey of Musa Masala, a young orphan who feels like a burden to those in her community; she feels there’s nothing she’s good at. She teams up with Rhopku, a yak, as he travels to Everest base camp. Along the way, they are joined by a dog named LhoLa. The journey is one of self-discovery for Musa as she helps another trekker carry his pack, helps monks prepare food, and learns from the guides and doctors at base camp. She discovers a path and a dream for herself while gaining friends, confidence, and self-efficacy. Interspersed with this story are cultural interludes. The authors give readers insight into the local traditions, history, and food of Nepal, making this story part tale and

part educational tool. When Musa Masala is at the monastery, the authors invite readers to learn about this traditional aspect of Nepalese life. When at Everest Base Camp, the authors educate readers about items trekkers carry and what base camp is like. The combination of information and storytelling makes this book appealing to young and older readers alike. A powerful female tale of self-discovery and an educational tool about a unique culture, the book is also a beautifully crafted marketing and fundraising tool. Not only is Musa Masala the name of this young girl, but it is the name of the organization which is working towards culturally aware and safe mountain travel, especially in the Himalayas, and especially for women. They have sponsored fundraising events both in the U.S. and abroad, held climbing competitions, created Altitude Tip cards for mountain rescue associations, and much more. Another big project for the Musa Masala organization is raising funds for the Wongchhu Sherpa Memorial Hospital, which they hops to officially open soon. Proceeds from the book go toward the hospital which will serve people in the lower Khumbu Valley in Nepal. This book, through the beautifully illustrated story of a young girl hoping to make a difference in the world, aims to make a difference in our world by raising funds and supporting an organization focused on helping others. Drew Lefkowith is an aspiring outdoor educator pursuing a Master’s degree in adventure education. When she’s not working or studying for school, you’ll most likely find her hiking or climbing some rock.

Musa Musala is a delightful story and a cache of Everest information. Rich Brame

Wilderness Medicine Quiz

Wilderness Quiz

ANSWER | a) gently irrigate the tooth

ANSWER | Colorado has 53 of the 96 total 14’ers in the USA. Fun fact: Alaska has the 22 highest peaks in the USA before Mt. Whitney in CA hits the list at #23.

NOLS.EDU | 35

Give a gift from NOLS this year! Your favorite NOLSie will love you even more! Buffs • Nalgenes • NOLS Cookery • First Aid Kits Caps and Hats • NOLS Games book • Hoodies • and More Shop online at store.nols.edu 36 | THE LEADER

Help NOLS Step Forward by Stepping Up Today! Give to NOLS’ Step Forward Campaign for Access and Affordability & Immediate Support $27.5 million of a $30 million goal has been raised to date. We’re closing in on the Dec. 31 finish line with $2.5 million to go.

Help us close the gap.

Make a gift to NOLS today. nols.edu/donate | 1.800.332.4280 | PayPal | 284 Lincoln St., Lander, WY 82520 Wilson Cheung

NOLS.EDU | 37

Thank you for supporting NOLS. In this season of giving thanks during this challenging year, we thank our generous donors. More than 1,200 new donors joined with our loyal, longtime donors to step forward and help secure our future.

NOLS is here because of you. www.nols.edu | 800.710.6657

38 | THE LEADER

NOLS Alumni Magazine - The Leader Fall 2020

Articles inside

Book Review | That Will Never Work: The Birth of

In Memory | Claudia Pearson

Nutrition | How to Make (Irresistible) Fudge

In Memory | Joe Austin

How To | Practice Tolerance for Adversity

Cover Story | NOLS Anniversaries: 85 Combined

Research | Turn Your Phone into an

How To | Camp in COVID Conditions

Feature | Ode to Wyoming

Feature | How Much Gear Do You Really Need?

Alumni in Action | Grad’s Artwork Benefits

Feature | Jimmy Chin, José González, and

Alumni Events | Join Us Online

Alumni Trips | Wind River Backpacking

Alumni Profile | Pat Erickson

Alumni Profile | Philliph Mutisya

Staff Profile | Tod Schimelpfenig

Featured Location | NOLS Wyss Wilderness

Featured Course | Summer Expeditions

NOLS in Action | Resources for Anti-Racism

Feedback | Letter to the Editor