National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)?

[Herman Miller]

I just discovered this school and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them, additionally I noticed that they teach segments on caving and was wondering what everyons take on that was.

http://www.nols.edu/

http://www.nols.edu/courses/find/byskill/caving.shtml

[Evan G]

They are OK, their main office is in Lander, WY (The town I was born). Some of the longtime instructors are great people, but some the upstarts are are well you can imagine. Sometimes I feel sorry for all the instructors, because the price tag for courses is way up there. So your clients are priceless thus some of the nicknames: NOLS: Nerds Outdoors Lost & Starving, National Outdoor Rich Kids Babysitting, etc.

The low impact camping and caving ideas that try to impart to the students are very well noted. I have picked up their manual and learned quite a bit. The NOLS Cookbook is a must have for anyone that is in the Outdoors.

I have run into them at Horsethief-Bighorn Cave many times and All-in-all they have been respectful to the caves. The only time I have ever had trouble is with a couple of the students not listening to the instructors and either I end up on a rescue (twice) or in cave yelling match (only happened once; WAY off trail in formation area).

[Herman Miller]

oh wow, well in anycase like i already said im going to see if the military will pay for some of the classes since they do give college credit and the credit is transferable to some state schools

[caverdan]

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[Tim White]

IMO: NOLS is the outdoor education program that others schools have based there programs on. They have been around a long time and developed a strong program. NOLS was founded by Paul Petzoldt, the father of American Outdoor Education. He helped establish the first US Outward Bound school in Colorado in the early 60’s.

John Gookin, the NOLS Curriculum Manager is a former NCRC Rocky Mountain Regional Coordinator. A great guy that has written books as well as many safety and technical articles for the NSS News.

I’ve never had a NOLS course so can’t comment on them from personnel knowledge. But I did have Outward Bound Instructor training and know a bit how the 2 schools are similar as well as different.

If you are looking for a broad outdoor / wilderness education then NOLS is great. But if you are looking for specific skills training, then maybe a school like Alpine Quest, that Dan suggested may be what you are looking for.

BTW: NOLS developed the Leave No Trace program that the USFS and BLM uses.

[Evan G]

John Gookin, the NOLS Curriculum Manager is a former NCRC Rocky Mountain Regional Coordinator. A great guy that has written books as well as many safety and technical articles for the NSS News.

Double Ditto on that!

The school itself, I think it has some wonderful programs. I have looked into the Wilderness Medicine program and was very impressed.

[Squirrel Girl]

Bremen66,
If your checking out schools, you should take a look at this one. One of our long time grotto members (Todd Warren) is co-owner and instructor. He's most definantly one of the best cavers in our state and a most excellent instructor.

Todd was on the first trip I did to India. He was sick most of the trip which was a bummer for him. But when he wasn't sick, he was a really great guy. So I'd think he'd be a great instructor, too.

[PaulSiegel]

I Did the NOLS Alaska Mountaineering course, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. The hard thing for me to figure out was that it is a SCHOOL first and note a trip. That being said i learned alot of "hard" skills: glacier travel, ice climbing, packing and expedition planning. As well as "Soft" skills: Expedition Behavior, Leadership, LNT. I even got graded at the end of the course.
That being said im not sure if they offer any stand alone caving "classes" or "classes" period. Usually, you join a trip and are taught out in the woods for 30 days rather than in a traditionally classroom. The only two courses for caving are both semesters meaning about seventy days in the field with many other disciplines learned over the semester. you cant just pop in for the caving sections.

If you have any questions I'd be glad to answer them.

[Herman Miller]

thanks all, the only reason i'm even considering taking a nols course is that with it giving college credit i might be able to get the military to pay for it. I dont doubt my abilities in the backcountry granted i'd rather polish them up rather then doing college level mathematics ;)

[Mattboy]

Hey all -

<IMG src="http://www.caves.org/region/western/_common/gfx/wr-logo120.gif" align="right" border="0">The Western Region sponsored a NOLS Wilderness First Aid seminar in 2005. We had such a great response that we'll be doing it again this fall.

The seminar is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 29-30 at Sequoia National Park in central California. We're waiting on confirmation from NOLS, but I expect the dates will remain solid. Although we don't have details settled for registration yet, please feel free to contact me directly if you think you might want to attend.

The full course description can be found at www.nols.edu/wmi/courses/wildfirstaid.shtml

Course Outline

DAY 1
Introductions
Patient Assessment System
Initial Assessment
Patient Exam
Vital Signs
Focused History
Documentation
Spinal Cord Injury Management
Head Injuries
Shock
Wilderness Wound Management

DAY 2
Focused Spine Assessment
Athletic Injuries
Fractures
Dislocations
Heat Injuries
Cold Injuries
Lightning
Altitude Illness
Acute Abdomen
Anaphylaxis
The Unresponsive Patient
Wilderness First Aid Kits

[baa43003]

I see lots of NOLS signatures in some very pretty Arizona Cave's registers. It seems to be a great way to see some of our "nonexistent" caves.

[Stridergdm]

Hey all -

<IMG src="http://www.caves.org/region/western/_common/gfx/wr-logo120.gif" align="right" border="0">The Western Region sponsored a NOLS Wilderness First Aid seminar in 2005. We had such a great response that we'll be doing it again this fall.

The seminar is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 29-30 at Sequoia National Park in central California. We're waiting on confirmation from NOLS, but I expect the dates will remain solid. Although we don't have details settled for registration yet, please feel free to contact me directly if you think you might want to attend.

The full course description can be found at www.nols.edu/wmi/courses/wildfirstaid.shtml

Course Outline

DAY 1
Introductions
Patient Assessment System
Initial Assessment
Patient Exam
Vital Signs
Focused History
Documentation
Spinal Cord Injury Management
Head Injuries
Shock
Wilderness Wound Management

DAY 2
Focused Spine Assessment
Athletic Injuries
Fractures
Dislocations
Heat Injuries
Cold Injuries
Lightning
Altitude Illness
Acute Abdomen
Anaphylaxis
The Unresponsive Patient
Wilderness First Aid Kits

This sounds similar (and is probably based on) the 2 day Wilderness First Aid course SOLO based out of NH teaches.

I recommend such a course for most people spending time in the outdoors. Most standard First Aid courss are useless in those situations.

Hmm.. to be rich and young (and handsome)... I'd take a NOLS course...

[knotty]

My Grandparents Lived in Lander Wyoming next door to Paul Petzolt and when I was still in the single digits, I was able to learn many things from him. One of which was with a rope and a few knots, I could safely climb and rappel anything (hence the name). He loved the wilderness and the floral and fauna. A true mountaineer.

[Squirrel Girl]

Don't take a class from the Boulder Outdoor Survival School.

Ernie just posted up this article:
http://news.yahoo.com:80/s/ap/20070502/ ... &printer=1