to our world. - NOLS

Forest and ocean. Glacier and river. Heather and pine. This is the Pacific Northwest, with its temperate rain forests,
stunning ice-covered volcanoes, hidden bays and coves, and lush old-growth forests. Home to bald eagles, black
bears, mountain goats, elk, porpoises, and whales, this will be your classroom. The Pacific Northwest is the birthplace
of the outdoor industry and NOLS has been the region’s outdoor education pioneer for more than 35 years. We
specialize in courses for outdoor educators and trip leaders, and our easy-to-access facilities in Conway, Washington,
an hour north of Seattle, were specifically designed to support NOLS’ educational expeditions. We’ll outfit you with
everything you’ll need for an expedition into spectacular backcountry, from Oregon to British Columbia. Whatever
your method of exploration—sea kayaking, rock climbing, glacier mountaineering, backpacking, or sailing—you’ll
be in for the experience of a lifetime.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
As an aspiring trip leader, you’ll learn how to plan routes, communicate with coursemates,
and make sound backcountry decisions. Olympic National Park, Washington
Betsy Winston
PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRIP LEADER
Washington’s wilderness areas are ideal training grounds for learning
how to lead backpacking trips. Here you’ll join a diverse group
of trip leaders for an overview of the NOLS curriculum in a setting
designed for leaders and educators who don’t have a lot of time or
a huge budget. You’ll learn common leadership strategies through
dynamic, on-the-trail teaching methods including scenarios, realtime
problem solving, and experiential learning. You’ll learn the
intricacies of trip planning and how to organize expeditions of
your own. Our students leave the Pacific Northwest with a higher
level of competence and an inspiration to lead.
DETAILS
Age and Length: 18 & Over • Average age: 31 • Duration: 9 days
Eligibility: Practicing trip leaders
Tuition: $1,150
Optional College Credit: 2 hours Outdoor Educator
Dates: page 106
NEW
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BACKPACKING
ADVENTURE FOR 14- AND 15-YEAR-OLDS
This course is a 14-day expedition specifically designed for
young people wanting to learn backcountry skills and explore
the natural world. With your experienced NOLS instructors,
you will explore the Pasayten Wilderness or Olympic National
Park, backpacking through some of the Pacific Northwest’s
most pristine wild lands. These wilderness classrooms provide
an ideal setting to challenge yourself and build your leadership
abilities. You’ll work hard traveling over varied terrain and be
rewarded with views of towering peaks, clear alpine lakes, and
dense old-growth forests. You’ll sleep under the stars, learn to
cook with flair on a camp stove, and make lifelong friends
with fellow coursemates. When you return home, you’ll have
the skills needed to plan your own backcountry trips and the
leadership qualities to succeed in school and whatever else you
put your mind to.
DETAILS
Age and Length: 14 & 15 Only • Duration: 14 days
Tuition: $3,060
Dates: page 106
Facing page: The Pacific Northwest will teach you how to competently travel across
tricky terrain as a team. Glacier Peak Wilderness, North Cascades, Washington
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BACKPACKING
The Pacific Northwest is a richly diverse wilderness classroom,
ranging from jagged, glacier-carved mountains and valleys to evergreen
forests and stands of lodgepole pine. This popular backpacking
course has two options for exploring this region. Early
season students travel in the Pasayten Wilderness in northcentral
Washington, while late season students backpack through Olympic
National Park on the Olympic Peninsula. The Pasayten boasts
almost 150 peaks over 7,500 feet in elevation. Rugged ridges in
the west flatten into expansive plateaus toward the east, with deep
drainages on both sides. Courses that travel in Olympic National
Park will traverse from east to west while viewing the area’s rugged
glacier-capped mountains and wide alpine meadows. Like the first
Western explorers, you’ll travel along the wild and rugged Pacific
coast, seeing stands of moss-covered old-growth and temperate
rain forest. You’ll experience some demanding off-trail hiking as
you visit pristine and rarely seen parts of the park.
DETAILS
Age and Length: 16 & Over • Average age: 19 • Duration: 31 days
Tuition: $3,825
Optional College Credit: 2 hours Environmental Ethics, 2 hours Leadership Techniques,
2 hours Skills Practicum
Dates: page 106
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