to our world. - NOLS
to our world. - NOLS to our world. - NOLS
YEAR IN THE Sonoran NOLS RUNS THE LONGEST COURSE IN THE history of outdoor education, 135 days, or the equivalent of a year at college. The Sonoran Year will take you far from the classroom and give you an education of practical and experiential learning. The Sonoran Desert spans 120,000 square miles from the American Southwest to the tip of Baja California, Mexico. On your NOLS year you will explore both the desert and the sea. You’ll sea kayak, sail, climb, cave, and hike in the unique Sonoran ecosystem, the most lush, diverse desert in North America, while also learning about the distinctive local cultures through Baja human and natural history. Whether its through the culture of Mexican fishermen and rancheros, whales breaching within sight, or leading a group of your peers through the wild Southwest, you’ll leave NOLS with new skills, new motivation, and a year’s worth of college credit. Instructor Alan Coulter demonstrates the strokes as students practice in their kayaks. Now that's hands-on learning. Conception Bay, Baja California BACKPACKING Backpacking will be the thread that runs through your entire year, learning the camping and travel skills that will set the foundation for your entire course. You’ll hone your backpacking proficiency in both the Southwest and Mexico, and if your skills are up to par, the end of your year will culminate in a student-led expedition—an opportunity to apply all of your accumulated knowledge, independent of your instructors. ROCK CLIMBING Cochise Stronghold is a beautiful remote climbing area in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona that provides excellent opportunities to cover a comprehensive technical curriculum, including climbing movement, anchor systems, and multipitch climbing. WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER (WFR) Presented by the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS, this 80-hour certification designed for outdoor professionals will give you the tools to make sound first aid and evacuation decisions in remote settings. CAVING (if available) This section is a rare chance to marvel at a subterranean wilderness that is rarely visited. You'll explore many caves either near the famous Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico or in the varied terrain of southeastern Arizona. LEADERSHIP EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR (LEADS) This seminar takes a closer look at the NOLS leadership curriculum and explores in greater depth your personal style of leadership and that of your coursemates. Abe Goodale SEA KAYAKING Paddling the desert coastline of the Baja Peninsula includes hands-on expedition planning, interpreting tides and currents, reading weather conditions, and exploring the underwater world by snorkeling, free diving, and, potentially, spear fishing. Nate Rainbow Steele Weinstock Become master of the seas as you learn to navigate using nautical charts. Punta Rosa, Sea of Cortez Facing page: Learn to move confidently and efficiently on vertical rock as you master the techniques needed to get to the top. Cochise Stronghold, Arizona COASTAL SAILING, BAJA NATURAL HISTORY, AND WHALE-WATCHING While on our 22-foot Drascombe Longboat you’ll work toward mastering the mechanics of sailing this open boat, including sail and line handling, wind awareness, anchoring procedures, and capsize recovery. Then you will spend time with local naturalists, students, and fishermen observing endemic flora and fauna, global warming evidence, and the migration of gray whales. DETAILS Age and Length: 18 & Over • Average age: 20 • Duration: 135 days; 65 days (fall), 70 days (spring) Tuition: $21,750 Optional College Credit: 4 hours Biology, 2 hours Environmental Ethics, 4 hours Leadership Techniques, 8 hours Skills Practicum, 4 hours Risk Management, 2 hours Expedition Planning, 3 hours WFR credit Dates: page 106 ACADEMIC YEAR 52 www.nols.edu • (800) 710-NOLS • admissions@nols.edu
SOUTHWEST Dave Anderson 53
- Page 3 and 4: WELCOME TO OUR WORLD. Welcome from
- Page 5 and 6: WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR “ COME
- Page 7 and 8: Abe Goodale 5
- Page 9 and 10: Ignacio Grez Above: Each member of
- Page 11 and 12: NOLS Stephen Shames DEVELOPS LEADER
- Page 13 and 14: Photo courtesy of Ellie Johnston Le
- Page 15 and 16: Tracy Baynes/STEP 13
- Page 17 and 18: NOLS AND WMI FIELD STAFF ARE A DIVE
- Page 19 and 20: Betsy Winston Above: Affording a NO
- Page 21 and 22: WHITEWATER RIVER EXPEDITION BACKCOU
- Page 23 and 24: The first NOLS courses ventured int
- Page 25 and 26: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Abe Goodale Environm
- Page 27 and 28: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Jeff Wohl Yearning f
- Page 29 and 30: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Ashley Wise The rive
- Page 31 and 32: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Ashley Wise 29
- Page 33 and 34: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Shanan Sussman 31
- Page 35 and 36: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Josh Beckner 33
- Page 37 and 38: Nestled below the western flanks of
- Page 39 and 40: TETON VALLEY Ashley Wise With exper
- Page 41 and 42: TETON VALLEY Casey Kanode 39
- Page 43 and 44: Forest and ocean. Glacier and river
- Page 45 and 46: “IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGI
- Page 47 and 48: PACIFIC NORTHWEST Rainbow Weinstock
- Page 49 and 50: Welcome to the American Southwest:
- Page 51 and 52: SOUTHWEST Brian Murphy 49
- Page 53: SOUTHWEST Rainbow Weinstock 51
- Page 57 and 58: A patchwork of public and private l
- Page 59 and 60: The boundlessness of the place will
- Page 61 and 62: ALASKA Bryan Palmintier Being so sm
- Page 63 and 64: “AT NOLS IT'S ALL ABOUT CREATIVIT
- Page 65 and 66: ALASKA Fredrik Norrsell 63
- Page 67 and 68: The Yukon Territory is an undiscove
- Page 69 and 70: YUKON Pascal Beauvais 67
- Page 71 and 72: Imagine a land of stark contrasts:
- Page 73 and 74: MEXICO Benjamin Lester 71
- Page 75 and 76: Patagonia is a remote wilderness of
- Page 77 and 78: PATAGONIA Betsy Winston 75
- Page 79 and 80: PATAGONIA Kika Bradford 77
- Page 81 and 82: Adventure and challenge in the wild
- Page 83 and 84: AMAZON Mario Friedlander 81
- Page 85 and 86: Dev Bhoomi, called “The Abode of
- Page 87 and 88: INDIA Madhu Chikkaraju 85
- Page 89 and 90: It’s name alone—Australia —br
- Page 91 and 92: AUSTRALIA Jen Klewitz 89
- Page 93 and 94: New Zealand is a land of contrasts.
- Page 95 and 96: NEW ZEALAND Fredrik Norrsell 93
- Page 97 and 98: With remote Arctic coastlines and l
- Page 99 and 100: NOLS Professional Training offers i
- Page 101 and 102: NOLS PROFESSIONAL TRAINING Abe Good
- Page 103 and 104: When 911 is not an option, the rule
YEAR IN THE<br />
Sonoran<br />
<strong>NOLS</strong> RUNS THE LONGEST COURSE IN THE<br />
his<strong>to</strong>ry of outdoor education, 135 days, or the<br />
equivalent of a year at college. The Sonoran Year<br />
will take you far from the classroom and give<br />
you an education of practical and experiential<br />
learning. The Sonoran Desert spans 120,000<br />
square miles from the American Southwest<br />
<strong>to</strong> the tip of Baja California, Mexico. On y<strong>our</strong><br />
<strong>NOLS</strong> year you will explore both the desert<br />
and the sea. You’ll sea kayak, sail, climb, cave,<br />
and hike in the unique Sonoran ecosystem, the<br />
most lush, diverse desert in North America,<br />
while also learning about the distinctive local<br />
cultures through Baja human and natural his<strong>to</strong>ry.<br />
Whether its through the culture of Mexican<br />
fishermen and rancheros, whales breaching<br />
within sight, or leading a group of y<strong>our</strong> peers<br />
through the wild Southwest, you’ll leave <strong>NOLS</strong><br />
with new skills, new motivation, and a year’s<br />
worth of college credit.<br />
Instruc<strong>to</strong>r Alan Coulter demonstrates the strokes as students practice in their kayaks. Now that's hands-on learning.<br />
Conception Bay, Baja California<br />
BACKPACKING Backpacking will be the thread that runs through y<strong>our</strong> entire year, learning<br />
the camping and travel skills that will set the foundation for y<strong>our</strong> entire c<strong>our</strong>se. You’ll<br />
hone y<strong>our</strong> backpacking proficiency in both the Southwest and Mexico, and if y<strong>our</strong> skills<br />
are up <strong>to</strong> par, the end of y<strong>our</strong> year will culminate in a student-led expedition—an opportunity<br />
<strong>to</strong> apply all of y<strong>our</strong> accumulated knowledge, independent of y<strong>our</strong> instruc<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
ROCK CLIMBING Cochise Stronghold is a beautiful remote climbing area in the Dragoon<br />
Mountains of Arizona that provides excellent opportunities <strong>to</strong> cover a comprehensive<br />
technical curriculum, including climbing movement, anchor systems, and multipitch<br />
climbing.<br />
WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER (WFR) Presented by the Wilderness Medicine Institute<br />
of <strong>NOLS</strong>, this 80-h<strong>our</strong> certification designed for outdoor professionals will give you<br />
the <strong>to</strong>ols <strong>to</strong> make sound first aid and evacuation decisions in remote settings.<br />
CAVING (if available) This section is a rare chance <strong>to</strong> marvel at a subterranean wilderness<br />
that is rarely visited. You'll explore many caves either near the famous Carlsbad Caverns<br />
in New Mexico or in the varied terrain of southeastern Arizona.<br />
LEADERSHIP EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR (LEADS) This seminar<br />
takes a closer look at the <strong>NOLS</strong> leadership curriculum and explores in greater depth y<strong>our</strong><br />
personal style of leadership and that of y<strong>our</strong> c<strong>our</strong>semates.<br />
Abe Goodale<br />
SEA KAYAKING Paddling the desert coastline of the Baja Peninsula includes hands-on<br />
expedition planning, interpreting tides and currents, reading weather conditions, and exploring<br />
the underwater <strong>world</strong> by snorkeling, free diving, and, potentially, spear fishing.<br />
Nate<br />
Rainbow<br />
Steele<br />
Weins<strong>to</strong>ck<br />
Become master of the seas as you learn <strong>to</strong> navigate using<br />
nautical charts. Punta Rosa, Sea of Cortez<br />
Facing page: Learn <strong>to</strong> move confidently and efficiently<br />
on vertical rock as you master the techniques needed <strong>to</strong><br />
get <strong>to</strong> the <strong>to</strong>p. Cochise Stronghold, Arizona<br />
COASTAL SAILING, BAJA NATURAL HISTORY, AND WHALE-WATCHING While on<br />
<strong>our</strong> 22-foot Drascombe Longboat you’ll work <strong>to</strong>ward mastering the mechanics of sailing<br />
this open boat, including sail and line handling, wind awareness, anchoring procedures,<br />
and capsize recovery. Then you will spend time with local naturalists, students, and<br />
fishermen observing endemic flora and fauna, global warming evidence, and the migration<br />
of gray whales.<br />
DETAILS<br />
Age and Length: 18 & Over • Average age: 20 • Duration: 135 days; 65 days (fall), 70 days (spring)<br />
Tuition: $21,750<br />
Optional College Credit: 4 h<strong>our</strong>s Biology, 2 h<strong>our</strong>s Environmental Ethics, 4 h<strong>our</strong>s Leadership Techniques,<br />
8 h<strong>our</strong>s Skills Practicum, 4 h<strong>our</strong>s Risk Management, 2 h<strong>our</strong>s Expedition Planning, 3 h<strong>our</strong>s WFR credit<br />
Dates: page 106<br />
ACADEMIC YEAR<br />
52<br />
www.nols.edu • (800) 710-<strong>NOLS</strong> • admissions@nols.edu