THE LEADER

DESIGNER

Kacie DeKleine

NOLS PRESIDENT

Sandy Colhoun

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 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 1-800332-4280. For the most up-todate information on NOLS, visit www.nols.edu or email info@ nols.edu.

The Leader is available online at www.nols.edu/leader

Front cover photo: Sophie Goldstein

Back cover photo: Daniel Lay

Engage

Expedition Courses

Year in Patagonia & Rocky Mountain Outdoor Educator

A NOLS course is an immersive expedition where you will spend time exploring remote, wild places with a tight-knit community of students and instructors. From Adventure Courses for students 14-15 to Gap Year experiences for college-age students to Adult-only courses, there is a NOLS Expedition for you! NOLS courses teach wilderness and leadership skills on expeditions and in classrooms. You will apply these skills to challenges in a supportive learning culture with high expectations. You’ll have the opportunity for a positive, transformational experience and leave your course inspired and empowered to act. Find a course for you today!

Year in Patagonia

Date | October 18, 2023-March 15, 2024

Cost | $37,850

Grow in Patagonia on an extended expedition packed with leadership mastery, outdoor skills, impressive wilderness certifications, local service, and cultural immersion - all with the opportunity to earn 27 college credits. Climb high passes and learn to traverse glaciers while learning about the environment. Practice sea kayaking along Patagonia’s archipelagos while developing new leadership skills. Go rock climbing at the foot of the Andes while you grow your comfort zone. A highlight of this 135 day experience is spending one section with a Spanish-speaking Patagonian family in a remote campo (ranch) setting. The experience, life skills, global perspective, and outdoor skills learned in Patagonia will serve you for the rest of your life.

Rocky Mountain Outdoor Educator with Wilderness First Responder

Date | July 18-August 16, 2023

Cost | $7,230

Are you ready to share your experience and love of wild places with others as an outdoor educator? On this course, you’ll start with a week in the classroom with NOLS Wilderness Medicine instructors. Then head into the backcountry to hike along high mountain ridges and camp beside clear alpine lakes. As you complete your field work for your Wilderness First Responder certification, you’ll also practice outdoor skills with a focus on how to teach these effectively. Grow your risk management skills navigating river crossings and ascending peaks. You will emerge with the experience and confidence to advance your career as an outdoor educator.