NOLS Rocky Mountain

My son did the 30 day mountaineering course outside of Lander Wyoming in July of 2023. He was hoping to receive serious training in climbing and mountaineering. He was massively disappointed in the trip for a variety of reasons.
1. Poor screening of participants: one of the girls struggled with the hiking, and had to be evacuated by the group. She was clearly not prepared and had no concept of the demands. The evac had serious implications on the course routing, and severely impacted the climbing curriculum for the rest of the group. A problem that could have easily been solved by some early screening activities.
2. While weather (and evacs) negatively impacted the trip, NOLS apparently uses caloric restriction as a tool… not exactly sure what the intent of that is, but my 145 lb 6 foot tall son lost 14 pounds on the trip and was constantly hungry… obviously difficult to feed a bunch of teenagers, but a third food drop should have been organized. Not healthy for a growing teenager to lose 10% body weight.
3. My sons goal was to focus on mountaineering skills. He received a lot of lectures on how land ownership is inherently wrong, toxic masculinity, and pronouns. It seems like NOLS has gravitated more to politics and not just climbing. Ironically there was no hesitation to let my son carry a 72 pound pack (above weight normalized load expectations) but then complained about toxic masculinity. Politics aside, disappointing that the content was not purely hiking/climbing oriented.
4. Pricing: The course changed price by something like $600 several months after we signed up… seemed somewhat disingenuous. Then we got a $10 bill for damage to a group tent rental due to wind damage. Silly nickel and diming.
Our son left NOLS, went to Switzerland and paid a guide $3500 for a week of climbing… Matterhorn, Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Learned 10x the mountaineering skills for half the price. For a $6k course this NOLS course offers little value. If you’re into hiking and casual camping and talk about politics, probably a good course. If you are looking for true backcountry skills, NOLS is not the place to go.

If you are reading this, GO FOR IT! When I arrived in Lander, WY for the Spring Semester in the Rockies (SSR) course, I’d never even owned a backpack before—I was straight out of NYC, lived my entire life in NYC, and the only wilderness I knew, was Central Park. With the guidance and extreme patience and knowledge of the instructors, I learned to be completely comfortable, and even enjoy, living in the wilderness. Most of all, I learned to appreciate the power of the natural world, and become a steward. This experience set the path for the rest of my life. I went on to graduate college the next semester, and straight into (what would become) career as a civil servant in the national parks. Before taking this course, I didn’t know we had national parks. I always look back fondly on the memories and experiences I had with NOLS.

When I first registered for my semester in the rockies I only expected to be receiving a furthering in my education, just a fun way to continue my college education. Upon arrival I quickly realized that this experience was going to be so much more than basic education. This course was going to enlighten me on how to interact and live with the world around me in a way that I had never thought of before. That is exactly what NOLS did.

Winter camping was rigorous and taxing ;however, It was rewarding to know that you were living efficiently in an environment that most people will never encounter in their entire existence. It is difficult to put into words the beauty of waking up every morning warm and cozy in an igloo with the bold Grand Teton Mountains quite literally at your doorstep.

Rock climbing took me through a technical journey of skills and knowledge that I will continue to use in my personal life. The teaching was thorough and complete leaving me with the feeling that I could accomplish all that was taught on my own. Everyday was an unique adventure as you scrambled hundreds of feet up beautiful red sandstone rock outside Las Vegas, Nevada. This section demanded trust and smooth teamwork which quickly helped to unite the group of men around me. I feel that The NOLS rock climbing section has advanced my climbing career in ways that I could of never imagined.

In addition to my two favorite sections of the semester there were also a river, canyon, and wilderness first responder course. These courses were just as rewarding and full of adventure and helped to create a well rounded experience. I also thoroughly enjoyed building a strong group dynamic with my fellow course mates. You soon create some of your closest friends just a few weeks into the course and learn how to interact appropriately with these friends even under stressful circumstances

From this experience I have grown personally, learned many technical skills, made new friends and most importantly have seen how to be a leader and make wise decisions in any situation.

My NOLS experience was just what I needed at the time. I had just transferred colleges and needed to make up some lost credits. NOLS offered me those credits and I was able to fit in a semester during the summer break.

My course consisted of Backpacking (85 miles over the span of a month) Rock Climbing (Vedauwoo, Devil's Tower, and the Needles) and Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking (on the Green River).

I went into my semester with an open mind. I had dabbled in each of the sections prior to my course, but never before immersed myself so fully in a skill. I left each section with a confidence in the hard skills as well as a better understanding of how I function in a group setting.

There were 15 students on my semester from all over the country between the ages of 17 and 21. We learned how to work as a team over those three months and 10 years later I'm still in contact with a few of them.

I enjoyed learning from the instructors as they taught various classes in the middle of a field, in the middle of a mountain range, far from any typical classroom setting.

Nothing gets under my skin more than people referring to NOLS as a "life changing" experience. It's not. Please don't place that much pressure on three months of your life. Please be a more stable person that a course doesn't completely change who you are. However, I do think it's fair to say that NOLS gave me a new perspective. While I was going through it, I didn't feel like I was changing or getting a mind-blowing perspective. Years later now, I'm happy I did it because I learned a lot about group dynamics and I learned that I could do such a physically and emotionally challenging thing. It makes problems at work pale in comparison.
I also learned leadership skills because I had both good an terrible instructors. I still want to be more like the good instructors and I still kind-of want to punch the bad instructors.