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Alumni Trips | Alumni Courses | Reunions | Seminars
Alumni Trips: Lifelong Learning for Grads, Friends and their Families
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NOLS alumni trips are a great way to introduce non-grad friends and family to the school. Photo: Rich Brame
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Are you interested in getting back into the wilderness with NOLS, but you're faced with a calendar too crammed for a long expedition?
Usually one week in length, alumni trips are specifically designed for NOLS graduates and their friends and families. These trips allow busy grads to reconnect with the school, enjoy an outdoor vacation, and have the chance to introduce loved ones to the NOLS experience.
Instruction on alumni trips is informal and the atmosphere relaxed. We review and practice Leave No Trace camping skills, teach technical skills and touch on a host of other NOLS information—depending on interest. We can also create a custom trip if you and your cohorts have a hankering for something eclectic, yet NOLS-flavored. Want to see more ideas? Check out some past trips in the Alumni Trips Photo Album below.
Friends and Family are welcome to join you on all NOLS Alumni trips!
"...a perfect balance of learning and playing... "
—Monnie B. - BVI Sailing Trip |
"It was great to return to the Winds' alpine sights and environment with my sons."
— Mark F., 1981 NOLS Wilderness Course grad and '07 alumni trip participant. |
Visit the granite peaks and clear waters of Wyoming's Wind River Mountains. Photo: Rich Brame |
Wind River Range Expedition for Medical Professionals
Date: Aug. 29 - Sept. 5, 2010
Price: $2200
(includes 16 hours of Category 1 CME's)
Join WMI of NOLS for a week of wilderness travel in Wyoming’s spectacular Wind River Range. Your expedition begins with a hands-on wilderness medicine module that presents the latest information on wilderness treatment and evacuation practices. You’ll apply this education, and experience the NOLS wilderness skills and leadership curriculum, as you travel through stunning scenery, fly-fish, and make a summit attempt on a Wind River Peak. Daily scenarios will test both your wilderness medicine knowledge and your improvisational skills.
Through joint sponsorship with the Wilderness Medical Society, physicians may earn 16 hours of category one CMEs for participation in this program.
NOTE: Additional CME course formats and dates are also available via the above link. |
Join us for trail hiking in the Italian Alps! Photo: Rich Brame |
Hut Hiking in the Italian Dolomites
Date: September 10 - 17, 2010
Price: $2495
Would you like to explore the stunning peaks and spires of Italy's Dolomites?
We're organizing an 8-day, hut-to-hut hiking trip for grads, friends and families. Hut hiking keeps our packs light— we'll bunk and eat at rustic, family-run "rifugios" near the Austria/Italy border. This trip starts and ends in the ancient city of Bolzano.
Space is extremely limited on this popular trip, so contact us right away if this adventure interests you. You might also enjoy some images from past trips. |
Don't just lay around basking in the sun, head to the Galapagos Islands instead. Photo: Lindblad Expedition |
Galapagos Islands Voyage
Date: weekly departures - starting Sept. 2010
Price: varies
Would you like to see the wildlife on Ecuador's Galapagos Islands?
We're organizing an alumni expedition with Lindblad Expeditions & National Geographic. It's one of our first "NOLS Alumni Travel" trips—providing grads, friends and families access to some of the few places NOLS doesn't operate. A portion of the tuition comes back to NOLS—broadening the school's educational reach.
This trip happens soon, so drop us a note if travel to the Galapagos interests you.
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Hiking Inida's sacred peaks. Photo: Craig Lenske |
Trekking India's Himalaya
Date: October 11 - 23, 2010
Price: $2250
This hiking trip travels the Kumaon region amongst the high peaks of the Indian Himalayas. The staggeringly beautiful Kumaon, also known as the "Abode of the Gods," is rich in Indian myth, culture and history. It is the birthplace of the holy Ganges River and a crossroads of ancient trade routes between India and Tibet.
You will trek, with some donkey support, along the Pindar River to the toe of the Pindari glacier. Along the way you'll visit tea houses and hike past villages and fields worked with water buffalo.
Depending on interest and fitness levels, we will trek to 14,500' to spectacular views of the twin peaks of Nanda Devi (25,790') and the rim of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary where most of the peaks are above 22,000 ft.
This NOLS Alumni Trip is unlike anything else we offer, and you will experience India as few foreigners do. Indian NOLS instructors with extensive knowledge of the region and its human and natural history will be on this trip.
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Refresh your paddling skills or learn them for the first time. Photo: Steve Harrington. |
Bahamas Sea Kayaking
Date: November 7 - 12, 2010
Price: $1550
Shockingly clear, warm water. Undeveloped beaches. Few (or no) tourists. Light sand beaches.
If the above description sounds like a good way to spend a chunk of November, consider spending six days paddling the scenic blue waters of the Caribbean with NOLS grads. This new trip starts and ends in Georgetown and is suitable for all skill levels.
Stay tuned for more information or contact us for details.
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Despite the photo, tuxedos are not required. Photo: Lindblad Expeditions |
Antarctica Peninsula Voyage
Date: starts mid-November 2010
Price: varies
Would you consider a 15-day sea journey to the "White Continent"?
We're organizing an alumni expedition with Lindblad Expeditions & National Geographic. It'd be our first "NOLS Alumni Travel" trip—providing grads, friends and families access to some of the few places NOLS doesn't operate. A portion of the tuition comes back to NOLS—broadening the school's educational reach.
This trip happens a bit after Halloween 2010, so dust off your penguin costume and drop us a note if an Antarctic adventure with NOLS interests you. |
Photo: Michael Cheek |
Mt. Rainier Climb
Date: July 10 - 14, 2011
Price: TBA
Mount Rainier (14,410') covers 35 square miles of ice and glaciers, making it one of the most extensive mountaineering training grounds in Washington State's North Cascades. This expedition spends five days traveling and climbing on Mt. Rainier. You'll work hard moving over steep terrain with your gear on your back, but the stunning scenery will be your reward.
NOTE: This popular trip fills quickly. Contact us to be added to the waitlist. |
Building trails is hard work, but NOLS alumni trips are fun. Photo: Rich Brame |
Alumni Service Trip in Wyoming's Northern Rockies
Date: August 14 - 20, 2011
Price: TBD
It's a unique time in the country and we've teed up a unique trip to match the times.
This alumni trip focuses on service— we'll build and repair trails, campsites and other backcountry infrastructure. It's hard work, but it makes a difference to the condition of the backcountry and to other people in the wilderness. This trip isn't all work— we'll make time for fly fishing and perhaps even a walk-up peak ascent. Wyoming has some of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world.
This trip is subsidized by NOLS to keep the price as affordable as possible. This trip, run in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Student Conservation Association and Backcountry Horsemen, may qualify as service or volunteer hours for certain academic or other programs.
Click here for more pictures. |
Stay tuned for more information on other alumni adventures including trips to Alaska's Prince William Sound, Idaho's Salmon River, Mount Rainier, and many more...
Past Trips: Let us know what you've liked and what you would like to see offered again.
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