What is NOLS? The National Outdoor Leadership School is an organization whose mission is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. I learned the fundamentals of mountaineering and navigating the backcountry while spending a month on glaciated terrain in the North Cascades. Group dynamics with these individuals were certainly different than the sports teams and military organizations that I had been with because it was a totally different sociocultural composition than what I was used to. Our group was made up of individuals from every nook and cranny of the country. I loved getting thrown into a group of totally new people and being forced to cooperate to reach a common goal. New groups offer a blank slate to prove your worth. This is what I loved about both NOLS and being a raft guide in Alaska. I had the chance to show up to a place where nobody knew me and through work ethic and comradery, earn the respect of my peers and learn from them along the way. My Pacific Northwest NOLS trip was a little different than the usual trip due to a rather serious incident. On the second day of the expedition, we had one of our members fall after a rappel off a cliff into a loose rock gully. Luckily, she lived but was pretty banged up with broken bones and head trauma as a result. This was my first instance of seeing a professional Search and Rescue team at work and certainly not the last. After this event, I learned that even in the presence of professional guides, things can still happen. They call this sense of security "expert halo". My time in the Cascades taught me serious respect for the mountains. They’re alive and constantly changing. Weather and poor conditions are almost always a battle you will not win. Here, I learned the beginnings of what it looks like to travel, explore, and live in harmony with the backcountry.
