Hot Drinks - Stories From The Field
67 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 55 ratingsLeading students on wilderness adventures make for some of the best stories. Join former National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) instructor and author of TEAMS ON THE EDGE Shawn Stratton each week as he interviews fellow outdoor educators from NOLS, Outward Bound, and other organizations to hear their most entertaining stories from leading expeditions with students around the world. Take a listen to these professional adventurers as they entertain you with stories of misadventures, wildlife encounters, first aid situations, challenging team dynamics, horrendous weather events, encounters with unique people, and, in many cases inspiring leadership.
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Episodes
James "KG" Kagambi: NOLS - Mt. Everest in Detail
September 04, 2022 08:35 - 1 hour - 124 MBToday our guest is James "KG" Kagambi, Senior NOLS Instructor and the owner of KG Mountain Expeditions. He joined NOLS as a field instructor in 1987. KG has worked many curses types over the years but regularly works in NOLS mountaineering programs in Patagonia, Alaska, East Africa, and India. KG is not only a senior NOLS instructor; he is the most senior, having more weeks in the field than any other instructor in the history of the school! He has over 870 weeks in the field working for NO...
(Rewind) Rachel James: NOLS - Storms from Patagonia to Alaska
August 19, 2022 18:33 - 59 minutes - 82 MBRachel James was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska. She started working at the NOLS Alaska branch at the age of 15, cleaning toilets and landscaping; this was also when she started ice climbing. Rachel took a NOLS Alaska Mountaineering course at 16 and started working as a mountaineering instructor after taking the first-ever NOLS Alaska Instructors Course in 2000 at 19. During her time at NOLS from 2000 to 2013, she mainly worked mountaineering expeditions while leading a few horse packin...
Jeff Rose: Outward Bound - Losing A Co-instructor, Losing a Student and Getting Lost
August 05, 2022 17:58 - 1 hour - 115 MBJeff Rose has worked as an outdoor educator for over two decades, including 19 seasons with Outward Bound. Besides Outward Bound, Jeff has worked for numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Utah, Davidson College, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, and Indiana University. He also worked for Adventures Cross Country and various summer camps. As an instructor, Jeff taught climbing, glacier mountaineering, backpacking, sea kayaking, and a few rafting and canyoneer...
Steve Smith: Outward Bound - Value of a Near Miss
July 21, 2022 08:55 - 1 hour - 83.6 MBSteve Smith has worked in the outdoor industry for over thirty years, in the field, in the office, in the board room, and in national leadership roles, specializing in program leadership, risk management, and staff training. As a teen, he took a NOLS semester course in 1991 and for Outward Bound from 1998 through to today. Since 2008 he has run a risk management consulting company, Experiential Consulting, that uniquely serves outdoor education and experiential learning programs. Steve i...
Steve Smith: Outward Bound - Van Rollover and Medavational Evacuation
July 21, 2022 08:55Steve Smith has worked in the outdoor industry for over thirty years, in the field, in the office, in the board room, and in national leadership roles, specializing in program leadership, risk management, and staff training. As a teen, he took a NOLS semester course in 1991 and for Outward Bound from 1998 through to today. Since 2008 he has run a risk management consulting company, Experiential Consulting, that uniquely serves outdoor education and experiential learning programs. Steve i...
Travis Holmes: NOLS - Alaska Canoe Epic, A Love Story and Crocodile Bites Canoe Paddle
July 08, 2022 15:12 - 1 hour - 137 MBTravis Holmes was born in grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He lived most of his life in Alberta, B.C. and the Yukon; however, for the past 15 years, he has been living in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, with his wife, ten and 8-year-old kids. Travis worked in outdoor education for much of the 1990s and 2000s. His work lifeguarding in swimming pools led me to the University of Alberta Paddling Society, where he really got into white water kayaking and began teaching kayaking and river res...
Mike Clelland: NOLS - One Epic Alaska Mountaineering Course!
June 24, 2022 09:06 - 1 hour - 121 MBAs a young adult, Mike lived in New York City from 1981 to 1991, working as a freelance illustrator. During that time, he spent one winter season as a ski bum in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 1986 and couldn’t get it out of his system. So Mike moved west permanently in 1991, eventually settling in Driggs, Idaho, where he spent a quarter of a century. He worked for NOLS in the Rockies, The Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska for 17 years. Mike taught backpacking, mountaineering, backcountry skii...
Steve Whitney (part 2): NOLS - Instructor Disagreement, Big Falls, and Grizzly Bears
June 10, 2022 17:00 - 1 hour - 145 MBSteve grew up in Maine & New Hampshire and was an outdoor recreation major at Plymouth State College. He completed a NOLS student semester in 1993, and the rest is history. He has been an outdoor educator professionally since 1994 for many organizations, including Plymouth State College, Barnstead Elementary School, Tioga County Community Wilderness Project, Adventures Cross Country, NOLS, Alpine Ascents, Rendezvous River Sports, USFS Forest Technician, US Park Service, and he says he is pro...
Steve Whitney (part 1): Cameron Diaz Comes to NOLS and Other Wild Stories
May 27, 2022 13:45 - 1 hour - 98.8 MBSteve grew up in Maine & New Hampshire and was an outdoor recreation major at Plymouth State College. He completed a NOLS student semester in 1993, and the rest is history. He has been an outdoor educator professionally since 1994 for many organizations, including Plymouth State College, Barnstead Elementary School, Tioga County Community Wilderness Project, Adventures Cross Country, NOLS, Alpine Ascents, Rendezvous River Sports, USFS Forest Technician, US Park Service, and he says he is prob...
Andrew Cusack (with David Perry): NOLS - $30,000 Blister in the Yukon
May 12, 2022 14:25 - 1 hour - 122 MBAndrew Cusack was born and raised in Sudbury, ON, and studied Outdoor Recreation and Natural Science at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ON. He spent more than ten years working in outdoor education for organizations across Asia and North America, including NOLS Project DEAR, Asia Pacific Adventure, Hong Kong International School, Hong Kong University and Kingfisher Outdoor Education Centre. Upon leaving outdoor education, he worked the following ten years with the United Nations Refug...
Megan McGinty: Outward Bound, NOLS - Students Engulfed In A Forest Fire
April 29, 2022 14:57 - 1 hour - 90.7 MBMegan is currently living in Fairbanks, Alaska, on the lands of the Upper Tanana people, finishing up a Post Doctorate contract with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Megan has had an extensive career working in outdoor education. In 1992 she began the first of her eight years working for the North Carolina Outward Bound and later the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School. She also instructed for a few years with NOLS and held various coordinator positions with the North Cascades Institute. ...
Brady Robinson and Ed Roberson: NOLS - Instructor & Student Share Different Perspectives on the Same Story
April 15, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 119 MBBrady Robinson Brady began working in outdoor education in the mid-'90s at a boy's camp in the Poconos of Pennsylvania. He went on to work with Outward Bound for over a decade, spent some time guiding, and instructed with NOLS for a few years. After leaving fieldwork, he has primarily worked in conservation as the Executive Director of the Access Fund for ten years and has positions with Tompkins Conservation and the Conservation Alliance. Brady is a gifted climber. Before having a famil...
Brendan Madden: NOLS, Outward Bound - Mental Health Challenges for Students and Instructors
April 01, 2022 10:52 - 57 minutes - 78.6 MBBrendan Madden is from Dublin, Ireland and has lived in Canada since I was 12. He is currently the head of Programs and Interim Director of a new Training Academy for Outdoor Professionals at Outward Bound Canada. He has been active in the expedition-based adventure education field for over 25 years, mainly as a program director and senior instructor at Outward Bound Canada and NOLS. Brendan has also been a risk management trainer and consultant at NOLS. Over the years, he has led expediti...
Henry Wood: Outward Bound & NOLS - Rockfall in the North Cascade Mountains
March 18, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 82.2 MBHenry Wood grew up in Atlanta but has lived in Boulder, CO, since 2005. He studied Philosophy and English literature at Georgia State University before embarking on a 10-year career in outdoor education, most notable with Outward Bound and the NOLS. While working in outdoor education, Henry led backpacking, mountaineering, canyoneering, and climbing courses while working in outdoor education. In 2008, Henry joined Matt Cutter and Dany Page to start Upslope Brewing Company as Vice President ...
Geoff Kooy: NOLS - Stroke Survivor
March 11, 2022 10:35 - 10 minutes - 13.9 MBIn this short "in-between" episode, Shawn shares a few stories from former Outward Bound and NOLS Instructor and, most recently, stroke survivor Geoff Kooy, who had emailed to the show.
Paul Koubek: NOLS - Planning to Run Out Of Food
March 04, 2022 15:17 - 54 minutes - 75.1 MBPaul's career in outdoor leadership began in 1995 when he began working with adjudicated youth in the desert of southern Utah. He started working with Outward Bound in 1998 and moved up to work with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in 2000. With NOLS, he ultimately worked 265 field weeks as a mountaineering, rock climbing and sailing Course Leader in India, Mexico, Patagonia, and the Pacific Northwest - with expeditions to the Northern Icefield of Patagonia and the Wadding...
Tim Felt: NOLS - Patagonia Mountaineering or Advanced River Crossing
February 18, 2022 18:01 - 1 hour - 115 MBTim Felt grew up in the suburban wilds of Northern California. His career in outdoor education started with him working in boarding schools 1991-94 running outdoor programs and teaching biology in New Hampshire and Arizona. He took a NOLS Instructors Course in 1993 and started work in the field immediately. For the next decade, Tim went on lead backpacking, rock climbing, and mountaineering course types in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, and Chile for NOLS. During his transition away from...
Rachel James: NOLS - Storms from Patagonia to Alaska
February 04, 2022 11:08 - 59 minutes - 82 MBRachel James Rachel James was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska. She started working at the NOLS Alaska branch at the age of 15, cleaning toilets and landscaping; this was also when she started ice climbing. Rachel took a NOLS Alaska Mountaineering course at 16 and started working as a mountaineering instructor after taking the first-ever NOLS Alaska Instructors Course in 2000 at 19. During her time at NOLS from 2000 to 2013, she mainly worked mountaineering expeditions while leading a fe...
Curtis Tronolone (part 2): NOLS - Losing Control of the Student Group
January 20, 2022 11:19 - 1 hour - 113 MBFor the second podcast in a row, we have Curtis Tronolone on the show to share some more wild stories from the field. Before we review Curtis's bio we wanted to share a recent podcast review. Podcast Review Makes me homesick for my recent expedition life! Just an incredible chance to get into the field from afar. I’m loving this podcast- it made me so excited for my drive every morning this past week as I took my NOLS Wilderness First Responder training. Certified now, and so inspire...
Curtis Tronolone: NOLS - Broken Leg Resilience with the Naval Academy
January 07, 2022 10:25 - 1 hour - 134 MBCurtis Tronolone, grew up in rural upstate New York, along the Erie canal, nestled between the small towns of Churchville, Spencerport, and Brockport. He began his love of outdoor pursuits as a kid, boating and hiking with his family, and spending his summers riding horses at New York summer camps before undertaking a NOLS mountaineering course as a student in the Wind River Mountain of Wyoming. He started working in outdoor ed at a summer camp outside Attica, New York, in 2003/2004. Over...
(Rewind) David Yacubian: NOLS - Doing CPR When Teaching CPR
December 31, 2021 11:56 - 56 minutes - 78.3 MBDavid Yacubian has been working in Outdoor Education for more than 20 years and has over 15 years of risk management and emergency preparedness experience. He has worked with NOLS as an instructor and advisor on four different continents around the globe. Dave has also run over 100 NOLS Wilderness Medicine courses in the San Francisco Bay Area through his company, Ready SF. Ready SF also offers risk management consulting and emergency preparedness training to schools and businesses in the Ba...
Trevor Deighton: NOLS - Mystery Bullet and Practical Jokes
December 19, 2021 11:34 - 1 hour - 93.8 MBOur guest this week, Trevor Deighton, was born and raised in the Washington DC area. He currently lives in Victor, Idaho and teaches 8th-grade Physical Science at the Jackson Hole Middle School. Trevor is a passionate backcountry skier and has been teaching and guiding in the backcountry for over 30 years on all seven continents. He has worked for many organizations over his outdoor education career, including Adventure Quest, NOLS, Naturalists at Large, Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, Exum...
Jared Spaulding: NOLS - Too Much Cheese and Falling Trees
December 10, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 82.5 MBOur guest today Jared Spaulding has worked in the outdoor education industry since 1999. He has worked for NOLS for over 20 years as a field instructor and now mixes his time between instructing and an administrative program supervisor role at the Rocky Mountain branch. Jared has instructed courses in Wyoming, Utah, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, India, and Patagonia. Most of his fieldwork has been leading mountaineering courses and rock climbing camps, althoug...
Anjeanette LeMay: Outward Bound - Adventures From South Africa to the Arctic!
December 03, 2021 11:40 - 52 minutes - 71.7 MBAnjeanette LeMay is a mother and educator living close to the forest, lakes and ocean of Mi'kmaki (Nova Scotia). Raised in Southern Ontario, AJ has relished the opportunity to work in outdoor and experiential education for 25 years throughout Canada, South Africa and the United States. Over this time, she has worked for outdoor education programs South Africa, Voyageur, and the Canadian Outward Bound schools. AJ is currently, an Instructor Trainer for the Outdoor Council of Canada, a sea k...
Moose Mutlow: North Carolina Outward Bound and Beyond!
November 27, 2021 21:05 - 1 hour - 88.1 MBMoose Mutow has over 30 years of traditional and alternative education experience around the globe. He has course directed 58-day Outward Bound instructor trainings in Appalachia, been a deputy headmaster in the Kalahari Desert, managed a beach concession on the Mediterranean, slogged through Australian rain forests with middle school students, juggled as a street performer in too many cities to mention, has more than 2000 days of field instruction in a wilderness setting. Since 2002 Moose...
(Rewind) Marc Randolph: NOLS - Netflix Founder On Leadership Lessons Learned in the Field
November 19, 2021 14:56 - 1 hour - 90.3 MB(This week we share a REWIND of a popular episode with Marc Randolph. Check out this new video about Marc's time working for NOLS - https://bit.ly/3nxK9uL) #TheTrailToSuccess Our guest is a former NOLS Instructor and Chair of the NOLS Board of Trustees, but he is best known as the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph. His incredibly successful career as an entrepreneur span more than four decades. He's founded or co-founded half a dozen other successful startups, including, ...
Shawn Stratton (with Shari Leach) NOLS: Indian Military Evacuation From the Himalayas
November 12, 2021 11:47 - 1 hour - 98.8 MBThis week on the Hot Drinks podcast Shari Leach interviews me about an epic I experienced while leading a NOLS course in the Himalayas of India. Shawn is an international leadership consultant, professional speaker, bestselling author, podcast host, Ironman and Ultramarathon competitor. Shawn has a bachelor’s degree in Experiential Education and a Master’s in Leadership. He devoted 15 years to leading teams on wilderness expeditions around the world into some of the harshest environmen...
Dave Anderson: NOLS - Good Luck / Bad Luck, Adventures from India to Las Vegas
November 05, 2021 10:37 - 1 hour - 89.5 MBHey everyone, welcome to the Hot Drinks podcast. I am your host Shawn Stratton. Each week I sit down with an outdoor educator to hear some of their best stories leading students on wilderness expeditions around the world. Dave was born in Simsbury, CT, and grew up in Maine. He graduated from the University of Maine BS in Wildlife Biology and started working in outdoor education in 1979. He hasn’t stopped working in the field since. Dave currently lives in Las Vegas, NV. Along with worki...
Michel Raab: NOLS - Adventures in Kenya, Patagonia and Greenland
October 28, 2021 13:38 - 48 minutes - 67.2 MBOur guest today, Michel Raab, was born in Santiago, Chile. He has always been fond of nature since childhood. Swimming, sailing, mountain biking, hiking, and slowly venturing in the Andes as a teenager – these things were what grew Michel into all that he is today. He currently lives in Coyhaique, Chili’s Patagonia region, with his wife, Betsy, and their two children. Michel joined the outdoor education industry in 2002, working for NOLS, instructing mountaineering, hiking, and climbing co...
Clemencia Caporale: NOLS Wilderness Medicine - Saving the Life of a Stranger and Spending the Day with Paul Petzold
October 21, 2021 14:10 - 58 minutes - 80.9 MBClemencia Caporale belongs to East Coast but currently lives in her Kimbo Camper and instructs for NOLS Wilderness Medicine and Prescott College. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire's Outdoor Education Program, attended the Audubon Expedition Institute's travelling master's program, and earned a Master in Environmental Education from Leslie University. Clemencia completed a NOLS semester in Baja, Mexico, where she learned backpacking, kayaking, and sailing skills. She has wo...
Phil Henderson: NOLS - Blazing a Trail to Mt. Everest For People of Colour
October 15, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBThis week’s guest is Phil Henderson. A native of California, Philip has worked in the outdoor industry for almost three decades, mostly with NOLS. His passion for outdoor recreation, education and climbing has provided him with opportunities to travel and climb around the world. He has been on several major expeditions including Everest, Denali, Kilimanjaro and Mt Kenya. As an educator, he has assisted in training guides, rangers and porters on several expeditions. In 2012 Philip was a me...
Chris Agnew: NOLS - Parachutes, Helicopters, First Ascents and Lots of Cheese!
October 08, 2021 09:55 - 1 hour - 91.2 MBThis week on the show, I speak with Chris Agnew. Chris has dedicated his career in education to combining immersive learning with more traditional learning models. He grew up on Bainbridge Island near Seattle and spent 25 years in various outdoor educational institutions, 15 of which were with NOLS. Chris began his career at NOLS, leading expeditions backpacking and mountaineering, teaching wilderness medicine, eventually becoming the NOLS Pacific Northwest Branch Director. Chris left NOLS i...
Shari Leach: NOLS - Bears, Lost Student & A Lightning Strike
October 01, 2021 14:46 - 1 hour - 91.8 MBSince the early 90s, Shari Leach has been involved in outdoor and adventure education. Since then, she has worked in OB, NOLS, United World College, Prescott College, and NOLS Wilderness Medicine. Shari currently teaches first aid, rock climbing, and mountaineering and is a Prescott master’s program lecturer. She is fluent in English and Spanish, having lived in Honduras while serving in the Peace Corps. Shari holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental protection, a master’s degree in ...
(rewind) John Able: NOLS - High Highs, and (hilarious) Low Lows
September 24, 2021 15:49 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBOriginally from Southern California, John Abel has worked in outdoor education from 1984 to 2019. He has worked in many different roles such as administrative, instructional, consultative – but the bulk of and the best of his work was as a field instructor for NOLS. John has been a NOLS instructor since 1991, mainly working hiking, climbing, and mountaineering courses. He has a Master's in Leadership and Organizational Development from the Leadership Institute of Seattle. Since 2010, he h...
(Rewind) Heather Hamilton - NOLS: Earthquakes and a Flood
September 16, 2021 18:18 - 1 hour - 88 MBLike many outdoor educators’ travel has been a constant theme in the life of our guests today. I'm thrilled to have Heather Hamilton join us on the show. Heather has always had a hard time answering, “where are you from?” – as she has lots of places that feel like home but was born in Wichita, Kansas, and has travelled a fair amount for a Kansas kid. But after finishing University at CU-Boulder, she bounced around the west a fair bit, did some international travels to Costa Rica, Italy, Gr...
James "KG" Kagambi: NOLS & KG Mountain Expeditions - Stories From A NOLS Legend
September 09, 2021 06:00 - 43 minutes - 59.2 MBToday our guest is James "KG" Kagambi, Senior NOLS Instructor and the owner of KG Mountain Expeditions. He joined NOLS as a field instructor in 1987. KG has worked many curses types over the years but regularly works in NOLS mountaineering programs in Patagonia, Alaska, East Africa, and India. KG is not only a senior NOLS instructor; he is the most senior, having more weeks in the field than any other instructor in the history of the school! He has over 870 weeks in the field working for NO...
David Pool: Outward Bound Canada, Class Afloat - Teaching on a Tall Ship in the Middle of a Storm
September 02, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 83.8 MBDavid Pool grew up in Ottawa and currently lives in North Vancouver with his wife Katey and his two kids. He worked for Outward Bound Canada from 2001-2007 and with Class Afloat. When David moved to the west coast of Canada, he started working in the outdoor education Explore Program at Collingwood School before moving into student services as a counsellor, a position he currently holds. During his time working in outdoor education, he has led canoeing, sea kayaking, hiking and winter ex...
David Berg: NOLS - Risk Management Embarrassment to Evacuating an Entire Course
August 27, 2021 09:50 - 59 minutes - 81.1 MBDavid Berg began working in outdoor education in 1992 as a kayak guide in the San Juan Islands, just after graduating from college. He then spent several years in Southern California teaching open water kayaking, surf kayaking, and expeditions. David finished his NOLS Sea Kayak IC in British Columbia in 1999. His first course was in Baja the following winter. From there, David spent ten years leading Sea Kayaking and backpacking courses throughout Baja, the Pacific Northwest, Norway, and Pat...
(Rewind) Chris Manchester - NOLS: Alaska Bear Encounter Like No Other
August 19, 2021 06:00 - 51 minutes - 70 MBIn this summer rewind addition, of the Hot Drinks, we share one of our most popular episodes today with veteran NOLS Instructor Chris Machester. Chris shares a few hair-raising stories from Alaska to Baja and from bears to drugs!
(Rewind, Feb 2020) Jim Chisholm - NOLS: Adventures With A Large Cat in the Amazon
August 11, 2021 10:56 - 45 minutes - 63.1 MBThis week we speak with NOLS living legend Jim Chisholm. Jim has worked in the field with NOLS for over 35 years and has many outstanding stories to share. 8:15 Caiman, Anaconda, Electric Eel, Cat Fish ... 9:30 Jaguar hunting ground 19:45 I thought about my options 23:19 I WILL NOT DIE 34:50 I also know the Jaguar
Shawn Stratton: NOLS - It Was Supposed to be an Easy Course, Canoeing in Alaska
August 05, 2021 11:06 - 1 hour - 114 MBShawn is an international leadership consultant, professional speaker, bestselling author, podcast host, Ironman and Ultramarathon competitor. Shawn has a bachelor’s degree in Experiential Education and a Master’s in Leadership. He devoted 15 years to leading teams on wilderness expeditions around the world into some of the harshest environments, and, most recently, ten years consulting with corporations on leadership and team development. His first book, Teams on the Edge: Stories & Lesso...
Jesse Pierce: Outward Bound Canada - Reflections on Home Place and Misadventures in Northern Ontario
July 30, 2021 11:13 - 59 minutes - 81.1 MBBorn in Guelph, Ontario, our guest today, Jesse Pierce, grew up cross country skiing and hiking with her family. She remembers camping in Tobermory near Georgian Bay, Ontario as a teenager and having the tingling feeling that this is what she needed to be doing in the future. So after high school, she went on to earn a degree in Outdoor Recreation at Lakehead University. After university, she ended up working at Outward Bound Canada year-round for six years from 1998 to 2003 – leading whit...
Ian Pineau: NOLS - Adventures Paddling with Students in Mexico, Utah, and Yukon!
July 23, 2021 22:05 - 57 minutes - 78.7 MBIan Pineau has spent the past 45 years learning about and working in the Outdoor Education field. From a small PEI farm; close to the coast, his first outdoor education experience would be in a fishing boat with his grandfather. Ian’s first paid job in the field came at 18 when he was a facilitator with at-risk youth. As a student at the University of New Brunswick, he took extracurricular outdoor skills courses, including Hiking; Canoeing; and Winter Camping. These courses set Ian up to h...
Mark Hamlin: NOLS - Behaviour Challenges Can Be The Hardest To Deal With
July 15, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 88.2 MBToday, I speak with NOLS Instructor Mark Hamlin, from small-town Indiana and living in Lander, WY, full time for the past decade. He completed a NOLS student course in 1987, mountaineering in the North Cascades of Washington state and led his first backcountry trip at the age of 18 in 1988. Mark took his NOLS Mountain Instructor Course in 1990 and led his first course in the Absorkas mountain range of Wyoming in 1991. Over the years, he has worked predominantly whitewater canoeing, backpa...
Marianne Dawson Alexander: NOLS/Outward Bound Canada - Do You Need Some Food?
July 08, 2021 06:00 - 55 minutes - 76.4 MBMarianne Dawson Alexander started working in outdoor education in 1995 at a YMCA summer camp in Ontario, leading two-week canoe trips in Temagami. From 2000-2005 she worked for Outward Bound Canada in Ontario and on the west coast of Canada, mostly leading hiking and canoeing course with youth at risk. She came to NOLS in 2004, taking a River Instructors Course. Before the course, she had canoed and kayaked a lot but had never rafted. She quickly fell in love with rafting and enjoyed tra...
Jaret Slipp: NOLS - Stepping on a Crocodile, Skinning A Polar Bear & Floatplane Adventures
July 01, 2021 06:00 - 50 minutes - 69.5 MBJaret Slipp was born in Edmonton, Alberta and raised in Nova Scotia and Ontario. He believes that anyone can be a leader and that as instructors, it’s our role to provide the environment and training to help people discover their full potential. He is currently living on a sailboat in the Caribbean with his wife and two adorable daughters for a couple of years, while his home base is in Whitehorse, Yukon. Jaret has worked in outdoor Ed for about 20 years. For NOLS, he has taught canoeing, ...
Erica Lorenzen Lengacher: NOLS - Legendary Epic on Denali
June 24, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 115 MBOur guest, Erica Lorenzen Lengacher grew up in the Seattle area and has been a bit of a nomad since her high school years. Along with her husband, 8-year-old daughter, she is now happily settled in Whitefish, Montana. She took a NOLS semester in the Rockies in 1993 (during a year off from college) and was immediately smitten with all that NOLS had to offer. Erica took a Mountain Instructors Course the following year and started working for the School in Alaska in the summer of 1994. Durin...
Marc Randolph: Netflix Founder On Leadership Lessons Learned at NOLS
June 17, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 90.3 MBToday, our guest is a former NOLS Instructor and Chair of the NOLS Board of Trustees, but he is best known as the co-founder and first CEO of Netflix, Marc Randolph. His incredibly successful career as an entrepreneur span more than four decades. He's founded or co-founded half a dozen other successful startups, including, most recently, Looker Data Sciences, which was sold to Google in 2019 for $2.6B. He is currently mentoring a handful of other early-stage companies, has advised hundreds o...
John Able: NOLS - High Highs, and (hilarious) Low Lows
June 10, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 85.8 MBOriginally from Southern California, John Abel has worked in outdoor education from 1984 to 2019. He has worked in many different roles such as administrative, instructional, consultative – but the bulk of and the best of his work was as a field instructor for NOLS. John has been a NOLS instructor since 1991, mainly working hiking, climbing, and mountaineering courses. He has a Master's in Leadership and Organizational Development from the Leadership Institute of Seattle. Since 2010, he h...
Andy Blair: NOLS - Reflection on NOLS Kenya
June 03, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBThis week on the pod I speak with Andy Blair is a simple man with a craving to be outside. He completed his NOLS Instructors Course in 1992 and his Wilderness Medicine Instructor Training Course in 2001. He has acquired over 250 weeks in the field and taught over 50 Wilderness Medicine courses. His fieldwork includes mountaineering, rock climbing, backcountry skiing, winter camping, canyoneering, whitewater canoeing, outdoor educator, and instructor courses. He maintains a National Registry ...