Program Reviews

This course was so much fun and absolutely the best thing I could have chosen to start my gap year. I made so many friends and the course really built my self-confidence for the rest of the year.

Everyone I met, both students and instructors, were so supportive and inspiring. I learned a huge number of both technical and interpersonal skills. I would recommend this course to absolutely anyone. I had never slept in a tent before or really done anything like it, but everyone was so supportive and encouraging, and as long as you are determined to work hard you can absolutely do it!

I have 1 million good things to say about NOLS - if you're wondering about what to do on your gap year this is my no1 suggestion!

NOLS Patagonia semester is an 80-84-day course where we started with sea kayaking and went on to the hiking and rock climbing sections. I was initially nervous as I am an Indian and did not know Spanish, but the warm welcome and support I received from the NOLS staff helped me overcome this obstacle. The NOLS base in Coyhaique was beautiful as was Chile's country and culture. Before starting this 84-day journey, we learned much about Chilean culture and maté. We packed rations, took care of the equipment that would be needed on this trip, and went over the route that we would take. After all this Patagonia still managed to take my breath away as the terrain was stunningly beautiful from the oceans to the mountains the serenity of Patagonia was clear. We learned different skills in sea kayaking, hiking, and rock climbing and worked on individual and team goals with the support of our amazing instructors. Safety, Risk management, and LNT were the three main topics we focused on in our everyday routine, whether it was sea kayaking, hiking, or rock climbing. The highlight of my trip was the Independent Student Group Expedition (ISGE)
at the end of the three sections or ration period, students choose a route to hike on for 10 days without the instructors in a group of 4 to 5 people where we students plan our rations
for 10 days. We as a group decided to hike through two high passes on our 10-day route and 2 peak ascends. I had fun getting challenged differently navigating through the forests and oceans of Patagonia and learning the skills needed to do it safely. I would recommend this course to anyone who is looking for a new perspective, challenges, and a lot of fun while doing it.

I had an incredible experience with NOLS. I learned so much about outdoor living, leadership, and myself. From meditative moments, to very practical skills I’ve used backpacking since, NOLS gave me so much! I had fantastic instructors - they were smart, capable, interesting, and kind - true professionals. I also made some great friends - you really get to know people out in the wilderness. Ultimately, it was one of the greatest months of my life. Such a unique and cool experience that I’ll never forget.

I think this program is an excellent mix of being far out in the wilderness combined with a significant and meaningful cultural interaction. It was refreshing to be truly off the grid in a sense where you were isolated to the point of not even seeing other backpackers on the trail for good portions of the trip but at the same time learning about the cultures of India and getting to pass through villages on the trek and interact with them. I think within the NOLS environment this blend was a unique mix and one I didn't appreciate going into things.

I participated in the Pacific Coastal Expedition from NOLS Patagonia branch during a gap year between high school and college. I had always heard about NOLS courses and how they were "life-changing." I didn't buy it. It seemed like more responsibility and commitment than I wanted on my gap year. Looking back on it, I can't imagine a better way to spend a month in a year where my priorities were to grow and develop into a better human being. NOLS taught me the value of mental toughness and grit. While those seem like things that could be learned in a less extreme environment, I have yet to find an opportunity that has given me the same perspective and compassion that my NOLS trip did. Every day on a NOLS trip is a life lesson and you leave your trip with a wealth of knowledge about yourself and the world around you. It has been over a year since my trip and I think about it every single day in one way or another. For anyone who is hesitant about taking part in a NOLS trip, I would say it will always seem more difficult to handle until you're in it and to take the plunge. You will not regret it!!

3 month in the Patagonia wilderness with NOLS is an experience I would never trade for the world due to the strength of their community and ability to teach valuable lessons in a new context. Spending a long amount of time in the outdoors is a challenge for any individual and in addition this experience took place in a foreign country. Naturally these circumstances allow for life long bonding and NOLS enhances your ability to grasp life skills applicable to more than just the outdoors. I learned how to and how not to make critical decisions in bigger group dynamics enriching my communication skills as a whole

This program was one of the best decisions I have made. I learned the technical skills of back country living. More importantly, they taught leadership skills that I have taken into my professional and personal life. Above all, the friendships that I cultivated made my time in Alaska worthwhile. I would recommend a nols alaska course to anyone looking to step outside their comfort zone to emerge a better person. While nols is a leadership school, it gives you the opportunity to explore nature and have time to be alone with your thoughts which is not so easy in today's world.

My daughter participated in this program in 2021. We bought the tuition insurance recommended by NOLS through AON. She unfortunately had an injury and needed evacuation. The evacuation was not too expensive as she did not need medical eval and flew out on a puppy helicopter. But 1/3 of her trip was cancelled. The AON insurance was a joke. I am still trying to get them to pay out the claim for her lost tuition . The policy was titled "Tuition reimbursment insurance" and AON had the audacity to say it does not cover tuition reimbursement, read the fine print! Unreal! DO NOT BUY AON insurance!
Here is the benefits listed on the policy and they will not pay!
Benefit Maximum Benefit Amount/Principal Sum
Part A – Travel Arrangement Protection
Trip Interruption .................................. 100% of Total Tuition
Travel Delay (up to $150 per day) ................................ $300
Baggage Delay ............................................................. $300
Part B – Travel Insurance Benefits
Accidental Death & Dismemberment ....................... $10,000
Emergency Medical Evacuation and
Repatriation of Remains…… ................................. $100,000

I’d like to leave this review as a reference for anyone considering going on the two week women’s Alaska course. I hope I can give you a better idea of what my experience was like, so you can make an informed decision about if this course would be a good fit.

I had a really negative experience on the two week women’s Alaska course during the summer of 2022 (7/24-8/6). If you decide to take a NOLS course and go by yourself, I’d personally recommend not paying more than a couple thousand dollars for a course, and not take a course that’s longer than a week - that way if it ends up being a bad experience you can cut your losses.

On the two week women’s Alaska course, there was an issue with mean girls, specifically bullying. In groups of women, bullying commonly takes the form of gossiping and excluding others from the group. The instructors on the course did nothing to address this, and at no point in time even talked with the group about what NOLS policy is towards bullying/harassment. Looking back now, that was really bizarre, especially considering we were all strangers and didn’t know each other - this topic really should have been addressed.

One person in the course decided to gossip and say mean things about me to others in the group. Two of the instructors in the group realized the drama that was happening, and instead of addressing the group and reminding everyone that NOLS has a no bullying/harassment policy - they decided to instead gossip about the drama as well. Right in front of me. These two instructors were in their early/mid 20s and I guess didn’t have the emotional intelligence to understand that when a person in the group is being excluded and gossiped about, what you should not do is add to the gossip. It felt like I was in a sick reality TV show. In my normal life, the gossip and exclusion wouldn’t have bothered me that much and I could have just walked away from the toxic behavior. But because we were in a remote wilderness environment, there was a tribal element added to the dynamics, and being accepted by the group was subconsciously associated with survival.

The person doing the bullying/harassment went by they/them pronouns. The instructors had more than one conversation with the group about making sure we all try to get this person’s pronouns correctly. I don’t have a problem with that at all. But what I do have a problem with is the fact that there were no conversations during the course about NOLS having a zero bullying/harassment policy. Something doesn’t seem right about that.

Also, if you are neurodivergent or on the spectrum in any way I would recommend you not go on a traditional NOLS backpacking course. My experience was that the traditional backpacking course curriculum was not suited for my neurodivergence at all. My quietness was seen as ineptitude during parts of the course curriculum, and I was shamed and humiliated for being who I am as a neurodivergent person. It felt like there was this toxic environment on the course where loudness and aggressive/bullying behavior was viewed as competency and confidence. That’s not appropriate at all.

Additionally, I’d like to call out inappropriate behavior that happened in an insular environment with no accountability - one of the instructors acted completely inappropriately. In addition to gossiping about me with another instructor, she publicly read out my private feedback form, not respecting any kind of confidentiality. I hope NOLS can remind instructors that feedback forms are private and need to be kept confidential.

Another thing to note if you are considering going on this course - remember that anything can happen. Halfway through the course one of the women fell down a crevasse and fell a long way. When it wasn’t clear what state this woman was in, one of the instructors went down to try and help the woman, ended up getting hurt herself, and needed to be evacuated. There wasn’t an open weather window right away so it took a couple days for the plane to come in and do the evacuation. Keep in mind that if you take this course and get hurt, NOLS won’t pay for your evacuation unless you are an instructor - so before you commit to going, make sure you have money budgeted out in addition to the cost of the course - because anything can happen in a remote location only accessible by bush plane - and you just never know.

I would also recommend bringing your own garmin, and budgeting extra money for one, if you do decide to go. There was a point on the course where no one in my hiking group for the day had a garmin when we actually needed it (because the only garmin was in one of the instructor’s packs which was left at the bottom of a crevasse after she fell). Rescue gear had to be flown in to get the pack, where the garmin was located, out of the bottom of the crevasse. So bring your own garmin just to be safe, and if the instructors/organization try to tell you that’s not allowed, I would seriously rethink going on this course.

Looking back on this experience, it was not worth the cost. I regret spending several thousands of dollars on this course. If you do decide to take a NOLS course, maybe bring a friend with you in case group/instructor dynamics aren’t healthy or helpful for you. Two of the older women on the course went together as friends, and even then at the end of the course, one of the older women started crying during the group feedback session when she was talking about how scary the route selection was for the course. Which makes sense since two people fell, and the one instructor had to be evacuated.

I wish NOLS could have also given the option to complete feedback forms online after the course was finished - that way I could have given feedback knowing it was confidential, when I had time to decompress, and felt safe to give candid feedback outside of the unsafe and unhealthy group dynamics on the course.

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.