…This, indeed, is the time of year when most of us are spending way too much focus seeking the perfect gift for a loved one. In a mountain climbing analogy, the experience can be compared to ascending a 20,000-foot peak without oxygen. Good luck making a sound decision under those conditions. But if we were…

…So, here we all sit, settling into another sequential week of sequestered sheltering and supreme seclusion, many of us working from home and many of us not. As a certified teacher with a license in EC, ESL, AIG and Classroom Education, and as a member of The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education’s (NCOAE)…

…Because of the situation with COVID-19, we’ve been thinking a lot lately about the path forward for outdoor and adventure-based programs like the ones we offer here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE). Specifically, how do we operate in a day and age where physical distancing is either required or strongly recommended?…

Night sky tips for outdoor educators and guides….

…We’ve all seen those old Western movies where the hero is crawling on the desert floor with an empty canteen and a parched throat. None of us want to experience that torture. It’s bad enough watching the bad acting. Same goes for heading to the backcountry for a weeklong wilderness experience. Nobody wants to be…

…Did you hear the one about Rock and Ice magazine merging with Climbing magazine? It’s not a joke. That news was announced just today (Oct. 9, 2020), and it conveniently coincides with the next post in our series on outdoor industry lingo. With the assistance of The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education’s (NCOAE)…

…Welcome to our third — and final segment in our series about sports terminology and slang terms. In this post, we’ll be talking about whitewater paddling, and right off the bat, we’ve got a warning for the novice paddler. Those who might be unfamiliar with whitewater kayaking or canoeing might think rowing and paddling are…

…For those who suffer severe allergic reactions to everything from wasp stings to wheat consumption, getting help — and getting that medical intervention fast — may mean the difference between life and death. Here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), we train our Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) students and Wilderness First…

…Emergency Medical Services personnel (EMS) have been on the front lines of the COVID health pandemic for 18 months now, with no end in sight. These key healthcare providers continue to adapt to an ever-changing work environment and thus far have maintained a high level of care. If you’re thinking of entering the field of…

It’s pretty well known that we here at The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE) are experts when it comes to training our Knowledge is the key to successful actions in a medical emergency, whether that be on the side of a city street or in a remote wilderness setting….

…I grew up in the Midwest, and while some may claim the flatlands don’t have much to offer — I often found one way or another to get into trouble. I climbed trees in my front lawn, jumping off one branch, and climbing higher. While learning how to ride a bike, I often showed up…

…It may surprise you to learn that drownings — along with heart attacks and falls — are among the leading causes of death for those who venture into the wilderness for recreation or education in the United States. Statistics show that there are nearly 4,000 fatal drownings each year in the United States, with a…

…A few years ago, we ran a three-part series on slogans, slang, and terminology as it applies to a trio of human-powered outdoor recreational activities. If you recall, we started out with some “gnarly” surfing terms, then we “tied in” to a conversation about climbing, finally pulling a “wet exit” on the language of paddling….

…Outdoor and adventure-based summer camps for teens provide a life-enriching and world-changing experience for those who participate in them. These experiences, offered by accredited adventure-based experiential and outdoor education providers like The National Center for Outdoor & Adventure Education (NCOAE), offer a unique opportunity for teens to develop personal competencies in the following four areas,…

…In the world of emergency medical services (EMS), future EMTs and paramedics accept the reality that their immediate future includes hundreds of hours of lectures, extensive bookwork, and plenty of written tests.  Each of these students has an objective in mind for taking EMT training courses, and their reasons are many. Some are looking to…

…NCOAE‘s SOAP Notes can help you keep your emergency wilderness medical care thorough and organized, keep reading to learn more!…

…When it comes to emergency medicine — whether in an urban setting or the backcountry — swift and accurate assessments play a pivotal role in determining the severity and progression of an injury and deciding the best course of action.  The decisions you make regarding treatment, evacuation, and transportation in cases of non-obvious threats to…

…For EMT’s, caring for ourselves often comes second to caring for others. Here are a few tips to help you take better care of your physical and mental well-being….

…In the safety and comfort of the modern world, we often forget that the natural world can be a dangerous, unforgiving, and uncaring place. For many of us who love wilderness and the backcountry, that’s large part of its attraction.  We choose to explore areas where some fear to go,  and we participate in activities…

…In a recent CNN article by Rebecca Cairns and London-based photographer Zed Nelson, the reader is invited to reflect on how we interact with nature, and how much of that “nature” is staged. Nelson’s project, The Anthropocene Illusion, takes viewers on a global journey to see the ways we simulate wild places and wildlife while…