"I'd like you guys to do more leadership training."
My program director looked at me expectantly from across her desk. It was June. We were meeting to discuss my second-year schedule, and she caught a glint in my eye.
"Would National Outdoor Leadership School count?" I asked.
"Yes, that would count!"
GAME ON. I was tired of watching "MacGyver" episodes on Netflix. I wanted to live one. (Minus the nefarious Russian villains.)
The National Outdoor Leadership School, or NOLS, has been used by NASA (and other organizations) for years to help train new astronaut classes in leadership, team-building, and outdoor skills applicable to resource-limited environments like space, but also to your daily life. While I would never crash an astronaut class' NOLS course, I have always wanted to do NOLS. This was my opportunity. When again, if ever, would my work give me the time to count this as professional development?
There are a ton of courses, world-wide, from which to choose (sea kayaking, sailing, backpacking, etc.); it just happened that a mountaineering course fit my schedule. From a professional and aerospace medicine standpoint, the added benefit is the appreciation for hypoxia. Low-oxygen, high-altitude environments are as important in aerospace as they are for climbers, and learning this from experience helps me understand my patients better.
Personally, I have always loved mountains. While I grew up skiing and hiking them, and backpacked in them with friends and Outward Bound, I always wanted more of a challenge. With NOLS, I would, finally, be learning to climb mountains (Mt. Baker & Shuksan) in my great home state of Washington, in its one National Park to which I had not yet ventured: North Cascades.
Before I left, James, my co-resident with whom I will be graduating next year, recently cracked me up with an expression that came out of our recent space physiology course & inspired the title for this post. Ever a fan of Marvel comics' superheroes and the laws of physics, he asked me one day after a lecture on spaceflight-induced muscle atrophy if I wanted to hit the gym:
Me: "Yeah, let's go fight gravity by moving pieces of metal around."
James: "We're using Earth to make us stronger!" (We're nerds. If you've read this far, so are you.)
So, I used Earth at NOLS. And it DID make me stronger. Here are the ways:
1) PHYSICALLY: #BodyByNOLS. Carrying a 55lb pack when you're 5'4", 118lbs w/ a 28" inseam, hiking over glacier in crampons for 8hrs a day at altitude is hard work. By the end, I weighed 112lbs, and my pack felt lighter, but we had to keep & carry all our waste out, so was it? Doesn't matter. NOLS reminds you how our bodies were meant to function, and how much they can truly handle.
Everything is a process: waking up, heating water, cooking a meal, enjoying sharing that meal with your lifeblood of a group. Cleaning up and using your own power to walk this magnificent Earth. Going to bed when it gets dark because that's what your circadian rhythm wants to do, and because you're the best kind of tired there is: tired from a full day of working our bodies the way for which they were designed. It shouldn't be surprising how quickly your body adapts to this natural rhythm from which it's often deprived in the frontcountry.
.jpg)
2) MENTALLY: A 4,000ft elevation change over 4 miles with a heavy pack can be daunting. Sitting in a tent for 3 straight days due to incessant rain, sleet, wind & snow, preventing a summit attempt, can make people a little loopy (leading to sing-alongs & haikus). Having to decide the safest route amid glacial crevasses for you & your 9 expedition crewmembers can be a stressful responsibility.
Time and time again, the outdoor classroom taught us to appreciate certain man-made constructs, but with more than a modicum of realism: they are just that, constructs, which can lead us to a false sense of control in life. In the frontcountry, we are constantly able to control things like air conditioning, thermostats, what we eat, where we go, and how we get there. In the backcountry, weather and nature reign supreme, and they dictate everything from what you wear, how far you will go, and which route you will take--a good reminder that the only true constant in this world is change.
3) TECHNICALLY: Self-arrest; climbing knots; glacier travel; orienteering; crevasse rescue; ice climbing; meteorology; Pacific Northwest trailside geology, wildlife and vegetation; environmental ethics...I wanted to understand the mountains better, and remind myself of my origins. My brain & soul feel replenished in this regard.
4) CULTURALLY/PERSONALLY: Earth has other people. We can be each other's greatest asset in making Earth a better place. Even if you already appreciate this, there is always room for leaders to improve in knowing when and how to lead and follow. Yes, NOLS is about how to live outdoors, but it's more about how to live your life and how to be the best version of you via leadership instruction on expedition behavior, competence, communication, judgment, tolerance for adversity & uncertainty, self-awareness, vision & action. Expedition behavior, for example, isn't just being on your best "team-player behavior" for the trip. It's about who you are on your life expedition, even when the situation isn't critical or when others aren't watching, and what kind of culture you want to build for your work team, your community, your family. Don't complain. Care for yourself so you can care for others. Lead by example. Be a good listener. Ask for feedback and take it. Do more with less; "Leave No Trace" still applies in the frontcountry.
In short, NOLS and mountaineering were everything I hoped they would be: hard physical labor. Challenging mental stamina. Building & sharing an expedition family. Personal reflection. Inspiration. Using your body to do all the work & reaping incredible rewards, from a few precious minutes of alpenglow (one of my favorite things in this world!) to life-long lessons.
My program director looked at me expectantly from across her desk. It was June. We were meeting to discuss my second-year schedule, and she caught a glint in my eye.
"Would National Outdoor Leadership School count?" I asked.
"Yes, that would count!"
GAME ON. I was tired of watching "MacGyver" episodes on Netflix. I wanted to live one. (Minus the nefarious Russian villains.)
The National Outdoor Leadership School, or NOLS, has been used by NASA (and other organizations) for years to help train new astronaut classes in leadership, team-building, and outdoor skills applicable to resource-limited environments like space, but also to your daily life. While I would never crash an astronaut class' NOLS course, I have always wanted to do NOLS. This was my opportunity. When again, if ever, would my work give me the time to count this as professional development?
There are a ton of courses, world-wide, from which to choose (sea kayaking, sailing, backpacking, etc.); it just happened that a mountaineering course fit my schedule. From a professional and aerospace medicine standpoint, the added benefit is the appreciation for hypoxia. Low-oxygen, high-altitude environments are as important in aerospace as they are for climbers, and learning this from experience helps me understand my patients better.
Personally, I have always loved mountains. While I grew up skiing and hiking them, and backpacked in them with friends and Outward Bound, I always wanted more of a challenge. With NOLS, I would, finally, be learning to climb mountains (Mt. Baker & Shuksan) in my great home state of Washington, in its one National Park to which I had not yet ventured: North Cascades.
Before I left, James, my co-resident with whom I will be graduating next year, recently cracked me up with an expression that came out of our recent space physiology course & inspired the title for this post. Ever a fan of Marvel comics' superheroes and the laws of physics, he asked me one day after a lecture on spaceflight-induced muscle atrophy if I wanted to hit the gym:
Me: "Yeah, let's go fight gravity by moving pieces of metal around."
James: "We're using Earth to make us stronger!" (We're nerds. If you've read this far, so are you.)
So, I used Earth at NOLS. And it DID make me stronger. Here are the ways:
1) PHYSICALLY: #BodyByNOLS. Carrying a 55lb pack when you're 5'4", 118lbs w/ a 28" inseam, hiking over glacier in crampons for 8hrs a day at altitude is hard work. By the end, I weighed 112lbs, and my pack felt lighter, but we had to keep & carry all our waste out, so was it? Doesn't matter. NOLS reminds you how our bodies were meant to function, and how much they can truly handle.
Everything is a process: waking up, heating water, cooking a meal, enjoying sharing that meal with your lifeblood of a group. Cleaning up and using your own power to walk this magnificent Earth. Going to bed when it gets dark because that's what your circadian rhythm wants to do, and because you're the best kind of tired there is: tired from a full day of working our bodies the way for which they were designed. It shouldn't be surprising how quickly your body adapts to this natural rhythm from which it's often deprived in the frontcountry.
2) MENTALLY: A 4,000ft elevation change over 4 miles with a heavy pack can be daunting. Sitting in a tent for 3 straight days due to incessant rain, sleet, wind & snow, preventing a summit attempt, can make people a little loopy (leading to sing-alongs & haikus). Having to decide the safest route amid glacial crevasses for you & your 9 expedition crewmembers can be a stressful responsibility.
Time and time again, the outdoor classroom taught us to appreciate certain man-made constructs, but with more than a modicum of realism: they are just that, constructs, which can lead us to a false sense of control in life. In the frontcountry, we are constantly able to control things like air conditioning, thermostats, what we eat, where we go, and how we get there. In the backcountry, weather and nature reign supreme, and they dictate everything from what you wear, how far you will go, and which route you will take--a good reminder that the only true constant in this world is change.
3) TECHNICALLY: Self-arrest; climbing knots; glacier travel; orienteering; crevasse rescue; ice climbing; meteorology; Pacific Northwest trailside geology, wildlife and vegetation; environmental ethics...I wanted to understand the mountains better, and remind myself of my origins. My brain & soul feel replenished in this regard.
4) CULTURALLY/PERSONALLY: Earth has other people. We can be each other's greatest asset in making Earth a better place. Even if you already appreciate this, there is always room for leaders to improve in knowing when and how to lead and follow. Yes, NOLS is about how to live outdoors, but it's more about how to live your life and how to be the best version of you via leadership instruction on expedition behavior, competence, communication, judgment, tolerance for adversity & uncertainty, self-awareness, vision & action. Expedition behavior, for example, isn't just being on your best "team-player behavior" for the trip. It's about who you are on your life expedition, even when the situation isn't critical or when others aren't watching, and what kind of culture you want to build for your work team, your community, your family. Don't complain. Care for yourself so you can care for others. Lead by example. Be a good listener. Ask for feedback and take it. Do more with less; "Leave No Trace" still applies in the frontcountry.
Our last night on Mt. Shuksan, the weather had finally cleared. I woke up around 4am to use the great outdoors version of the little girls' room. The Milky Way was the brightest I'd seen it in months. I filled my lungs with crisp mountain air. The silhouette of the North Cascades range spread out before me. How ironic, I thought, reflecting on all the gifts I'd be given during this course, that we call it the "back"country, when, really, it's what should be in the forefront of our reality.
BONUS: A haiku inspired by the "tent-fever" we developed during the 72+hr storm on Sulphide Glacier, Mt. Shuksan:
Wetness permeates.
Tent fever breeds psychosis.
My kingdom for sun!
I feel like I want to ask a gazillion questions and spew a bunch of thoughts, but I will just say - that looks absolutely amazing! It is things like this that just feeds you in a way that work or play just can't sometimes. And holy cow - that last picture?? That is a view that not a lot of people get to see. Everyone hopes that they will look back at what they have done with their lives and feel that they lived to the fullest. I have a feeling that you will. I really should try to be more like you. :)
ReplyDelete