Lou’s News #7 — Memories, National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)
Significant portions my forthcoming retrospective novel cover the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), where I worked as an instructor in the 1970s.
Before I was an instructor, I was a NOLS student, when in 1968 I met instructor Steve Gipe. He became a long-time staffer and played an important role in the school’s development.
I contacted Steve for some memoirist reminiscing—and with the hope that he had photos depicting ancient NOLSie history. Incredibly, he located a few shots of the course I was on as a student (none of 16-year-old me specifically, which is perhaps a blessing), as well as some generally interesting stuff that might be appropriate for the book.
One photo stood out, and it’s something of a mystery. Somehow, Steve ended up with what appears to be the PR-oriented hero shot shown below. Steve said the location might be the south peak of Mount Bonneville, and that he probably didn’t take the photo. We don’t know who the photographer is, nor the model (or the instructor-guide doubling as one). The image is sharp and well exposed, indicating that someone knew how to sling their camera.
When I sent this text and image out as a newsletter to nearly 300 subscribers, I asked if anyone knew the provenance of the photo. It remained a mystery. If you’re reading this and know anything, please let me know me via the contact options on this website.
And, because the getup in this image is vintage NOLS, I feel a need to expound. See below for a list of fashion highlights.
NOLS early clothing kit
From the top down:
Hat: A repurposed, punched-out fedora—or maybe this lad had the means to acquire something retail. Either way, the chin string shouts NOLS. The homebrew “alpi” hats were great.
Sunglasses: Are those clip-ons?
Sunscreen: Pure zinc oxide, baby, and not only over the nose; see that earlobe?
Collared Shirt: Thick wool, and nothing but.
Rope: Ah, grasshopper, 3/8-inch Goldline stretched like a rubber band — and snapped back just as effectively. And the coil! 100% Petzoldt approved.
Daypack: It’s too bad the daypack isn’t totally authentic—or is it? The classic NOLS daypack, for the students, anyway, was a large stuff sack fitted with strings for shoulder straps.
Piton Hammer: A nice touch, yet how in the world did it end up stuffed in a pocket, ready to fall out? I can’t imagine there was an art director for this photo shoot, but perhaps so…
Pants: Probably military-surplus; a light bluish color, they appear to match the shirt. Trendy! And, reality, when you wore the same pair of pants for a month, often around several campfires a day, wool was again the only choice.
Socks: This is where it gets downright Petzoldtian. Two pairs of thick socks were the standard. Your feet swam like goldfish in a bathtub, but the cushioning helped prevent blisters. As for style, note the outer sock-top turned down over the boots. I’m almost certain Petzoldt started this look (among the NOLSies, anyway), and I have no idea why. Maybe he thought it natty? I may have tied my pants up to imitate European alpinist knickers, poorly, but I never turned my socks down over my boots.
If I receive any plausible answers to the sock question, I’ll publish in the next newsletter.
Boots: I’m guessing Fabiano or Vasque, coated with Sno-Seal and baked in an oven before the course. The boots appear more beat-up than the other accessories; that’s authentic. It was amazing how hard we worked our footwear: miles under a ~hundred-pound backpack, wet-dry-wet-dry, accidental fire damage, scuffing peak climbs. And, lest we forget, in the early days we rock climbed in the same boots we hiked in.
Ice Axe: Yes, we used axes that long. I’d guess 90% of the time they were better called a walking cane. But we did hit the glaciers, where the pick and adze came in handy. Droop pick ice tools would appear soon, not quite yet. They’d have their place, but there’s nothing quite so useful as a “cane axe” if you’re trekking more than climbing.
Miscellany: What’s that in his right pocket? Bandanna?
Again, folks if you can help us with the provenance of this photo please get in touch.
Lou
