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Wilderness medicine courses at the Environmental Learning Center

Wilderness medicine courses at the Environmental Learning Center

Oct 18, 2018North Cascades Institute

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Recent Articles

Learn Mountain Photography with Scott Kranz, Dec 2
Mountain School at Home ACHOTUS Ep2: George Holmes
Mountain School @ Home Lesson 16: Glaciers!
Youth Leadership Adventures podcast on climate change
Mountain School @ Home Lesson 15: Watersheds in the North Cascades and at Home

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Connecting people, nature and community through education since 1986. #ncascades

Have you taken your deep, cleansing breath yet thi

Have you taken your deep, cleansing breath yet this morning? Ease into Saturday with this quiet moment of reflection on Diablo Lake, brought to you by @capo.and.the.tide.

Still full from all that online Thanksgiving feast

Still full from all that online Thanksgiving feasting and emotionally fried from all that comes with Thanksgiving zoom family fun times?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What better way to work off that food baby than to safely 😷 take a walk outside, preferably in or around your neighborhood. Benefits of connecting with nature include emotional and mental relief along with other health benefits like improved circulation and decrease in cholesterol. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Who is getting out for a neighborhood stroll? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Remember to #RecreateResponibly, if you choose to head out into more rugged terrain, especially now that we have entered winter conditions ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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❄️Check road conditions ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❄️Have a plan B in case your destination is crowded or encounter unsafe conditions ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❄️Have the proper winter and safety gear ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
❄️Know your limits ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
📸: @missroselouise

We are nearing the end of the most challenging yea

We are nearing the end of the most challenging year in memory, but like many are doing today, we are pausing to reflect on what we have to be thankful for. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our list definitely includes more time than usual spent outside in the last few months, and we hope your list includes the same—strolling in neighborhood green spaces, paddling on local waters, biking city pathways, tending gardens, beachcombing, or exploring nearby public lands. Now more than ever, the natural world has served as a source of sustenance, sanity, wellness, and healing. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Thank you for being a part of the awesome community who, despite current challenges, continues to celebrate living and learning outside, and for connecting with us here every day. We wish you a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: Christian Martin

Mount Baker was officially named by George Vancouv

Mount Baker was officially named by George Vancouver for Lieutenant Joseph Baker of the good ship Discovery who directed his captain's attention to the dominant white peak on the eastern horizon in 1792. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Indigenous people had various names for the peak, but to early white settlers the name spoken by the Nooksack people seemed to be Koma Kulshan which, they thought, must be the Indigenous name for the great peak, but it was not. The phrase kwomae klelsaen can be translated, "go up high or way back in the mountains shooting place. So, the phrase which sounded like Koma Kulshan to the white ear referred to the region of the mountain, not the mountain itself.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: @alexmontgumery

"In this moment, I think the day was still decidin

"In this moment, I think the day was still deciding who it wanted to be. I'm glad it settled on blue sky and sunshine.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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One reason why I love spending so much time outdoors is because you really don't know what you'll experience unless you're already there. Even on a rainy, cloudy day in the mountains - I've never been disappointed. There is beauty in everything whether it is saturated in the grand and sweeping views or folded within the tiny details."⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Love this perspective from @pnwhappyhikers. How do you seize the day in the outdoors, no matter the weather?

Another stunner from @scott_kranz as we look forwa

Another stunner from @scott_kranz as we look forward to our online class with him, NEXT WEEK on Wednesday, Dec. 2. �⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Join us for Mountain Photography Composition with Scott Kranz, Seattle-based outdoor photographer and filmmaker. Enjoy a slideshow and discussion of tools and techniques for composing mountain landscape photography. You’ll learn about locations and trip planning, understanding and working with light, and composition principles that help create captivating images to better convey your story. Scott will also share some of his favorite images from his 50 Peaks Project for which he climbed 50 summits to celebrate the 50th anniversary of North Cascades National Park!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Can't make the date? Sign up and we'll send you the recording afterward to watch when it works for you!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Learn more and register at ncascades.org/classes⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📸: @scott_kranz

Jump into our time machine and buckle up for the l

Jump into our time machine and buckle up for the latest episode of “A Cultural History of the Upper Skagit”, a video reinvention of the traditional Mountain School activity known by the acronym "ACHOTUS".⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In this second episode, you’ll travel with Time Machine Pilot Alexa back to 1914 to meet George Holmes, a gold miner who began life as a slave in Virginia, but found freedom, respect, and fortunes on Ruby Creek in the North Cascades. Be sure to tune in for future episodes of ACHOTUS so you can also meet sharp-shooting homesteader Lucinda Davis, and the Father of Seattle City Light, J.D. Ross. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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👀 Find this video and all our Mountain School at Home resources at ncascades.org/ms-at-home

Snow is blanketing the high elevations of the Nort

Snow is blanketing the high elevations of the North Cascades. The western slopes of the Cascades receive over 400 inches of snowfall annually. So much snow falls in the mountains that Highway 20—the only road that traverses North Cascades National Park from east to west—is closed every winter and reopened in spring.

In fact, Highway 20 just closed this last Monday for the winter due to heavy snow filling avalanche chutes that are threats to roadway travelers.
📸: @sonja.saxe
📍Ancestral homelands of the Nlaka’pamux people

SNOW at the Environmental Learning Center! Soon we

SNOW at the Environmental Learning Center! Soon we’ll be putting our “roofalanche” guards to the test. These safety features installed by Seattle City Light over the last year prevent heavy sheets of snow from sliding off our roofs onto walkways—and people! And the sturdy silhouettes of cougars, leaves, mushrooms, bears, birds and more, are a fun nod to our North Cascadian flora and fauna.

📸: (1-2) Alexa Brandt, (3-4) Katie Manz, (5) Molly Harrigan

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