Fall 2017 - Winter 2018 MSU School of Social Work Newsletter MSU-Social-Work-2017-2018-Newsletter | Page 12

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Daniel Cavanaugh climbed
mountains to experience
adventure therapy
D
aniel Cavanaugh is
a third-year social
work PhD student
who spent the summer
climbing mountains in the
Cascade Range of northern
Washington and southern
British Columbia with the
National Outdoor Leadership School’s (NOLS) Outdoor
Educator Leadership Mountaineering and Rock Climbing
program. Daniel took this course to prepare for his planned
dissertation research utilizing techniques from adventure
and wilderness therapy in mental illness prevention work
with adolescents.
Adventure therapists incorporate facilitated adventure
experiences such as hiking, rock climbing, and other
activities into mental health therapy. NOLS is nationally
recognized as the premier organization offering training in
outdoor education and expedition risk management. Daniel
pursued education with NOLS to learn how to integrate best
practices and risk management in adventure-based therapies
with youth.
At NOLS, Daniel and a group of outdoor educators
learned a myriad of skills, including advanced rock
climbing techniques, Leave No Trace conservation ethics,
mountaineering skills, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, and
wilderness first aid. This was done over 30 days living in
remote wilderness locations in North Cascades National
Park, Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and Squamish,
British Columbia. During this time, the educators traveled
on rope teams across rocky and frozen landscapes, camping
on snow and ice.
They climbed to the summit of two technical mountains
in the Cascade Range, Mt. Baker (the snowiest place on
Earth) and Eldorado Peak. To reach these summits safely, the
educators learned to become proficient in the use of ice axes,
rope teams, and crampons (metal boot spikes for climbing
frozen slopes). After summitting these prominent peaks, the
educators completed multi-pitch rock climbs on the sheer
granite cliffs that raise hundreds of feet above Squamish,
British Columbia. During these expeditions, the group of
outdoor educators learned the skills to safely guide students
in complex alpine zones and to experientially integrate
education into adventure.
NOLS was founded in 1965 in Wyoming by wilderness
education pioneer Paul Petzoldt. The organization
started teaching safety and outdoor living skills to a select
few students. As the organization has grown, they have
expanded their course offerings and are now a world leader
in outdoor and experiential education. Outdoor educators
take NOLS courses to learn wilderness medicine, outdoor
living skills, outdoor education modalities, Leave No Trace
environmental preservation, and more. NOLS now maintains
campuses across the world in locations that include the
Pacific Northwest, Patagonia, The Yukon, and more. To learn
more about NOLS, visit www.nols.edu.
Fall 2017/Winter 2018 SSW NEWS