Nels Nichols BSN, RN

·     TNCC, ACLS, PALS, BLS

·   Educational Nurse Mentor

·   White water kayak / canoe coach

·   Wilderness First Responder Instructor

·   Rock climbing instructor

·   Nordic Ski coach

·   Stop The Bleed Instructor

·   Level 4 Swiftwater Certification

Nels is an accomplished and outstanding ER nurse at a Level 1 Trauma Center. After graduating with his Associate’s Degree in Nursing, he completed a Critical Care Internship at the U, followed by a BSN. He is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Nurse Education. Before donning white scrubs and hiding away in a busy ER, Nels made his living leading, teaching and guiding young people on a wide array of outdoor adventures.

With over 10 years’ experience in the field, Nels has taught hiking, backpacking, white water canoeing, white water kayaking, wilderness first aid, Leave No Trace ethics, and risk mitigation to several hundred young people. In his spare time, he is an accomplished kayaker, fly-fisher, canoeist, desert and mountain backpacker.

He spent 3 years as the Lead Nordic Ski Coach, coordinating and coaching 58 youth skiers across 4 teams, helping to develop the next generation of coaches to come after him. Over numerous years, he coached skiing in the winter in Utah and worked as a Head River Guide and River Program Director in the Grand Tetons in Wyoming during the summer for the Boy Scouts of America. Scouting is one of his passions, and he has volunteered as a Scoutmaster for several years, believing strongly in the importance of camping and developing outdoor skills in young people.

Nels is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), one of the most respected names in wilderness medical education. He also graduated from the University of Utah’s Wilderness Safety & Survival Program, where he completed courses in rock climbing, technical rescue, canyoneering, mountain guiding, ski mountaineering, avalanche safety and whitewater kayaking. Since then he has hiked, climbed and paddled extensively in many states of the US and Canada, as well as leading several mountaineering trips to the European Alps. Among his most memorable expeditions are a 30 day backpacking course in the Bighorn Mountains, and a 30 day canoe camping in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada.

Expedition item he absolutely can’t live without: “ ”