Lessons in Leadership and Survival: Darab Nagarwalla's experiences from a life-changing expedition in Alaska

This past summer, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to go back to school! Except this time it wasn't in a classroom, but one of the wildest places on earth. I played the role of a student in an outdoor educators course conducted by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Alaska. The course involved a challenging expedition that took my dozen other course-mates and I through the Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, - a wilderness area in South-Central Alaska that extends for 13 million acres. The expedition took 23 long days, and as the name suggests, it taught me how to be a better leader and teacher as much as it taught me how to be a stronger survivor.

NOLS graduates 3,500 students from their different programs every year. The expedition included 13 students (I was the eldest!) and three instructors. On our very first day of outdoor classes I understood that this expedition was going to be no easy task - we were given a lesson on packing and equipment, during which I realized that I will be carrying a backpack with 90 liter capacity. We carried all our food rations for 7 days at a time. Then our rations for the next 7 days would be flown in by a tiny airplane. For the first few days after restocking rations, my backpack usually weighed about 27 kgs.

As the expedition commenced from a tiny hamlet named Nabesna at 3,000 feet above sea level, we were given our first lessons on how to set up tents, tarps, organize our kitchens, go to the bathroom, keep our water safe to drink, basic first aid, and map-reading. It was nearly an unfortunate start for us, as one of our 3 daily shuffled hiking groups had a terrifying encounter with a hungry and very bold black bear in the middle of the night. They were eventually able to scare the bear away by banging a frying pan against a cooking pot. For the rest of our trip, however, we continuously made bear calls to warn bears of our presence, and tracked bear footprints and scat in the park to help us avoid further encounters. One of our other major lessons was to follow the 'Leave No Trace' principles for wilderness ethics, and attempt to leave no visible signs of our visit to the park.

Over the next few days, the terrain got tougher, but our lessons didn't stop. There were no trails at all. We hiked in pouring rain, stepped through snow, learnt how to set up tents quickly in bad conditions, crossed the spongy and swampy tundra terrain of tussocks and hummocks, 'bushwhacked' our way through dense thickets of alder and birch-scratching and scraping ourselves in the process, and learnt river crossing techniques in icy cold water. There were many times when the expedition seemed too tough to manage, at which point, the oft-used phrase "Drink a cup of suck it up." kept us going, over and over again. I learnt the fundamental importance of teamwork in an expedition, because as Paul Petzoldt- founder of NOLS had learned many years before- if our team worked well together, no mountain was too difficult to climb.

My personal limits were severely tested twice during this expedition. Once, I became severely dehydrated without realizing it - it happened in the middle of the day's hike, and I didn't have the energy to take another step. It was here that my course-mates stepped in, and urged me to drink down half of a one litre Nalgene water bottle on the spot. It worked like magic and completely rejuvenated me. This experience underlined the importance of drinking a lot of water when walking, because it can make a huge difference.

The second time was when we were camping in heavy snowfall, close to the highest elevation we reached (6,000 feet above sea level). In the rush of trying to complete many tasks on that cold and snowy morning before the deadline to move out of the campsite in time, I became hypothermic, and broke down. Before I knew it, my brain wasn't working properly. I was stumbling and fumbling unsuccessfully with the simplest tasks, and I felt completely overwhelmed. But once again, my course-mates came to my rescue, hauled me to my feet, forced me to exercise to get warm again and I regained my composure and was able to function normally after that.

The journey back to Nabesna followed a roundabout route along intersecting valleys with glacial tarns (lakes) and swift- flowing streams. It took us through many more picturesque tundra and mountain scenes and more learning experiences- including dealing with conflict within the group. We had a cooking contest, some of us went fishing, and we enjoyed the beautiful views from the hill-tops in the sunshine that warmed us even at 10:00 PM on some clear days. Every member of the group was given opportunities to be "leaders of the day" (L.O.Ds) so that we could practice and apply the leadership skills we were learning.

By the time the expedition ended, I realized that I had pushed my limits beyond anything that I had ever imagined I was capable of in what is called 'The Land of the Midnight Sun". It had turned out to be a life- changing experience. I also realized that many of the lessons I learned are very relevant to all our lives and our workplaces- not just for those of outdoor enthusiasts. I am now actively reflecting on, and gradually beginning to apply the knowledge I have gained in the wilderness in Alaska. Not only to enhance my contribution to outdoor adventures that we organize here in the Himalayas, but also to enhance my contribution to family life, the community, and my work at Woodstock.