Today our guest is James "KG" Kagambi, Senior NOLS Instructor and the owner of KG Mountain Expeditions. He joined NOLS  as a field instructor in 1987. KG has worked many curses types over the years but regularly works in NOLS mountaineering programs in Patagonia, Alaska, East Africa, and India. KG is not only a senior NOLS instructor; he is the most senior, having more weeks in the field than any other instructor in the history of the school! He has over 870 weeks in the field working for NOLS, that is more than 6000 nights!!

He has also completed four of the Seven Summits and in 1992 represented Africa in the U.N Peace Climb for the world on the Eiger. In addition, KG has summited the Eiger three times, became the first black African to summit Denali in 1989 and was the first black African to summit Aconcagua in 1994.

KG has guided on Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro since the 1990s and Today trains search and rescue teams on Mount Kenya, Kilimanjaro, and Rwenzori. KG's long-lasting commitments to the field of rock climbing and mountaineering in Kenya have prompted acknowledgment and respect in his country. While he is away from the field, he enjoys spending time with his family and children.

In May, at 62 KG became the first Kenyan to submit Mt. Everest. Today he shares his story.

https://www.fullcircleeverest.com/

Rachel James was born and raised in Palmer, Alaska. She started working at the NOLS Alaska branch at the age of 15, cleaning toilets and landscaping; this was also when she started ice climbing. Rachel took a NOLS Alaska Mountaineering course at 16 and started working as a mountaineering instructor after taking the first-ever NOLS Alaska Instructors Course in 2000 at 19.

During her time at NOLS from 2000 to 2013, she mainly worked mountaineering expeditions while leading a few horse packing and hiking courses in Alaska, Patagonia, Yukon, and Wyoming. Rachel has also worked as a program supervisor at NOLS Alaska. Currently, she lives in the Chugach Mountains just outside of Anchorage and is working hard to defend salmon habitat in Alaska.

Jeff Rose has worked as an outdoor educator for over two decades, including 19 seasons with Outward Bound. Besides Outward Bound, Jeff has worked for numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Utah, Davidson College, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, and Indiana University. He also worked for Adventures Cross Country and various summer camps. As an instructor, Jeff taught climbing, glacier mountaineering, backpacking, sea kayaking, and a few rafting and canyoneering courses. Most of his field time has been in Washington's North Cascades and Puget Sound, as well as Alaska's Chugach Mountains, Prince William Sound, and Kenai Fjords.

Jeff also goes by Dr. Jeff Rose and is currently a faculty member in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the University of Utah, where he teaches courses in Outdoor Recreation Studies, with an emphasis on social and environmental justice. His research uses qualitative and spatial methods to examine systemic inequities expressed through class, race, political economy, and relationships to nature.