During World War II, a young New Englander named Ernest “Tap” Tapley trained with the new 10th Mountain Division, a special Army force trained to fight in extreme high-altitude conditions.

Tapley used his rock climbing skills to scale cliffs in the Aleutian Islands, scouting for Japanese troops.

Years after the war, Tapley joined Paul Petzoldt, one of the 10th Mountain Division trainers, in 1965 to form the National Outdoor Leadership School or NOLS in Lander, Wyo. The school is known worldwide for training people in wilderness skills and outdoor leadership.

For 40 years, Tapley taught students in the United States and Mexico how to rock climb, dive, ski, sea kayak and build cook fires in the backcountry. He started a branch of the Outward Bound program in Colorado.

NOLS will honor Tapley Oct. 11 in Lander by naming the organization’s new archive gallery after him. The Tap Tapley Archive Gallery will house historical items and photos of NOLS’ early years, according to Pip Coe, NOLS development director. The gallery is part of the refurbished historic Noble Hotel, which has housed NOLS offices and students since the 1970s. “A group of people supported naming it after Tap, who was instrumental in early years of NOLS,” Coe said.

Tapley, 87, said it was an honor to have the gallery named after him. “I was surprised,” said Tapley, who lives in Santa Fe.

Petzoldt and Tapley started the school in the days before high-tech gear, polypropelene fabrics and Outside Magazine. Tapley said NOLS was a product of realizing many people didn’t know how to take care of themselves in the wilderness.

“Not too many people knew how to survive in the outdoors, how to make cook fires and keep themselves dry and save energy while they were hiking,” he said.

With NOLS and on his own, Tapley has climbed mountains around the world.

While the gear and clothing for outdoor adventure has changed dramatically in the last four decades, Tapley still holds some traditional standbys work fine. “All you need is good wool clothing and a cover up and plenty of wool socks that you can change, and mountain boots that don’t give you blisters,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve never lost people to hypothermia.”

Tapley still goes skiing up north and diving in Baja, Calif., his second home. Tapley still loves the outdoor life. “I don’t think of myself as slowing down any,” he said.

Contact Staci Matlock at 470-9843 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.

• To learnmore about NOLS, see www.nols.edu.
• To learnmore about the 10th Mountain Division, watch the new PBS documentary The Last Ridge, with quotes from Tap Tapley, at www.last ridge.com.