Chuck Boyd & Rick Shandler Nordic Masters #5 and #7 Ski Touring in Switzerland
I am not sure if I will ever recover from the passing of Rick Shandler. He was a mountain of a man, loving father, and an amazing friend. As we start the planning stages of the AMN ’26 (September 11-13, 2026) we have some big shoes to fill. Rick was the driving force. He ran the calls, negotiated all the swag, assigned us all to tasks, and paid attention to every detail.
The one thing that we will do at this year’s AMN is honor him with a station called XOEC. XOEC is first aid given in an austere environment with only what is in your pack, and if you are on a day hike, or a mountain bike ride, this might not be much. Rick developed this program years ago and traveled around the division teaching some of these techniques to Nordic patrols. Nutmeg Nordic was fortunate to be able to participate in one of these courses.
I was also part of a team that helped write a chapter called XOEC that might get published in the upcoming 7th edition of the NSP OEC manual.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the AMN ’26 when we can sit around reminiscing and telling tales about Rick.
