Every summer in the Sierra Nevada, strong, fit hikers turn around just a few miles from their objective.
Not because they aren’t tough enough.
Not because they didn’t train.
But because they underestimated altitude.
If you spend time in the Sierra Nevada, altitude illness isn’t a rare occurrence — it’s common.
The goal of a WFR is to make sure you have the knowledge to take helpful action, no matter what situation you find yourself in.
A Wilderness First Responder course (WFR) is much more than just a course about first aid, CPR, or even emergencies. This course teaches you how to think critically, allowing you to apply your knowledge to unique situations that go far beyond typical backcountry-based trips.
I’m just snuggled up by my fireplace on a cold rainy day which is inspiring me to talk about the cold, specifically hypothermia.
Problems with the cold have been on my mind a lot lately. I did just return from working in Antarctica where it was quite cold. Since being back in California, it has been raining and snowing, a lot. We are being hit by the “atmospheric river,” and while these are relatively warm storms, it is still colder and damper than most people are used to – especially in sunny California. On top of that, I recently attended a lecture by the renowned cold physiology scientist, Dr. Giesbrecht aka Dr. Popsicle, on hypothermia and crevasse rescue[i].
All of this led me to write this article. Let’s talk about what’s going on physiologically when we get cold, discuss the decision process needed to determine when it is causing a problem, and the actions to take to prevent it from becoming something significant (AKA hypothermia).
Gaining a wilderness medicine certification is an asset to anyone’s resume. For many jobs a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) or Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification is a requirement. In other cases, a certification isn’t required but opens up additional doors of opportunity for future work. Below is a reference of how your certification can help you in a wilderness medicine job.