Medical Aspect of Avalanche Rescue

Medical Training for Avalanche Rescue

This course is designed for any avalanche professional who would like to extend their knowledge of emergency medical care for avalanche victims.  Taught by a emergency physicians with expertise in avalanche, wilderness, and search and rescue medicine this course brings European treatment protocols for avalanche victims to Canada and discusses their benefits and drawbacks in the remote context of Canadain avalanche programs.

This course will provide a review of current medical considerations in the triage and treatment of avalanche victims, including:

• emergency medical first response and treatment of avalanche victims;
• review of ICAR MEDCOMM avalanche rescue guidelines and their application in the context of Canadian winter operations;
• first aid kits for the avalanche professional;
• an introduction to Incident Command System utilization and Organized Avalanche Search and Rescue;
• rescue plan considerations to improve efficiency and efficacy in medical evacuation

Recommended training: 80 hour advanced first aid course