Whistler, BC July 12- 18
My first official fellowship activity was attending the World Congress on Wilderness Medicine at Whistler Resort in BC. The trip started a little rough as I worked until 3am and then caught a 5:30am flight from the Augusta Regional airport. I was concerned initially when I arrived at the airport as there was a long line of people crowded in the airport lobby. Then I realized TSA hadn't arrived yet to open security. The rest of the day was a blur flying from Augusta to Atlanta to Toronto to Vancouver and then taking a bus a couple hours up to Whistler. I found some crepes to eat for dinner and collapsed into bed.
The next day began coursework for the DiMM (diploma in mountain medicine) which is a course offered through the UIAA (the people that certify all your rock climbing gear, etc). It was sort of like torture to sit in a classroom and listen to lecture while missing out on the scenery surrounding me. We had lectures about weather, submersion injuries, altitude illness, legal issues, environmental stressors, etc. We also practiced hands on skills including navigations, improvisational ropes systems and knots, and litter and splint creation. I found out that it take me 70 paces to travel 100 meters.
The conference flew by! I had a great opportunity to meet many of the other fellows across the country in Wilderness medicine. I also got to meet with students with interest in wilderness medicine. It was a great conference to appreciate the awesome things people are doing within the field. The evening lecture regarding scuba diving in antartica was spectacular!
Mike Caudell (my fellowship director) and I rented DH bikes and checked out the world renowned trail system! Luckily no wilderness medicine skills were needed!
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