Several years ago, Dr. John Peachell, a cardiac surgeon at Foothills Hospital's cardiac and acute care departments, was backcountry ski touring on the Wapta Icefields north of Lake Louise when he found himself trying to help a skier from another group who had broken his leg.
Stranded in the middle of winter on glaciated Mount Gordon, 15 kilometres from the Icefields Parkway, the situation quickly escalated into a potentially critical one.
"A broken leg is rarely life-threatening in the city, but it is life-threatening in that environment," Peachell says. "What's different about wilderness first aid is it's not only the victim who is affected by the problem. When it's 15 below, everyone is at risk for hypothermia. Every year, rescuers get killed trying to help people in the outdoors."
Knowing how to handle a medical emergency in the backcountry is something all climbers, hikers, paddlers and skiers should be prepared to face, Peachell says. And to help prepare people to handle such emergencies, last year Peachell launched his business, Wilderness Medical Consultants, which he runs with his fiancee Shelley Secord, a trained wilderness EMT.
Peachell and Secord are experienced mountaineers and Alpine Club of Canada
amateur trip leaders who spend about a quarter of their time pursuing outdoor adventures -- which makes it natural for them to gear their first-aid courses specifically toward people working and playing in remote wilderness environments. Offering a specially designed curriculum that can be applied to a variety of outdoor situations, Peachell and Secord travel regularly from their home in Golden, B.C., to Whistler, Vancouver, Revelstoke and the Calgary/Canmore/ Banff corridor to share their expertise.
Being members of the Wilderness Medical Society, and experienced and avid climbers themselves, adds to their ability to effectively teach wilderness specific skills, Peachell says.
"I spend so much time outside, and I find it challenging in the wilderness," he says. "You never know how long you'll be with the patient. And most of the time your first-aid supplies will be limited, especially if you're on a trip where you're carrying everything on your back. Without lab tests and tools, I like that you have to improvise. You can't just send someone for a CT scan if you think they have a head injury. I really like the challenging nature of situations like that."
In addition to classroom sessions and nightly homework assignments outlined in Wilderness Medical Consultants' student manual, courses include numerous lifelike scenarios, complete with novelty shop protruding bone injuries dripping with fake blood.
"If you don't give the students wounds that look realistic, they don't think about details like putting gloves on," Peachell points out. "Plus, it's more fun for them -- I think they take it more seriously."
While the scenarios can be fun, the courses cover a lot of serious content, too, including legal obligations, waivers and basic physiology.
But for Peachell, who is currently completing an international diploma in mountain medicine, teaching wilderness first-aid courses provides a great avenue for him to combine his passion for medicine and outdoor adventure.
"I love being outside and exploring new places and interesting environments, especially stuff outside that involves science -- avalanche terrain, technical rock climbing, glacier travel, scuba diving. Not just put on your skis and go, but you have to think about navigation, terrain and problem solving," he says.
"And I enjoy the challenge of having to improvise with whatever is at hand to make splints, or provide first aid when you're dealing with the challenges of the outdoor environment, like extreme temperatures. It's really rewarding teaching people how to deal with those challenging situations."
Plus, he admits, running the business provides him and Secord with a great means of pursuing just one more adventure together.
To learn more, visit wildernessmedicalconsultants.ca
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