Exum Mountain Guides in association with Dr. Alan Oram will be offering a unique mountain medicine and rescue skills course September 5-9, 2012. This course will provide a combination of Continuing Medical Education, and technical mountain rescue and movement skills directed towards medical professionals with existing or developing technical climbing and mountaineering experience.

The goal of this course is to provide an interactive teaching environment that stresses experiential based learning in a mountain setting. The unique qualities of mountain medicine and technical rescue systems as they relate to small team and partner rescue will be the highlight of the course.

This course will add to the body of knowledge that active medical professionals will utilize when working in remote mountain settings as well as in the mountain rescue environment. Our goal is to provide a small group atmosphere utilizing the polished skills of professional mountain guides as well as medical and rescue professionals with a wealth of experience. Guide to participant ratios will be low ensuring high quality teaching.

We anticipate 10 CME hours for the 5-day course. Classroom time will take place early in the morning and in the evening to maximize time spent in field training within Grand Teton National Park. The culmination of the course will be to implement rescue skills in an alpine setting while ascending a major peak in Grand Teton National Park.

Participants should have some climbing experience and feel reasonably comfortable climbing 5.7 rock. Some climbing experience in alpine mountain terrain, placing protection, tying knots and creating anchors is also necessary. Exum guides will be working with participants during the field sessions to improve all technical skills. Additional training prior to the course may be obtained through Exum if skills need to be polished.

Topics will be presented in a format that promotes interaction and knowledge sharing among participants. The goal of the teaching format is to be able to provide a practical and lively series of talks that are case based and interactive. The information presented will be applied during field sessions as appropriate.

A partial list of topics includes:

- Altitude illness
- Cold weather injuries: Frostbite, non-freezing cold injuries, hypothermia
- Spinal injuries and immobilization in rescue settings
- Orthopedic care in mountain environments
- Mass casualty management in mountain rescue,
- Incident command structure in mountain rescue
- Decision making in mountain rescue.
- Medicine in austere environments
- Trauma management in mountain settings
- Medical direction with mountain rescue Groups
- Small team and partner technical rescue systems
- Dual rope rescue systems
- Improvised rescue techniques
- Anchors
- Raising and lowering systems
- Specialized rope rescue systems: Guiding lines and applications
- Use of litters
- High angle systems
- Steep and moderate angle terrain systems
- Partner rescue skills
- Helicopters in mountain rescue
- Mountain Movement skills

Technical rescue systems as they apply to partner rescue and small team systems will be presented in detail. Participants will spend focused time during the course with instructors introducing techniques and skills followed by practice in applying them to scenarios in the field. Decision making and management of complex rescue systems will be integrated throughout the course and will come together into a realistic scenario that will involve direct participation and utilization of the skills learned.

Questions regarding the course can be directed to Dr. Alan Oram, aoram1755@gmail.com or 406-581-2902.

Dates: 2012 dates; September 5-9
Cost: $1,400 including 10 hours of CME

Lodging/Classroom: Class sessions will take place at the Alpine House Bed and Breakfast in Jackson, Wyoming. Days will typically start with a one hour classroom session at 7:00 am, followed by a field session and ending with a one hour classroom session in the evening. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, transportation and meals. Staying at the Alpine House will be the most convenient for participants. Lodging options are numerous in Jackson.


COURSE INSTRUCTORS

Alan Oram, D.O.
Alan is a residency trained and board certified Emergency Medicine physician working in Jackson, Wyoming. Alan has an extensive climbing and skiing background and is currently working toward international guide certification through the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA). He has worked in mountain rescue environments including Denali National Park, Yosemite Search and Rescue, and locally with the Gallatin County SAR and Grand Teton National Park. Alan is a guide for Exum Mountain Guides and is the medical advisor for EXUM as well as the AMGA. Alan is the course director.

Renny Jackson
Renny is the former Grand Teton National Park, Jenny Lake subdistrict ranger, and has a list of mountaineering accomplishments that would take an entire book to review. He has been involved in mountain rescue for 35 years and has extensive experience with technical systems as well as the use of advanced helicopter techniques. He is a leading expert in high alpine mountain search and rescue and is the co-author of the local guide book, A Climbers' Guide to the Teton Range. Renny retired from the National Park Service in 2010 and now uses his exceptional skill set as an Exum guide. It is an honor to have Renny's involvement in this program. His vast knowledge of mountain rescue and climbing is unmatched.

Kirk Mauthner
Kirk is a fully certified ACMG/IFMGA mountain guide from Invermere, British Columbia. He guides in Canada and travels extensively teaching rope rescue techniques to government agencies and private groups. He is a recognized authority on technical rescue systems and designs and tests equipment used in rope rescue applications worldwide. In addition to his development work, Kirk's excellent instruction and training has assisted the Exum guides in developing the techniques that will be taught in the course. He has a vast breadth of knowledge and skills and is keen to work with the program as a consultant.

Will Smith, M.D., NREMTP
Will is an Emergency Medicine Physician currently practicing in Jackson, Wyoming. Locally, he serves as co-medical director for Grand Teton National Park, Teton County SAR, and Jackson Hole Fire/EMS. Will also serves in the US Army Reserve and has completed numerous overseas deployments. His combat experience, pre-hospital EMS experience as a paramedic, and his technical search and rescue skills have led to numerous speaking engagements at wilderness and EMS conferences around the country. Will's numerous adventures and lectures can be found at www.wildernessdoc.com. Will's course discussion of the lightning mass casualty event on the Grand Teton in July, 2010 will review the complex management that was involved - both medically and logistically.

Scott McIntosh, M.D., M.P.H.
Scott is an emergency physician at the University of Utah. He directs the EMS and Wilderness Medicine Fellowship as well as serving as the Associate Medical Director of AirMed. He is on the Board of Directors of the Wilderness Medical Society and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Wilderness & Environmental Medicine Journal. His research interests include high altitude medicine and native populations, avalanche and wilderness injuries, airway management in air medical transport and ground EMS. Scott's interest in mountain medicine led him to work as a rescue physician on Denali for three seasons, and to climb many of the world's highest mountains. He reached the summit of Mt. Everest with the SuperSherpa expedition in 2007.

EXUM Mountain Guides will also provide highly qualified certified mountain guides for all field sessions.