8th World Congress on Mountain and Wilderness Medicine

Date: July 28 - August 1, 2024

Our lead medic attended the 8th World Congress on Mountain and Wilderness Medicine.  They covered a wide range of topics with a focus on high altitude medicine.  There was a full day on the 14ers (mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 ft) and a full day of women and mountaineering. 

We had lecturers from WMS (Wilderness Medical Society), UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) and ICAR (International Commission for Alpine Rescue).

WMS (Wilderness Medical Society)

• Wilderness Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines 

UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation)

• Works very closely with the Medical Commission of the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR)

• Last few years has worked closely together with the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS)

• Supports the International Society of Mountain Medicine (ISMM)

• Mountain Medical Papers 

ICAR (International Commission for Alpine Rescue)

• ICAR Recommendations 

Lectures, Talks and Workshops included:

• Beyond the Limits: Mountain Medicine Pushing the Extreme (H. Brugger)

• Challenges of Caving Expedition (Y. Barragan)

• Introduction to Dive Medicine & Hyperbarics (K. Hornbeak)

• Plan To Get Found: Personal Locator Beacons (R. Katzer)

• PFO & High Altitude (W. Cornwell / B. Levine / P. Hackett)

• Changes in the "Front End" of Mt. Rescue (J. Ellerton)

• Clinical Experiences, Working as a Mountain Medic (S. Baniya)

• Medical Simulation in Mt. Rescue (S. Roy)

• Partner & Self Rescue Techniques (J. Williams)

• Managing Difficult Patient Packaging (A. Sheets)

• 14ers Lectures Introduction (T. Haston)

• 14ers: An Aeromedical Retrieval Student Elective (L Appleton)

• 14ers: Climbing Accidents (J. Thurman)

• 14ers: Medicine in the Shadows (A. Asay)

• 14ers: When Is It More Than an Ankle Sprain? (B. Brandon)

• 14ers: Trail Running: Finding your Fit for the Terrain (K. Scott)

• 14ers: Differentiating Pneumonia & HAPE in Children (S. Finnegan)

• State of the WMS & DiDMM / DiMM / FAWM Convocation

• High Altitude Medicine (S. Roy / A. Luks / K. Huefner / S. Harris)

• The Athlete at Altitude (B. Cornwell / B. Levine / A. Luks)

• Rescue at Extreme Altitude / History and Development of DiMM (J. Ellerton / J. Williams)

• Trivia 

• Wild Medicine Fellowship Fair

• Excelling Through Peer Review (A. Campbell)

• Small Group: Future of Altitude Illness Research  (E. Small / L. Keyes / P. Hackett)

• Aircraft Emergencies & the Private Pilot (S. Lawler)

• Up or Down? Technical Rope Rescue Basics (A. Sheets)

• Diving at Altitude  (K. Hornbeak / D. Goldan)

• Logistics Strategies for Cave Rescue (Y. Barragan)

• FAWM Question & Answer Session

• Altitude & Ice Diving (D. Goldan)

• High Altitude Medicine on Mt. Aconcagua (B. Abramor / R. Pronce)

• Prevention of the Depressive Symptoms of the Wilderness Medicine Provider (S. Lawler)

• WEM Year in Review (W. Binder)

• SAR Strategies in the Rest of the World (A. Sheets / H. Brugger/ J. Ellerton/ R. Pronce)

• Trivia 

• Oral Research Presentations (M. Zachau / T. DeLoughery)

• Small Group: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Inclusion (F. Roepcke)

• Helicopter Workshop (S. McIntosh)

• Field Management of Hypothermic Cardiac Arrest Pts. (J. Ellerton)

• Decisions the Lost Make (R. Katzer)

• Patient Evaluation at Altitude (B. Abramor / R. Pronce / A. Brillhart)

• Run, Walk, or Hike with the WMS/ISMM Board of Directors

• Awards Banquet & Keynote Lecture: The Power of Persistence (B. Bierling)

• UIAA: Women at Altitude Session 1 (B. Bierling)

• UIAA: Women at Altitude Session 2 (M. Derstine / J. Pichler-Hefti / A. Rosier)

• UIAA: Women at Altitude Session 3 (L. Keyes / G. Rodway)

• Oxygen Use at Extreme Altitude: Evolution Over 100 years (P. Hackett)

• High Altitude Case Panel (G. Rodway / L. Keyes / S. Baniya / J. Pichler / J. Dow)

• Closing Remarks (S. Tarter / M. Brodmann Maeder)