Caltech Wilderness First Aid Course

sponsored by: Caltech Y, Caltech Alpine Club, ASCIT and GSC



(photos © WMI)


Date and Location: Friday evening, 6-10pm, May 16 and Sat & Sun, 8am-5pm, May 17-18, 2008. Held at the Caltech Y (map), on the Caltech campus.

Description: "If you plan to spend time in the backcountry, you need to be prepared." This is not a standard first aid class. This fast-paced course covers many important topics needed to handle first aid emergencies in the wilderness, where medical equipment is not readily available and rescue may be hours or days away. The course lasts a total of 20 hours over 2.5 days -- half of the time spent in classroom lecture, half spent in hands-on practice scenarios. The course will be taught by two instructors from the Wilderness Medicine Institute, which is the world leader in wilderness first aid training. The course is only open to members of the Caltech community. The course fee is $40; however, all participants must also submit in advance an additional $80 deposit, which will be refunded after successful completion of the course. (Normally, participants must pay $250+ to take this course.) At most, there will be 30 participants.

Registration: So you want to sign up for the course -- here's what you do:

  • Complete this application form: pdf. Send it to Colette Salyk, MC 150-21, by 5pm Friday, April 11. All applicants will be notified about the success of their application by Friday April 18.
  • If your application is successful, you will be invited to register for the course. To register, you must submit a completed waiver (waiver.pdf) and a check for $120 ($40 course fee + $80 deposit), made payable to the Caltech Alpine Club. Both must be sent to Colette Salyk, MC 150-21, by 5pm Wednesday April 30, or else your spot will be forfeit to someone else.
  • If your application is unsuccessful (remember we can only take 30 people), you will be put on a wait-list. If someone declines to register, then you may have the opportunity to sign up.

    Complete Rules and Regulations: rules.pdf

    Questions: See the FAQ page. If this doesn't answer your question contact Greg Huey (wfacpr_2008 at cosmology dot name), Mary (mjdunlop at caltech dot edu) or Colette (csalyk at gps dot caltech dot edu).

    More information: Here are some links:
    WMI of NOLS
    Caltech Alpine Club
    Caltech Y

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