Cliquez sur un événement ci-dessous pour le faire défiler automatiquement.

• 8:00 - Keynote Lecture - Sonnie Trotter
• 9:00 - Considerations for Cancer Patients & Survivors Participating in Wilderness & Mountain Recreation
• 10:00 - Practical Use of the Lake Louise Score in Pediatric Acute Mountain Sickness
• 10:45 - Development of a national consensus on the core content for Canadian WEM Fellowships
• 11:15 - Break
• 11:30 - Managing Head Injury Without Imaging: An Emergency Medicine Approach to Wilderness Care
• 11:45 - Do It for the ’Gram: How Social Media Algorithmic Rewards Drive Wilderness Accidents
• 12:00 - Maximizing ability and access in the outdoors
• 12:15 - Lunch
• 13:15 - No Friendly Fire: Campfire Related Injuries in Paediatric Populations
• 13:30 - Preparedness of Backcountry Recreationists in the Sea to Sky Corridor, British Columbia, Canada
• 13:45 - Rethinking Spinal Immobilization in the Wilderness: Implications of the 2024 WMS Spinal Cord Protection Guidelines
• 13:45 - Conference Workshops

When: 8:00
Duration: 1hr
Description: Sonnie Trotter is widely regarded as one of Canada’s most accomplished rock climbers, with a career defined by landmark ascents, including the first free ascent of the iconic Cobra Crack in Squamish and hundreds of first ascents worldwide. Over nearly three decades, he has pushed the limits of traditional climbing, often operating in environments where outcomes are uncertain and consequences are high.

In this talk, Sonnie explores how his relationship with risk has evolved—from early ambition to a deliberate, reflective approach shaped by experience, failure, and family life. Central to this discussion is a “One Door / Two Door” mental model: a framework for distinguishing between decisions that are reversible and low-consequence to those that are irreversible and high-stakes. He will examine how this model informs decision-making when facing the unknown, particularly in situations where innovation and safety may be in tension.

Drawing on stories from career, Sonnie will illustrate how individuals assess risk with incomplete information, and adapt their approach over time. Through the lens of high-performance climbing, this session offers practical insights into risk stratification, decision-making under pressure, and navigating uncertainty—principles that translate directly to clinical practice and complex patient care.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Describe the “One Door / Two Door” mental model and its relevance to distinguishing between reversible and irreversible decisions in high-risk environments
2. Analyze key factors that influence risk tolerance and decision-making under uncertainty, including experience, context, and personal priorities
3. Apply practical strategies for risk assessment and decision-making in situations characterized by incomplete information and potential high consequence outcomes

Presented by: Sonnie Trotter, Professional Climber

When: 09:00
Duration: 1hr
Description: Cancer patients and survivors are increasingly involved in wilderness recreation as modern therapies are allowing patients with cancer to live longer. Therefore, clinicians must increasingly be familiar with the additional factors and considerations necessary to properly advise these patients about activities and travel in the wilderness. Unfortunately, very few resources are available for clinicians advising oncology patients involved in wilderness recreation. In this presentation, we will review the important physiological interactions between malignancy and cancer treatments with mountain sports and wilderness activities. We will discuss the additional risks and benefits patients may accrue and identify relevant resources for clinicians advising such patients.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Recognize the potential disease treatment, quality of life, and general health risks and benefits to cancer patients and survivors of wilderness recreation
2. Identify complications of cancer and cancer treatments which could affect participation in wilderness recreation and mitigate the associated risks
3. Identify relevant literature, guidelines, and clinical resources for clinicians advising cancer patients and survivors involved in wilderness recreation

Presented by: Steve Roy, MD,CM, DiMM, DiMEM, DiWEM, DipROM, FRAeS, FAWM, FRGS, FRCPC

When: 10:00
Duration: 45min
Background: Physiological responses to high altitude in pre-verbal children remain insufficiently characterized, and validated tools for diagnosing acute mountain sickness (AMS) in this population are limited. The Children’s Lake Louise Score (CLLS) is one of the few available instruments, yet its validity and field applicability are not well established.

Objectives: To describe physiological and clinical responses to high-altitude exposure in a pre-verbal child and to evaluate the feasibility and limitations of AMS assessment using the CLLS in a real-world setting.

Methods: A healthy 2-year-old boy living at low altitude participated in a 14-day trekking expedition in the Peruvian Andes, reaching a maximum altitude of 5,100 m. Daily assessments included peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO₂), heart rate, observation of nocturnal periodic breathing, and CLLS scoring.

Results: AMS was identified by CLLS only on the first night at 4,170 m, driven by marked fussiness and sleep disturbance. These symptoms resolved subsequently, and no further AMS diagnoses were made despite continued ascent. Periodic breathing was observed during the initial two nights only. Key limitations of CLLS included difficulty distinguishing altitude-related irritability from normal developmental behavior, low specificity of sleep-related items, and occasional mismatch with overall clinical assessment.

Conclusions: Pre-verbal children may acclimatize physiologically to high altitude similarly to adults; however, CLLS has important practical limitations in this population.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Describe the clinical features of acute mountain sickness (AMS) in pediatric populations.
2. Understand the structure and limitations of the Lake Louise Score, including its application in children.
3. Apply the Lake Louise Score in real-world settings to assess, recognize, and manage pediatric AMS in wilderness and remote environments.

Presented by: Makoto Inada, MD

When: 10:45
Duration: 30min
Description: The field of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine (WEM) is a growing subspecialty within the field of Emergency Medicine in Canada. Canadian researchers and clinicians have been active in the WEM community throughout its history, but the formal development of the subspecialty training within Canadian academic institutions is still underway. In order to help further the formalization of the specialty, and advance the accreditation of future fellowships in Canada, CAWM set out to establish a national consensus on the core content for Canadian WEM Fellowships.

The project was overseen by a Steering Group, composed of Canadian academics and clinicians recognized as leaders in the field of WEM. In order to develop consensus on topics to be included in the core curriculum, the group completed a modified Delphi process with 5 rounds of voting. The process started with a shortlist of 139 topics. After the last round of the Delphi process, the finalized included 94 required core topics categorized into 6 sections.

This project developed a national consensus on the core content for future WEM Fellowships in Canada. It is the authors’ hope that presenting this list helps facilitate the process of developing these Fellowship programs in Canada’s leading academic institutions. It is expected that each institution which establishes a Fellowship program will build on this core list presented here to develop a unique curriculum that harnesses their faculty’s expertise and reflects how the field is practiced in their geographic region of the country.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Recognize the value in developing pathways for advanced education in the field of wilderness and environmental medicine in Canada
2. Report the list of core topics for Canadian WEM Fellowships developed through a national consensus building process
3. Describe opportunities to use this list for developing new training programs, including for non-physician clinicians

Presented by: Dave Jerome, MD, MSc, CCFP(EM), DiMM, FAWM

11:15 - 11:30

When: 11:30
Duration: 15min
Description: Head injury is a common presentation in both emergency departments and wilderness settings, yet clinical decision-making becomes significantly more complex when diagnostic imaging, laboratory testing, and immediate evacuation are unavailable. This narrative-based presentation explores the assessment and management of head injury in wilderness environments through a case of a backcountry hiker with blunt head trauma. Using this case as a framework, the talk examines how emergency department head injury decision rules can be applied, and adapted, especially when observation is limited and resources are constrained. Key themes include risk stratification without CT imaging, the importance of serial neurological examinations, environmental factors that influence clinical risk, and thresholds for evacuation. The presentation highlights how wilderness medicine requires a shift from definitive diagnosis to risk management and shared decision-making under uncertainty.This session aims to provide practical strategies for clinicians and healthcare workers managing head injury beyond the hospital setting.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Apply evidence-based emergency medicine head injury risk stratification frameworks to assess and manage patients with suspected traumatic brain injury in resource-limited settings
2. Integrate environmental and logistical considerations to determine appropriate observation, management, and evacuation decisions for patients with head injury when diagnostic imaging and immediate specialist support are unavailable

Presented by: Zuhayr Khan, MD Candidate

When: 11:45
Duration: 15min
Description: This presentation explores the emerging field of "digital pathology" in wilderness medical emergencies among young adults. By synthesizing recent search-and-rescue (SAR) trends with psychological research, I analyze how the quest for "algorithmic rewards" is fundamentally altering risk appraisal in remote environments.

I. The Incentive Structure: Social Validation vs. Safety
Young adults are increasingly motivated by an "incentive structure" where digital validation (likes, shares, and virality) outweighs traditional risk assessment. For many, the wilderness has shifted from a place of personal experience to a backdrop for content creation, with influencers often downplaying hazards to maintain an aesthetic, creating a false sense of security for followers.

II. Shifting Perceptions of Risk
Constant exposure to curated, high-reward content diminishes landscape authenticity, where the technical difficulty of a trek is masked by a 15-second "highlight reel." This results in a "preparation gap," where individuals (relying on smartphones as digital safety blankets) head into the backcountry with inadequate gear and a lack of situational awareness.

III. A Global Phenomenon
We examine distinct patterns across the globe:
- North America: Record-high SAR callouts in the Canadian Rockies and Vermont linked to social media luring hikers into dangerous conditions.
- United Kingdom: A surge in mountain rescue incidents is attributed to social media and navigation app reliance.
- India & Southeast Asia: A high prevalence of "selfie-related" fatalities, with drowning and falls being the leading causes of group-based accidents.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Analyze the "Incentivized Risk" model, identifying how digital validation (likes/virality) alters risk appraisal in young adults
2. Recognize the global scale of this issue

Presented by: Elizabeth Chouinard, MD Candidate

When: 12:00
Duration: 15min
Description: Outdoor activities and the wilderness environment carry substantial health benefits for children and adults of all abilities. However, risks to health and support needs may differ for people with disabilities. Wilderness medical personnel can play a role in enabling safe, informed, and equitable access to the outdoors. We will address example considerations, conflicts, and modifications to the provision of wilderness medical sevices in the setting of disability, focusing on examples with functional consequences of limited mobility and communication barriers. We will signpost resources to inform planning and decision-making with respect to common disabilities. We will also highlight examples of Canadian organizations successfully facilitating access to the outdoors, including work and volunteer opportunities for wilderness medics.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Support people with disabilities in assessing the risks and benefits of participation in remote outdoor activities
2. Identify resources to enhance access to the Canadian outdoors for people with disabilities

Presented by: Sarah Flaherty, MD (PGY3), MSc Candidate

12:15-13:15

When: 13:15
Duration: 15min
Description: Each year, many children are injured by campfires, the etiology of which is multifactorial. Campfires present a unique hazard in the natural and manufactured camping environment, as there is the possibility of several injuries to concurrently occur, with consequences ranging from mild to fatal. Pediatric populations face enhanced risks related to campfires due to reduced mobility and balance, curiosity surrounding fires, and supervision levels. The most common campfire-related injuries will be covered, with burns, inhalation injuries, and traumatic falls being the focus. This presentation will aim to be an overview of common campfire related injuries, with an emphasis placed on special considerations for pediatric populations. Information will be case-based with inspiration from cases seen as a physiotherapist on a burn unit (cases will be inspiration only, and patient data will not be used in any capacity), as well as a brief review of literature.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. At the end of this session, participants will be able to identify the risk factors and special considerations contributing to paediatric campfire injuries

Presented by: Stephanie Cairns, PT, MD Candidate

When: 13:30
Duration: 15min
Description: High-traffic, rugged backcountry terrain combined with underprepared recreationists creates a dangerous recipe for frequent Search and Rescue (SAR) callouts and worse outcomes.

The Sea to Sky Corridor in British Columbia is one of Canada’s busiest mountain recreation regions and experiences an exceptionally high volume of SAR incidents each year. Despite recreationist preparedness being a key factor in preventing and reducing the severity of rescues, no prior studies have examined recreationist preparedness in this region.

This presentation highlights our research assessing preparedness among summer and winter recreationists using trailhead outreach data collected by Squamish SAR. We introduce a composite score that objectively quantifies recreationist preparedness by encompassing carrying the Ten Essentials, conducting route/weather research, and emergency knowledge, providing a standardized framework that can be applied to other regions or research questions.

Alarming preparedness gaps were identified across both cohorts, particularly among summer hikers and winter snowshoers. One-third of summer groups did not know to call 911 in an emergency, only about half completed basic trip planning, and no group carried all Ten Essentials. Although winter recreationists demonstrated higher overall preparedness, more than two-thirds of all groups performed no route research. Snowshoers were a particularly at-risk group within the winter cohort, with no groups carrying complete avalanche safety setups and three-quarters having no training.

By applying an objective scoring framework, this study establishes baseline preparedness data for the region and identifies measurable targets for improved prevention strategies that can be monitored over time to reduce avoidable SAR incidents.

À la fin de cette présentation, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Describe recreationist preparedness as a key modifiable risk factor and target for preventative SAR efforts.
2. Recognize seasonal trends in preparedness among summer and winter backcountry recreationists in the Sea to Sky Corridor.

Presented by: Foster Wynne, MD (PGY1)

When: 13:45
Duration: 15min
Description: Spinal immobilization has long been considered standard practice in trauma care. However, the 2024 Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Spinal Cord Protection introduce a major conceptual shift: moving away from technique-based immobilization toward goal-oriented spinal cord protection (SCP).

This presentation will provide a focused review of the key updates in the 2024 WMS guidelines, including the recommendation against routine use of rigid cervical collars and backboards in wilderness settings and the emphasis on spinal motion restriction (SMR) as a safer and more practical approach. It will also examine the evidence underpinning these changes and explore how traditional immobilization practices may introduce unintended harm in various environments.

Participants will gain a clear framework for implementing goal-oriented spinal cord protection in a wilderness context, balancing neurologic safety with operational realities such as prolonged extrication, limited personnel, and environmental risk.

This presentation will aim to translate updated guidelines into practical decision-making tools for clinicians, search and rescue providers, and expedition medical teams working in remote settings.

À la fin de cette présentation, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Describe the key changes in the 2024 Wilderness Medical Society spinal cord protection guidelines and the rationale for moving away from routine rigid immobilization
2. Identify practical strategies to implement goal-oriented spinal cord protection in wilderness trauma care

Presented by: Michelle Cruickshank, MD Candidate

When: 14:00-17:00

Pre-Register and Learn More Details Here

Black Tusk Room
Marc-Antoine Doré - Joint Reduction and Taping in a Wilderness Environment (14:00-15:30)
Alex Borzok - Foot Problems: Prevention and Treatment (15:30-17:30)

Diamond Head Room
Christian Dean - 5 Rad Things You Can Do With PoCUS in the Backcountry (14:00-15:30)
Len James - Prehospital Resuscitation of a Hypothermic Patient (15:30-17:00)

Main Room
Cyril Shokoples - Evolving Concepts in Avalanche Rescue (14:00-15:00)
Alex Poole - Frostbite 101: What We Do and Why (15:00-16:00)
Delphine Hansen - Building your Evidence-Based First Aid Kit (16:00-17:00)

Outside
Jon Turner - Essential Survival Skills for Wilderness Medicine (14:00-16:30)
Wilderness Medicine Race (14:00-17:30)

Cliquez sur un événement ci-dessous pour le faire défiler automatiquement.

• 8:00 - The IFR Condition: Losing Orientation Under Pressure — and Finding It Again
• 9:00 - Crisis on Mount Hood: 100 years of team culture in high-stakes wilderness medicine
• 10:00 - Break
• 10:30 - Endurance in the Extreme: Medical Challenges in Ultramarathons & Thru-Hiking
• 11:15 - Windchill: Weather Report sensationalism? How relevant is it to frostbite really?
• 12:00 - Lunch
• 13:00 - Trust as a Clinical Competency: Applying Trust Frameworks in High-Consequence Environments
• 14:00 - Adaptation and Healthcare Delivery in Extreme Cold and Heat Environments
• 14:45 - Beyond the Magic 8 Ball - An intro to avalanche forecasting for medical providers

When: 8:00
Duration: 1hr
Description: In wilderness, emergency, and high-risk service environments, individuals are often expected to function under prolonged stress, uncertainty, and responsibility. While outward performance may continue, internal orientation—awareness, communication, emotional regulation, and decision-making—can quietly degrade. The IFR Condition describes this state of impaired functioning under pressure.

This presentation explores how the IFR Condition develops in individuals and teams operating in demanding environments, drawing from wilderness medicine principles, emergency response experience, and international medical evacuation. Rather than focusing on crisis moments alone, the session emphasizes early warning signs of impairment, identity strain, and cumulative stress that often go unnoticed until performance, safety, or mental health is compromised.

Through narrative, case-based examples, and guided reflection, participants will examine how loss of orientation affects judgment, teamwork, and resilience, and how reconnection—to self, team, and purpose—can restore functional capacity. The session emphasizes practical, human-centered strategies applicable across wilderness medicine, expedition settings, and frontline response roles.

This talk is designed to support sustainable performance, psychological safety, and recovery for those who work where conditions are unpredictable and the margin for error is small.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Recognize early signs of impaired functioning and loss of orientation in individuals operating under sustained stress.
2. Describe how cumulative stress, identity strain, and environmental pressure impact decision-making, communication, and performance.
3. Identify practical strategies to restore orientation, connection, and resilience in high-risk or wilderness settings.

Presented by: Flight Medic Berry

When: 09:00
Duration: 1hr
Description: The world’s most climbed glaciated peak is on the brink of catastrophe. Massive crowds, throngs of inexperienced climbers, and social media are creating a record number of rescues on legendary, lethal 11,249-foot-high Mount Hood in Oregon. In Crisis on Mount Hood, emergency and wildeness doctor Christopher Van Tilburg looks at the history of North America’s oldest mountain rescue team, the Hood River Crag Rats, established in 1926.

Using 100 years of historical and modern mission photos, Dr. Van Tilburg discussed the team culture, the main underlying glue that holds together a team that performing high-stakes missions for a century. He highlights critical care, physician oversight for rescuers, mitigation terrain and weather hazards, dealing with psychological stress and managing medical components of mission.

Dr. Van Tilburg own three-decade commitment to search and rescue is covered briefly, mostly as a way to educate other medical provides on how to get involved, or stay involved, with wilderness and mountain medicine.Covering the past, present, and future, Van Tilburg highlights thrilling rescues, the titans of mountain rescue, the effects of climate, and, most of all, the volunteers—the unwavering passion, the importance of longstanding culture, and the challenge of modernization.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Identify skills related to providing medical oversight for volunteer mountain rescuers
2. Understand the importance of culture in wilderness medicine teams
3. Apply methods to mitigate hazards in high-risk alpine medicine incidents including providing medical are in austere conditions

Presented by: Christopher Van Tilburg, MD

10:00 - 10:30

When: 10:30
Duration: 45min
Description: This lecture provides a comprehensive overview of the most common injuries and medical pathologies encountered among endurance athletes, with a focus on conditions that clinicians and event medical providers must be prepared to recognize and manage. Topics include exertional heat illness, hyponatremia, rhabdomyolysis, musculoskeletal overuse injuries, gastrointestinal distress, cardiac complications, and altitude- and environment-related illness. Emphasis is placed on differentiating benign presentations from life-threatening conditions in often resource-limited or high-tempo settings.

In addition to clinical management, the lecture addresses the unique challenges of providing medical care at endurance events such as ultramarathons, triathlons, cycling races, and multi-day competitions. Participants will explore how environmental conditions, course design, athlete experience, and race logistics influence medical risk and patient presentation. Evidence-based strategies for on-course assessment, triage, treatment, and transport decision-making are discussed.

The lecture also examines the role of the medical director in proactive event planning and risk mitigation. Key components include pre-event medical planning, staffing models, supply and equipment selection, communication strategies, and integration with local EMS and healthcare systems. Case-based discussions highlight common pitfalls and effective troubleshooting during live events, including surge management, weather-related contingencies, and mass casualty considerations.

By the end of the session, learners will have a practical framework for both bedside clinical care and systems-level medical oversight of endurance events, enhancing athlete safety while supporting efficient and resilient event operations.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Recognize and differentiate common injuries and medical pathologies encountered in endurance athletes, including conditions requiring immediate transport versus those appropriate for on-site management
2. Apply evidence-based strategies to assess, triage, and manage endurance-related medical conditions
3. Develop and implement a comprehensive medical plan for endurance events that incorporates risk mitigation, staffing, equipment, communication, and coordination with local EMS and healthcare systems

Presented by: Brian Drury, MD, MEd, FAWM, DiMM

When: 11:15
Duration: 45min
Description: In the Canadian winter public reporting of windchill is often done at the exclusion of reporting the ambient temperature. Is windchill alone sufficient to predict the risk of frostbite? In this talk the development of the windchill index will be discussed. The interplay between the ambient temperature and wind speed as it relates to frostbite will be explored. A method to consider the relevance of windchill and ambient temperature to the risk of frostbite will be proposed.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Learn the history of the development of the windchill index
2. Understand the impact of windspeed on convective cooling
3. Know the proposed ambient temperature range in which windchill is relevant in frostbite

Presented by: Alex Poole, MD

12:00-13:00

When: 13:00
Duration: 1hr
Description: The presentation integrates real-world clinical and wilderness cases to illustrate how trust functions as a core clinical competency in high-consequence environments. It draws on principles from Crew Resource Management (CRM), Charles Feltman’s trust framework (The Thin Book of Trust), and integrative approaches to conflict resolution. Rather than a traditional literature review, the session emphasizes applied frameworks, practical language, and transferable tools that participants can immediately use in emergency, wilderness, and expedition settings.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Apply structured trust frameworks—including the four domains of trust—to critical decision-making in high-consequence environments such as wilderness medicine, emergency care, and expedition settings
2. Demonstrate communication strategies that preserve psychological safety and shared situational awareness during high-stakes interactions, including emergencies, handovers, leadership challenges, and conflict under time pressure
3. Analyze and address sources of trust degradation, using practical trust-repair strategies to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and team performance in austere and dynamic operational contexts

Presented by: Julian Sernik, MD, FRCSC

When: 14:00
Duration: 45min
Description: I spent time with CAF in polar environmental opposites from delivering medical care in the Arctic desert and the arid Syrian desert. This lecture covers how I adapted as a medic to the climate and provided care to CAF members in extreme heat and extreme cold. This presentation covers personal experiences, some case studies and tips and tricks for those thinking of doing austere medicine in those types of extreme environments.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Apply medical knowledge to extreme environments for effective patient care
2. Understand how to personally adapt to the environment to properly provide patient care and to thrive in those environments- how to dress, what to pack, and how to be healthy in those environments.
3. What not to do in the arctic and the arid desert

Presented by: Kim Palmquist, ACP

When: 14:45
Duration: 45min
Description: While avalanche forecasting if often completed off site before a scene response. It behoves anyone who enters avalanche terrain to have a basic understanding of what is lurking in the snowpack. Rose and Sydney explore an introduction to avalanche forecasting and explore how forecasts turn messy, real-world information into clear, risk-focused decisions. Also, they aim to show you that if you know how to write a medical SOAP note, you are closer than you think to writing an avalanche forecast.

À la fin de cette session, les participants seront en mesure de :

1. Anticipate hazardous snow conditions that would render outdoor medical care unsafe
2. Have a better understanding of how weather can affect pre-hospital care
3. Understand how to write an avalanche forecast by comparing to a SOAP note
   

Presented by: Sydney White, MD and Rose Frouin, EMR