Selvaggio Blu Expedition

Sardinia

22 September 2024 08:00 - 29 September 2024 17:00

GBP £2,395.00

Selvaggio Blu is not your average trek; it’s an extraordinary adventure. Over five challenging days, you’ll be immersed in the extreme beauty and adrenaline-pumping experiences of one of Europe’s most gruelling treks.

This expedition is high, wild, and will test your limits. It’s the perfect opportunity to enhance your expedition medicine and leadership skills. We don’t rely on projectors and storerooms; we teach you from the kit on our backs, just like you would treat a patient in the wilderness.

Key facts

Join the World Extreme Medicine team for a week-long expedition along the Selvaggio Blu trail as we take on one of Europe’s most extreme treks whilst helping you develop your extreme medicine and leadership skills. This expedition combines extreme challenges, exposed scrambling, heat & sun exposure, alongside the physiological and psychological impacts of muti-day trekking.

Location: Pedra Longa, Sardinia

You must be either a:

Medical or Allied Health Professional OR,
A student in your final two years of study

You need:

Experience in mountain or coastal trekking
Experience on exposed terrain
Comfortable at height
A good level of fitness

What’s included:

Tutoring, accommodation and meals
Trekking fees
Group transfers

What’s not:

General travel costs
Travel and health insurance
Personal equipment
Tent / bivvy kit
Harness
Via Ferrata kit
Helmet

Travel insurance with mountaineering cover is essential for this trip. We recommend a suitable policy through the BMC or Austrian Alpine Club.

What to expect

This course is a true expedition and a considerable challenge.
On our first night, we’ll settle into a local Refugio surrounded by mountains and Mediterranean scrub. We’ll meet with our guides & the team to discuss the week ahead, check our kit and cover some all-important extreme medicine lectures.

On day two, we’ll head to the official starting point for the trek at Pedra Longa (long stone), named after the 128m dolomitic limestone spire which erupts from the crystal-clear turquoise waters of Sardinia’s coastline. This epic monument is just a taste of what is to come on this incredible adventure.

Each night will be spent camping under the stars, immersed in the wild landscapes of the coastline. Sardinia is blessed with clear skies and very low levels of light pollution, giving way to stunning celestial views.

Daily trekking routes will average 6-8hrs, with up to 1200m of ascent & descent on the toughest days. There are sections of via ferrata, scrambling, rope lowers and high exposure.

The trek has an overall grade EE (UIAA Italian Hiking system) with some sections of scrambling reaching UIAA grade III.

During the course, we’ll blend interactive group teaching focusing on common injuries, environmental factors, trauma, medical kits, planning, risk assessment and leadership.

Course content

Expedition and daily planning
Leadership
Risk assessment
Medical screening, advice and planning
Public health and camp management
Hydration
Communications and evacuation
Common wilderness medical issues
Foot care and minor injuries
Wilderness trauma care
Fracture management and joint reductions
Heat-related illness
Immersion and drowning

What you need to know

Preparation is key, this trek is remote and tough so please refer carefully to the kit list and ensure you bring any other items necessary for your needs.

The trekking on this expedition is tough, requiring good physical fitness and experience on mountainous or coastal trails. You must be comfortable with multi-day trekking. Although there are some sections of climbing and technical rope work, you do not need experience of this, our guides will take care of this for you.

Typical daytime temperatures range between 20oC – 30oC with some extreme outside of this possible, night-time temperatures range between 12oC – 19oC. It is rare to experience rain, but it is still possible. A high degree of sun exposure should be expected.

Equipment List

Lightweight trousers x 1
Lightweight shorts x 2
Lightweight technical t-shirts x 3-5
Zipped fleece top x 1
Waterproof jacket x 1
Buff or scarf
Hat
Sun glasses
Underwear x 6
Trekking socks
Swimwear
Light towel
Trekking shoes or boots (with hard sole)
Walking poles (optional)

Day pack – min 20 litre
Duffel bag – min 60 litre
Dry bags

Tent or bivvy kit
Sleeping bag
Sleeping bag liner
Travel pillow (optional)

Climbing harness
Via ferrata kit
Helmet

Spork / cutlery
Plate / mess tin
Cup / flask
Water bottles min 3L total capacity
Water bladder (optional)
Head torch
Power bank, charger, travel adaptors
Travel documents, passport, visa
Insect repellent
Suncream (min SPF30)
Toiletries
Toilet paper
Biodegradable bags
Lighter
Hand sanitiser
Wet wipes
Ear plugs
Snacks bars (optional)
Medication (double quantities)
Ibuprofen, Paracetamol and other appropriate analgesia
Immodium
Antiseptic wipes / spray
Gauze pads
Vaseline
Betadine or similar
Zinc oxide tape
Crepe or cohesive bandage
Triangular bandage
Compeed and/or moleskin
Plasters and steristrips
Oral rehydration tablets or powder

About us

World Extreme Medicine trains, supports and informs medics looking to expand their skills and tackle new challenges.

A chance conversation about the impossibility of finding good expedition medics resulted in our Founding Director, Mark Hannaford creating the very first, bespoke Expedition Medicine course in the UK – over 20 years ago. Since then, we’ve spent the last two decades providing on-demand education, on-location training, international conferences, and expedition support for people outside normal medical environments.

Our network of around a quarter of a million experts, practitioners and instructors is here for you – inspiring, informing and connecting you with like-minded people and new opportunities.

Whether you’re a doctor, nurse, dentist, vet, paramedic, medical student or allied health professional, you can join us and discover new frontiers of your practice both at home or in the field.