Alpine Medicine Course

Slovenia

26 January 2025 13:00 - 31 January 2025 16:00

GBP £1,395.00

24 in stock


Other Alpine Medicine course locations:

Set yourself a new challenge – cold weather, mountaineering medicine. Join us for this exciting 6 day expedition in the stunning Julian Alps. We’ll be making the most of the wintery snow conditions with practical field experience over three days out in the mountains with world-class IFMGA guides.

CPD Award: This course has been awarded 30 CPD hours by The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

“Really fantastic course, excellently organised, would highly recommend to anyone”
Alpine Medicine Slovenia course attendee

Sign-up now for just a £500 deposit.

Key facts

You’ve had a taste of expedition medicine and here’s your chance to take the next step.

Our exciting and comprehensive 6 day Alpine Medicine course is designed to provide medical professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to handle medical emergencies in snowy and icy conditions. Participants will learn about cold weather injuries, altitude sickness, and other winter-specific medical issues. The course will also cover emergency medical procedures, such as managing hypothermia and frostbite.

The winter season in Slovenia provides a unique opportunity to experience the beauty and challenges of mountain trekking in a snowy, wintery environment.

Location: Julian Alps, Slovenia

Is this course right for you?

This course is perfect for healthcare professionals and students interested in applying their clinical knowledge and skills to expedition and alpine settings.

It is recommended that participants have attended our Expedition and Wilderness Medicine Course  as the Alpine Medicine Course builds on the key concepts and principles covered, adapting and applying these to this environment.

You need:

  • To be a competent navigator
  • Have a good level of fitness
  • Basic knowledge of expedition planning

What’s included:

  • Tutoring, accommodation and meals
  • Safety equipment

What’s not:

  • Travel costs
  • Travel insurance
  • Personal equipment

What to expect

After flying into Ljubljana, you’ll journey to the Julian Alps to begin your course with three days of theory and workshops.  By the fourth day, you’ll be heading out into the mountains to learn mountaineering, rescue techniques and to put your newly acquired wilderness medicine knowledge to the test.

The course is based around an apartment building in Lake Bohinj, where we take over the grounds and interior space for various workshops and skill sessions. On day 4, you’ll head off on a three day expedition into the mountains, spending two nights in a local mountain hut at Dom na Komni.

Expect short, focused lectures delivering essential content which you’ll build upon, enhance and challenge through intense simulation exercises.  As groups, you’ll discuss and evaluate your performance, allowing you to improve your skills through every real-world scenario.

We’ll integrate the medical and expedition content to replicate the challenge of real wilderness situations, helping to shape your thought processes and enabling you to function in extreme and resource-poor environments.

Course content

  • Expedition Planning for Alpine Environments
  • Risk Assessment
  • Contingency Planning
  • Equipment for Alpine Environments
  • Trauma in Alpine Environments
  • Primary Survey
  • Human Factors
  • Cold Injury
  • Hypothermia
  • Dressing for the Cold
  • Acute Mountain Sickness
  • HACE & HAPE
  • Navigation
  • Casualty Packaging and Extraction
  • Fracture Management and Manipulations
  • Alpine Trauma Simulation
  • SAR Exercise
  • Avalanche Awareness (course)
  • Emergency Shelters
  • Basic Winter Mountaineering Skills
  • Winter Navigation
  • Equipment Selection
  • Moving Over Winter Terrain

What you need to know

Please follow the kit list and bring adequate kit. Daytime temperatures in the mountains often dip lower than -10oC before windchill, so it’s essential you’re equipped to deal with the cold conditions.

For any experienced ski tourers there may be an opportunity to get some off-piste action! Just let us know your experience level and we’ll work on a plan.

Travel insurance is mandatory for attendance of this course. We recommend a winter sports or mountaineering policy which covers all planned activities.

As a minimum we recommend you bring:

You need to be prepared for sun, rain, wind and snow! When heading out into the mountains you must be fully prepared for all possible conditions. If you have any questions about kit, just give us a call or send an email.

  • Hiking / Mountaineering boots – minimum B1 or B2 rated (will fit crampons). E.g Scarpa Marmolade Pro (B1) Scarpa Charmoz (B2) La Sportiva Trango Tower (B2).
  • Gaiters – breathable eVent or Gore-Tex
  • Base layers, upper and lower – merino or synthetic
  • Light mid layers – thinner layers with zips allow for greater thermal control
  • Softshell trousers
  • Hard shell jacket – Waterproof and breathable material. Gore-Tex or Neoshell recommended. No ski jackets with built in insulation
  • Hard shell trousers – Waterproof and breathable material. Gore-Tex or Neoshell recommended. No trousers or salopettes with built in insulation.
  • Light insulating jacket – synthetic or down
  • Warm insulating jacket – synthetic or down
  • Liner Gloves – merino, silk or fleece
  • Lightweight glove – Thin gloves with good grip and dexterity E.g. Rab M14 gloves
  • Warm waterproof gloves – E.g Mountain Equipment Randonee Gauntlet, Mountain Equipment Couloir
  • Mittens – Wool or synthetic
  • Socks – Wool or synthetic.
  • Beanie
  • Neck gaiter / Buff
  • Casual clothes

Other gear:

  • Backpack: 40 – 50 litres
  • Sleeping bag liner – for use in mountain hut
  • Head torch
  • Compass – Silva Expedition Type 4
  • Sunglasses – wrap around, minimum category 3 lenses
  • Sun protection – SPF 50
  • Water bottle
  • Personal medical / first aid kit
  • Towel
  • Dry bags
  • Money/cards for mountain hut

Optional but highly recommended if you intend on further alpine climbing

  • Crampons – compatible with your boots
  • Walking axe – walking or alpine type
  • Climbing helmet

Optional:

  • Softshell jacket
  • Climbing harness
  • Belay plate and carabiner
  • Ski goggles
  • Ear plugs and sleeping eye mask
  • Hiking poles
  • Any other kit of relevance e.g avalanche transceiver/rescue kit, GPS etc (only if you have them)

Check out Cotswold Outdoor Layering System Guide for a good guide on layering systems and when to use them.

If you need boots take a look at Cotswold Outdoor Perfect Boots Tips please remember to break in any new footwear before the course.

Important – Never leave kit prep until the last minute, ensure you prepare well before the course and review your kit a few weeks before departure.

Feedback from previous courses

What went well on your Alpine course?

“Excellent teaching, the leaders cultivated a very supportive learning environment, fantastic experience.”

“Lots of simulation to practice skills learned, good amount of activity vs downtime.”

“It was super engaging and everyone was really inspiring.”

What was the single most valuable thing you learnt from your Alpine course?

“How to search and rescue after an avalanche.”

“Importance of protecting from the environment and evacuation over perfect medical care initially.”

“The real life anecdotes from the course leaders.”

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