Back from Mt. Everest Base Camp

Welcome to the first post of the Outdoor Health (Wilderness Medicine) Blog on Healthline. I’m very much looking forward to sharing information and thoughts with readers, and even more so to learning from everyone as comments and useful ideas and concepts are posted. Outdoor activities are the fastest growing segment of recreational activities, so when you add that to science, exploration, industry, rural living, and adventure travel, there is a tremendous amount to discuss and a lot of useful learning.

I recently returned from a trek to base camp at Mount Everest, where I visited Dr. Luanne Freer, a wonderful friend and superb emergency physician from Bozeman, Montana who is the current President of the Wilderness Medical Society. She runs the medical clinic at the base camp, where she provides support to climbers and others who venture that far into the Himalaya wilderness. Another good friend, Eric Johnson, M.D., who is President-elect of the WMS, was there with her for this climbing season. My son, Brian, accompanied our group, which made the trip all the more special.

In future posts, I will be talking about some of the medical situations we encountered. The purpose of our trip was to teach a continuing medical education (CME) course on wilderness medicine to a group of health care providers, and use the proceeds to fund a future medical student research project. We encountered spectacular scenery, wonderful people, and plenty of medical situations along the way. Thank goodness the political situation in Nepal took a dramatic turn for the better, which allowed us to make this journey.

Let's have this blog be informative, useful, and fun. Let me hear your thoughts and opinions. Join with me as we embark on a trek through medical information that will help you be safe and healthy in the great outdoors!