WILDERNESS LIFESAVER (WLS)
Our No Fluff Course
Many first aid courses feel like all bandaids and moleskin, and no real substance. We know that cavers carry duct tape and determination instead of bandaids. Wilderness Lifesaver is a course intended to cut the fluff and teach you the skills you need to know to keep from dying. Developed to bridge the gap between a basic CPR/AED course and a full Wilderness First Aid course, Wilderness Lifesaver is a one-day class covering primary patient assessment, critical interventions, and evacuation planning.
Honest & real
This course moves fast. We won't waste your time beating around the bush. Topics will be discussed directly with no sugar-coating, and we will spend as much time outside as possible during the course. Dying is messy, and saving a life is even messier. This class is for the tough, no-nonsense adventurer looking for raw essentials of wilderness medicine.
Course Objectives
Prepare for life-threatening injury in the backcountry with Wilderness Lifesaver, our 8-hour hands-on course built around skills practice, realistic simulation, and a mock rescue.
Adapted from the U.S. Combat Lifesaver (CLS) model, Wilderness Lifesaver (WLS) bridges the gap between basic First Aid/CPR and Wilderness First Aid (WFA) with backcountry-focused skills. Participants learn to recognize life threats, manage severe bleeding and trauma, perform wilderness-focused CPR, prevent and treat hypothermia, and coordinate wilderness evacuation.
Scene Size-Up & Initial Patient Assessment
Learn how to evaluate a scene and perform hasty patient assessment.
Interventions for Primary Assessment Issues
After a brief rundown of hasty patient assessment, we'll jump straight into immediate interventions, including:
- Tourniquets & pressure dressings
- Wound packing with simulators
- CPR skills session with high-quality manikins that provide life feedback
- Discussion on unique wilderness considerations for CPR
- Interventions for choking
- Prevention, recognition, and treatment for shock
Hypothermia Management in Trauma Patients
Not only is hypothermia an ever-present threat in caving, but trauma and hypothermia also go hand-in-hand.
Wilderness Communication & Evacuation
We'll discuss wilderness communication strategies and tools to call for assistance and evacuation.
Mock Rescue
Putting it all together, the mock rescue will highlight what you've learned and give us the opportunity to wrap up any questions you have in context.
Certifications
This course will include certification in CPR/AED from American Red Cross and in Stop the Bleed from American College of Surgeons.
Shop Our Store In-Person
Our traveling store will be open at the end of this course.
Nitty, gritty, real
Train with us.