CU School of Medicine Wilderness & Environmental Medicine

Bringing in 2026 with some gratitude for the people who spend their days outside in all sorts of conditions to keep us safe, and our parks and recreation areas in tip-top shape. We know this list isn’t comprehensive for all the people who work so hard in the outdoor industry, but we are grateful for all of you!

We run wilderness first aid courses for lots of outdoor groups, including frequent courses for wildland firefighters. If you have a group that’s interested in getting certified, please reach out via the link in our bio.

Stay safe out there!

Can’t do a post on crampons without also talking about their bestie, the ice axe. Besides looking super cool slung over your shoulder when not in use, these are life saving pieces of equipment in alpine terrain when used properly.
(Reminder to self: time to regrip my ice tools for ice climbing season!)

Winter is coming! And with it comes a whole different set of sports and outdoor considerations. Staying safe on snow and ice requires appropriate traction, ranging from microspikes to full on ice-climbing appropriate crampons. Which one do you use the most?

And for our final award: Calvin Nickoley, winner of the Explorer Award for a medical student making moves in wilderness medicine. Calvin is a proud husband and father of two boys, former USAF Pararescueman, and critical care flight paramedic with Flight For Life Colorado and UCHealth Lifeline. Currently he’s a leader of the Austere Medicine Interest Group and a 2nd-year medical student at CUSOM. Congrats!!

Next feature: Dr. Will Mundo! He’s our 2025 Adventurer award winner, for a resident demonstrating excellence in wilderness medicine. I remember thinking, “Who IS this guy?!?” when he presented unique research on solar disinfection of water at high altitude as an intern (look up the SODIS study). He’s continued his work on wilderness medicine throughout residency, including presenting at the on inclusiveness wilderness medicine education, and teaching alongside faculty at our anual course with in Peru. AND he’s a dad and chief resident! 🤩

And that’s a wrap on another amazing medical student wilderness medicine elective! After a week in Estes Park, we went to Moab for hands on practice and a lot of fun. Some highlights included a river rescue, advanced knots/ropes, and the most entertaining constellation chat ever courtesy of one of our PGY3s
And kudos to our students for giving it their all while also juggling interview invites! Good luck during interview season - you all are going to do amazing!!

Congratulations to Dr. Erin Drasler on winning our Voyager Award for an outstanding community member demonstrating excellent work in wilderness medicine. Catch her at the medical student course in Moab this week. Although, catching might be tricky cuz she’s pretty fast! She just placed second for women at the Peaks of the Balkans ultramarathon! 🤩

Congrats to Dr. Musi and for a successful DiMM Chile course with our awesome South American collaborators! They had an amazing group of students, and got to experience pretty gorgeous terrain.

Please join us next Friday, October 3 for our annual CU Wilderness Medicine section conference, this year proudly featuring Tendi Sherpa as our keynote speaker! He will be discussing his incredible career as a mountain guide in the Himalaya and around the world, including an astounding 24 summits of 8000m peaks.
We will also have faculty and residents discussing the latest in wilderness medicine research.
If you’re local and want details, send us a message!

Happy National Women’s Health and Fitness Day!
Here’s to all the women in outdoor spaces, doing everything from exercising to stay healthy, recreating to recharge their spirits, to breaking records and pushing boundaries.

And to be nerdy, the UIAA recently commissioned a 7-part series on women’s health in the mountains published by the journal of High Altitude Medicine and Biology that our faculty contributed to. It covers everything from women’s risk of altitude sickness, to birth control, to menopause, to nutrition, and more.

Recreating in the wilderness means eventually you gotta 💩. Especially after that instant coffee hits. Having a plan is important for your hygiene, and to

So what’s your go-to?

(P.S. conventional toilet paper takes 1-3 YEARS to decompose. Pack it out!!)

Waking up to this text from family fishing in Denver this morning 🐍

Don’t: handle wild snakes, try to suck out the venom, or apply a tourniquet (unless you’re in Australia)
Do: elevate limb if bitten, seek immediate medical care as antivenom might be indicated, and attend the upcoming Denver Venom Conference at the on Sept 26!

Which of these options INCORRECTLY identifies the photo?