Extreme altitude Medical Training

What It Is All About

The Extreme altitude Medical Training Course is the first of it kind to provide altitude medical training for the local Sherpas guiding clients in the Khumbu Region of Nepal.

This is not your typical first aid course about altitude sickness. This 6-day course is fully hands on in the field training that will teach Sherpas how to understand how their bodies work. They will then be able to recognize when something goes wrong with the body and know how to fix the problem.

This particular course, taught by Wilderness Medical Associates Lead Instructor Susan Purvis, is specifically designed for Sherpas working above 12,000 feet. The course is tailored after those designed for the African Guides of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2003 and 2004. This course has been extremely successful in Tanzania and is now being brought to the Khumbu region of Nepal.

Why do this course?

This method of instruction allows the guides to first hear the information in a lecture in both English and Nepali, see the information on a flip chart and then go out and practice the information on each other. Once the guides understand how something works, they will recognize when something goes wrong and have the tools to fix it.

By understanding the three basic body systems (circulatory, nervous, and respiratory) graduates can evaluate patients whose injuries or illnesses may be entirely unrelated to altitude. These talents make a trained guide a great asset to both those with whom he/she climbs and the community at large.

Revised 12-21-05