News of Mountain Medicine & Rescue

I mean to a person who has lost consciousness because of a hard fall, mainly if he/she hasn't external wounds. How fast must be the awakening :?: How should it must be done :?: Methods :?:

This morning I discovered what I believe to be a hernia. Not sure how/when it occurred; I can't recall any recent pain nor am I in pain currently. I understand hernias usually require surgery to fix. My questions:

- how urgent is it to get it looked at/fixed (am leaving today for week+ trip)?

- How long would post-op recovery take (ie how long would it limit my climbing/training)?

Thanks for any input!

or wearing a beard and thinking you don't need it...

I was complaining to a friend about my insomnia a few months ago. (I've had it ever since I can remember)

My friend said he used to suffer from insomnia but is now cured. He told me a method for falling asleep that I thought I'd pass on, because it seems to be working for me, too.
I thought it might work well for SP'ers. So, I pass it on. Here goes:

As your falling ...

Over the last several weeks I've developed piriformis syndrome; which is the constriction of the sciatic nerve by a small hip muscle, the piriformis. I used to get this occasionally after snowboarding or climbing and I'd sit in the car driving for hours, but now it's non-stop. Getting out of bed is excruciating. My new job has me sitting at a computer for long periods of time which probably contributes to this if not causing ...

I went for a 7 hous hike in the snow on January 21st carrying a medium weight backpack. Probably I tightened its left stripe more than the right. That night I slept on a bed wich has no spring matress, only a table below. Since the day after that hike I've had true pains in my back just around my left shoulder-blade. I've been taken Ibuprophen, Paracetamol and Myolastan at nights. I'm also eating many ...

Hi All;
I'm doing a little research on mountain climbing, and understand Denali has a requirement of watching a safety video before ascending--appears to be part of the check-in process everyone must go through. Do other parks have similar requirements?

Thanks, TK

Received this from the Co Avalanche Information Center (CAIC):

Shay Bright is a Ph.D. candidate working on how groups of backcountry recreationalists make decisions in avalanche terrain. Please help her collect data for her dissertation by filling out a short survey. The survey will be online for one more week . Please check it out!

Your answers to the survey should come from one day when you were out ...

If you have had cataract surgery, or a lensectomy to correct your vision, please relate your recovery experiences vis-a-vis hiking and climbing. I'm particularly interested in recovery time, and whether you had any problems with altitude, or difficulty focusing on your hands, or problems with balance.

I normally wear contacts in the outdoors, but am presbyopic. Over the years I've had some tough experiences with contact lenses in the outdoors (but contacts proved far better ...

Hey guys,

I was recently first on scene to a possible spinal injury in the mountians, but luckuly we were very close to a ranger station, so I had help within 10 minutes. But it made me wonder, what i could have done to be more prepared. Obviously I wont be bringing a C-collar, or a spine board or a stokes, but all I had was a sleeping bag (even though i was on a ...