I’m always proud of our Adventure Treks instructors. Two days ago near Crows Pass in the Chugach Mountains in Alaska I was even more proud than usual. Three of our Instructors were leading a group of 11 students on the first of three backpacking sections on the Alaska 1 Adventure. Near the top of Crow Pass, they came into contact with a party that was in trouble. The weather was wet and cool and a member of the party had sustained a significant head injury while glissading in the snow fields above the Pass.
Our instructors Shauna, Pete and Carrie were able to diagnose the head trauma as a traumatic brain injury with potential brain swelling that could have life threatening consequences. As the instructor with the most training, an EMT, Shauna took the lead. Our instructors were able to clean wounds, treat for hypothermia and mild ASR (shock) and use our satellite phones to call in coordinates for an immediate helicopter evacuation.
Besides the reward of helping folks in their time of need, I think our instructors’ actions transferred many valuable lessons to our students. These include: Do more than your share and eagerly help others, don’t go into the back country without significant training, always be prepared for the worst, choose your traveling companions wisely, and don’t take unnecessary risks when there are significant consequences. I’m pretty certain our instructors saved a life and I’m extremely proud of their professionalism and strong skills.
Eleven Adventure Treks trips are currently open and having a great time all over the map. We are hearing great reports of fun, community, adventure and appropriate challenge from students and instructors on all of these trips. Two more trips, California Challenge 2 and Alaska 2 will open early this week.
We are going to miss our many great students as some of our early trips in the Blue Ridge and Colorado Mountains come to a close this week. We are working hard to create incredible summers, where young people have the time of their lives while growing in many different ways.