Wilderness First Aid & Wilderness Survival School

Class Dates

IMPORTANT ENROLLMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Please download the enrollment application. Print it out, complete the application, and mail it to the Bridger Institute mailing address. Also please include a check made out for a deposit of 50% of the course tuition payable to Bridger Institute with this enrollment form. I understand the remaining balance is to be paid no less than 30 days prior to the course starting date.

Bridger Institute
P.O. Box 1991
Whitefish, MT 59937

WILDERNESS FIRST AID

This wilderness first aid and wilderness survival combination course is a must for novice backcountry adventurers and a great resource for experienced wilderness travelers.

People who travel, work, recreate or live in the wilderness and other remote areas must expect that, sooner or later, they will have to deal with an injury or medical problem. This Wilderness First Aid Course provides comprehensive information about how to deal with medical emergencies when help is hours or even days away. Those who will benefit from this course include: hikers, skiers, climbers, hunters, horse back riders, snowmobiler’s, four wheelers, kayakers, canoeist's, river rafters, fisherman, foresters, linesmen, ranchers, farmers, outdoor enthusiast, and people who live in small communities, or vacation homes where the EMS system may not be able to respond immediately.

Wilderness First Aid classes are different from urban first aid classes. Urban first aid trains students to respond to medical emergencies when an ambulance is only minutes away. Wilderness first aid must focus on extended care, harsh environments, lack of medical equipment, improvisation, outdoor specific injuries, rescues, evacuations, and much more. Prepare yourself for wilderness emergencies by taking this wilderness first aid course. There are three different levels to this program: Basic Wilderness First Aid (8 hours), Standard Wilderness First Aid (16 hours) and Advanced Wilderness First Aid (40 hours). Students completing this course will receive the Standard Wilderness First Aid course completion card and diploma.

This Basic Wilderness First Aid Course is affiliated with the Emergency Care & Safety Institute (ESCI), American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), American College of Emergency Physicians (ECEP).

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL

If you are alone and lost in the outdoors, you will have to deal with psychological factors such as;  fear, loneliness, anxiety, depression and boredom.  If you are in a group you will have to deal with group dynamics and individual personalities of people in the group.  Physically you may have to deal with fatigue, exposure, hypothermia, hyperthermia,  rain, snow, lighting, insects, animals,  etc. One good definition of wilderness survival is “The ability and the desire to stay alive (or thrive),  all alone, or in a group, under adverse conditions, until rescued”.

This course will focus on the psychological and physical threats to your health and well being, outline your survival priorities and immediate threats and examine your resources and possible solutions. To a large extent, your ability to survive will be determined by your knowledge and skill level.  Survival skills addressed in this class include: survival kits, shelter building,  fire starting, hot coal beds, primitive cooking, water procurement & purification, plants for food & medicine, primitive traps & snares, primitive weapons, navigation, signaling and survival tool & crafts and more.