Back from Alaska

Winter camping in June: There's nothing like it. Temps at night reached, at the lowest, 5 above 0, and the mercury rose at midday to 50 F and more. It was a jungle, without insects, while the snow and ice beneath our tent was estimated to be 4500 feet thick (yep, nearly a mile). Almost everyone who climbs Denali gets off an airplane that landed on the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at about 7300 feet elevation--a few feet from the ranger tent where I was working (and sometimes just relaxing). They also almost all leave the mountain there, except for two young Japanese climbers who, this year, disappeared and failed to reappear after ten days of intensive searching--bringing the historical total to 100 dead on Denali. But two others were found, and, with other patients, I had a chance to splint arms, patch wounds, inspect and pontificate on frostbite, melt a ton of snow for water, and wax poetical on what is absolutely one of the most beautiful spots on this planet. Not a bad summer vacation.

Off to Denali

Early tomorrow, May 28, I fly to Alaska where I'll, once again, be a volunteer on the snowy slopes of Denali (www.nps.gov/dena/). The work: Hang out at base camp near 7000 feet elevation on the Kahiltna Glacier in case a climber needs wilderness medicine and/or rescue. I will be hanging out with Daryl Miller, the ranger who has made more contributions to mountain search and rescue than any other person, living or dead. With no access to the wonders of blogging, it will be about three weeks before you see from me. In the meantime, stay well.

Burns: The Sweet Truth

Bee better faster after a burn. How? The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds, in a review of 15 studies, gives the answer: honey (http://ijl.sagepub.com). Burned skin recovered faster, up to four times faster, covered with honey instead of antibiotic creams and modern burn dressings. A natural anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory, honey eases the ouch while it promotes healing. The process: Cool the burn, smear honey on gauze, apply it to the burn, change the sweet dressing twice a day. Find a doc if the burn is serious. And, if you don't spread the honey on gauze, you can spread it on a cracker.

Nose Knowledge

How do you fix, someone recently asked, a broken nose out there in the wild places. Here is the short answer: Don't even try. When a fractured snoze reaches an emergency room, there is typically too much swelling to allow the doc to act. Waiting five days, even up to ten days, for the swelling to subside is not uncommon. And a hard blow, so to speak, to the nose might break other parts of the face. If the accident shifted the nose off to one side, attempting to move it back could cause greater harm. Apply cold to the nose, suggest some painkilling pills, and find a doctor--and it's highly unlikely you will need to rush. You'll find lots more nose knowledge in Wilderness Medicine, Fifth Edition, published by Mosby (www.us.elsevierhealth.com).

Bear Huffing

Out here in Wyoming, even though it snowed last night, bears will be waking up fairly soon. Someone recently asked me if he could huff at a bear who huffed at him. Would it intimidate the bear into running away? A lot of people mistakenly think a bear turning to the side and making a huffing noise indicates aggression. Not so. It indicates a nervous and distressed bear. A bear considering an attack will face you silently, and maybe move toward you. In both cases, you should face the bear, stand your ground, stand tall, and show the bear you are not afraid--even if you are. As far as I know, humans huffing at bears has never been studied. I do, however, suspect huffing at a bear might make it think you're nervous and distressed. Until more is known, I think we should leave huffing to the bear. For more info, the best book on dealing with bears I've ever read is Dave Smith's Backcountry Bear Basics (www.mountaineersbooks.org).

Hands-Only CPR

Since 2005 the American Heart Association has been suggesting that it's okay for bystanders who witness a cardiac arrest to start chest compressions on the patient but not bother with ventilations (mouth to mouth or mouth to mask). Now several studies have confirmed that, yes, if hypoxia (lack of adequate air) was not a part of the cardiac arrest (and in most arrests it isn't), then it doesn't alter the outcome for the patient if only compressions are performed. Just call 911 then jump right in and begin hard, fast, uninterrupted chest compressions. You can read all about it at http://circ.ahajournals.org (once there, search for hands-only cpr). Out there, of course, where we spend a lot of time, hypoxia may well be involved--drowning, avalanche burial--and those folks will need ventilations. And we don't often have access to 911. So, at least for now, we should keep our CPR skills, compressions and ventilations, ready for action.

Welcome

Please accept my personal welcome--at least as personal as I can make it--to the grand opening of bucktilton.com, my website, where you can, should you be interested, learn a lot about me, what I'm doing, and what I would like to do. For more than 25 years I have been privileged to work as an educator in wilderness medicine, rescue, and survival--and in the process I co-founded the Wilderness Medicine Institute (WMI), now a division of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). During those years, in addition to my books, magazines have published more than 1,000 articles I've written, and I've been a contributing editor for Backpacker since 1989 (check out my Medicine Man column). When not teaching or writing, I've been out there--hiking, paddling, biking, climbing (and falling) far more miles and times than I'll ever be able to remember. Having been there, I can help. So, have a look around . . . and let me know your thoughts. Thank you for joining me!