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!

Any Questions?

With Spring on the verge of springing, at least out here in Wyoming (where the weather tends to ignore the calendar), thoughts are turning to trails, rivers, and mountains--any place without walls. If your mental meanderings give rise to any questions about wilderness medicine, outdoor health and safety--or anything, really--please, send them my way at the Atwater Carey site where you can Ask the Expert.