Mt. Baker, WA | WFR for Skiers & Splitboarders

• Wilderness First Responder, valid for 2 years with 1 year grace period for recertification

• CPR/AED certifications, valid for 2 years

• Washington Epinephrine Auto Injector certification, valid for 2 years

Our guides train you how to prevent, manage, and treat a range of common emergencies that you may encounter in the backcountry. This course combines online self-paced precourse work with a highly immersive skills training in the backcountry in the Snoqualmie National Forest. You must complete the online learning portion within 30 days of the in-person skills training and assessment at Mt. Baker.  

This combination of focused learning and practical experience provides you with the conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills to face common emergencies that you may experience while exploring the wilderness. Expect to work hard, get out in nature, make new connections with other like minded people, and learn a ton about wilderness medicine. Ages 18+, or 14+ with registered guardian chaperone.

By the end of the course, you will:

• Build strong patient assessment skills

• Demonstrate common treatments of traumatic injuries and life threats

• Recognize and treat medical emergencies

• Prevent, recognize, and treat environmental emergencies

•Learn improvisation, evacuation, and rescue techniques

• Practice pre-trip and expedition planning

• Practice preventative strategies

Each day will begin at 8:00AM and end at 5:00PM at the upper parking lot of the Heather Meadows Lodge. We will be outside for the entirety of this program.

This course is held snow, rain, or shine and will require clothing suited for the weather. You will be traveling into the backcountry and will need touring gear. The following is a list of gear you will need to bring with you.

• 35-45L backpack

• Avalanche beacon

• Avalanche rescue shovel and probe

• Touring skis or splitboard (snowshoes may also be appropriate with downhill gear depending on course dates; please inquire), skins, boots, poles (collapsible preferable for snowboarders)

• Gore-Tex/waterproof rain shell jacket and pants

• Warm insulating layer (large puffy, must be synthetic if cannot fit under a waterproof layer)

• Mid-level insulating layer (small puffy, fleece jacket, R1, etc.)

• Base layer top and bottom (long sleeve synthetic material or wool, no cotton)

• Warm hat/sun hat depending on weather forecast

• Neck gaiter/buff

• Sunglasses (better for uphill travel)

• Goggles

• Gloves (minimum 2 pairs, recommended to bring 3. Pro tip: insulated fishing gloves work great in the PNW)

• Ski socks

• Watch or phone with second counter (for measuring heart rate/respiratory rate)

• Inclinometer: to measure slope angle (some compasses have one, download an app on your smartphone, BCA inclinometer, pole-clinometer, etc.)

• Food and water for the day (pro tip: bring a thermos with a hot drink to help stay warm)

• Optional items: hand warmers, extra socks and/or change of clothes to change into after the day is over

For the Whiteout Navigation Lab:

• Topographic map of the area (Mount Shuksan USGS quadrangle, downloadable maps on phone in CalTopo, Gaia GPS, Onyx, or other comparable app)

• Compass 

***A manual with lecture notes is provided at the beginning of the course and can be used to take notes.

Mount Baker is located in the beautiful North Cascades mountain range in Northeast Washington. The ski area holds the world record for most snowfall in a season, over 1000 inches during the 98’-99’ season. Bring your equipment and prepare for some powder turns.

There is no lodging directly at the ski area. They do allow camping in the parking lot and there are a lot of AirBnBs located about 30 mins down the hill in Glacier and Maple Falls. We would recommend booking the rentals more than a month in advance because they do tend to fill up quickly.

Mt. Baker Ski Area, Mt. Baker Hwy, Deming, WA 98244

Required skills:

• Intermediate to advanced ski/snowboard ability in the backcountry.

• Your own full backcountry set up and at least one day using your gear (see gear list below).

• Ability to thrive in wintertime PNW conditions for a full day.

• Physical ability to walk 5 miles and up 2000 ft. in a single day.

• Basic understanding of how to transition from uphill to downhill mode and vice versa.

• Avalanche rescue course is a preferred but not required prequisite.

The class is held in the backcountry and will be spent moving through the snowy and icy landscape. Consideration should be taken to ensure you are fit enough to embark on these trails. Please contact BMG if you would like more information about hiking fitness requirements.

All of our programs have a minimum age requirement based on physical intensity and/or the mature nature of the online and in-person content. The minimum age for this program is 18. We reserve the right to make exceptions to this policy depending on circumstances. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@backcountrymedical.org to see whether an exception is possible.