Alpine Medicine Training in the Alps

Sometimes it’s important to look outside the box, get a new perspective and leave your comfort zone. Regarding my main job as a resident at the end of the second year of training in internal medicine I was at this point. I really like most parts of my job in the hospital but I sometimes miss the adventurous moments that I’m normally looking for in my photography and travel life. When I heard about alpine and expedition medicine I was instantly hooked. It offered me a perspective to connect my profession as a doctor with my passion of outdoor sports, traveling and photography.

After some more research I became quickly a member of the German Society of Mountain and Expedition Medicine (BExMed) and signed up for the first of three alpine medicine training courses. The “winter course” focuses on ski touring and ski mountaineering with the associated knowledge of avalanches (rescue), frost bite, hypothermia and traumatology. Together with around 40 colleagues and a group mountain guides we set up base camp at “Heidelberger Hütte” a iconic mountain hut in the Silvretta Alps at the border of Switzerland and Austria.

The day was usually splitted into two parts: In the morning we were in small groups with our mountain guide and left for a ski tour that we had planned the night before. On the way up the mountain we learned about potential dangers, snow layers and navigation. Luckily my ski technique was not fully gone after a two years break from skiing. The conditions were wonderful. Powder snow, sunny weather and a manageable level of avalanche danger.

In the afternoon we were gathering in the hut for lectures from various experts in the fields of meteorology, avalanche science and emergency medicine.
Also, we had different training scenarios for multiple patients being buried by an avalanche. The main challenge there was to coordinate the resources in the group for a fast and efficient rescue.

To sum up, my first experience with alpine medicine really made me to want more. The mix of physical and mental challenges in a beautiful environment made this a fulfilling and enriching week. I’m curious what I can expect in the spiring and summer courses when we get into rock climbing and mountaineering, also passions of mine.

Kungsleden – A Backcountry Ski Tour across freezing Lapland

The sun's rays flash through the window into our compartment, the monotonous rattling of the train makes us aware of where we are. We open our eyes and look into a new world: a barren, snow-covered landscape passes us by. We are slowly approaching our destination: Lapland. Two nights before, we boarded the Stena Line from Kiel to Gothenburg, and the night before, in Stockholm, we got onto the night train to Abisko.

Now there are only a few hours left until the end of our climate-friendly journey and we have finally reached our destination. 

We want to do a multi-day ski trip across the "Fjell", the Swedish mountain landscape starting in the city of Abisko. For more than a week we will be cut off from civilization. Everything we need we have in the "pulks" (a kind of sled) with us or we will find in one of the self-catering huts of the STF in which we will sleep.

The first day of the tour welcomes us with the most beautiful sunshine. The snow sparkles and the low birch trees sway in the gentle wind. In front of us on the horizon we see the mountains. We follow a frozen river for several kilometers and the further we walk up the valley, the worse the visibility becomes. A few hours later it starts to snow and soon we can see only a few meters. Stoically we follow the markings, standing reliably along the way. In the late afternoon we suddenly see our first hut in the distance. The host welcomes us with warm tea and a piece of chocolate. Just the right thing after the long day in sub-zero temperatures. 

Afterwards we get shown the huts. We sleep in the main hut with the lounge and the kitchen. Patiently the host explains the procedures to us. For us city people, who are used to all the advantages of modern society, we are not used to cook on gas, to draw water from a hole in the ice and to heat with wood. However, by the end of the tour we will have mastered the little tricks of hut life perfectly. 

Nico and I first make our way to the water hole. Equipped with two water canisters we walk a few steps across the lake. There we find a hole in the thick ice cover. After we have filled the canisters we pull them back to the hut. The hut host directs us to the sauna house. There the water would be needed today. Almost every hut is equipped with a sauna, which is not only wonderful to relax but also the place for body care. 

While it is getting dark outside we make our way into the preheated sauna. After we have sweated properly and our bodies are boiling we throw ourselves into the half meter of fresh snow in front of the hut. Exhausted but happy we’re going to sleep this night, listening to the crackling of the fire. 

The next morning we see the result of the night's snowfall. The whole landscape is covered with a thick layer of fresh snow. Since we are the first to set out for "Alesjaure", we have to make tracks. Since it is much more exhausting than skiing on a paved path, we take turns with it. 

Slowly but steadily we gain altitude. The low birch forest thins out and in front of us stretches the plateau that will be our home for the next few days. 

Up here we are much more exposed and the wind sweeps across the barren landscape. In every break we have to be careful not to cool down immediately. Quickly we have to slip into our warm expedition down jackets to stay warm. 

Although the skiing has a quite meditative character, we try to make regular breaks. Otherwise, it would be too easy to forget to drink or to refill with food.

The huts of the next days always seem like an oasis in the snowy desert. With their black wood they represent a stark contrast to the otherwise pure white landscape. In addition to the guests, there is always a hut host on site to welcome you. But you also get to know the other guests better and better over the week. Since we all ski the same stages pretty much, we meet in the evening again cooking in the living area of the huts. 

After just a few days, you're completely into the rhythm of skiing and hut life, as if you've been doing it for ages. No electricity, no running water, no cell phone reception. Life as it was a hundred years ago doesn't feel so bad. We have more time for our thoughts, live more consciously somehow.

That's why it feels strange when we return to civilization after more than a week. After a little over 100 kilometers we reach the village of Nikkaluokta. From here we start our way home. 

Lapland was an incredible experience. This majestic expanse, this untouched nature, which is both rough and tender at the same time is imcomparable to anything I have seen so far. And I have a hunch that there is still much to discover here.