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CIM takes on the Wilderness First Responder Course

By May 13, 2014The Log Book

With summer just around the corner, the CIM Team is preparing for our favourite part of the year – Canoe Tripping Season! This summer marks CIM’s fifth year of providing backcountry canoe trip programs in Ontario. We live for the days when we wake up to the sounds of loons calling in the distance and fall asleep under the unbelievable expanse of constellations that Ontario’s near-North has to offer. The smell of smoke in our clothes after an evening spent huddled around a campfire sharing stories and the the ache of our muscles knowing that we rocked it on the day’s portages. It couldn’t come soon enough.

As CIM’s backcountry programming grows, we have been looking for ways to enable some of the talented people in our community to gain the skills and experiences to guide for CIM. This year, thanks to the generosity of the Lilly Giving Program from Eli Lilly Canada Inc and Medtronic Philanthropy, CIM was able to support four of CIM’s community members to complete Wilderness Medical Associates Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training. The 80-hour course is the Outdoor Industry Standard for backcountry tripping and brings together river guides, paddling gurus, outdoor educators, and adventure enthusiasts from across the world to ensure that backcountry experiences are safe and that we are ready for whatever the rivers, mountains, and trekking paths have to throw at us.

Amy, learning what it feels like to be in a hypothermia wrap.

Julie De Vos, Tammy Hand and Amy Burrows committed 9 full days to gaining the skills and abilities to ensure that CIM continues to be a leader in providing backcountry tripping experiences for individuals with Type 1 diabetes. I’m so impressed with those ladies! Personally, I only needed to brush up on my WFR (pronounces ‘Woofer’ – That’s how the cool kids say it…) skills with a 40 hour recertification, and joined the CIM ladies half-way into the course. After only 4 days on the course, I felt like I needed a solid week of sleep to recover!

Julie, dramatically assisting with the practice of femur splinting techniques.

Boreal River Rescue’s WFR course is packed full of as-real-as-can-be simulations. The body make-up, protruding fake bones, and some of the finest acting I have ever seen kept us on our toes. Our week was split between: in-classroom sessions learning about mechanisms, signs, symptoms and treatments for some of the gnarliest backcountry medicine situations the wilderness had to throw at us (and the common, everyday backcountry woes, too!); hands-on practice perfecting our own assessment and treatment methods; and the occasional full-blown simulation. A shout out to our instructor, Danny, from Boreal River Rescue for keeping it real for CIM and ensuring that diabetes was always thrown into the mix.

Everyone pitching in for a simulated rescue, with the fine folks at Boreal River Rescue.

A HUGE Thank You to Amy, Tammy, and Julie who rocked the course! You’re going to enhance CIM’s tripping program in so many ways. I’ve got to ask, though – did you miss out on not having to splint bones, apply well-aimed, direct pressure, and monitor for rising intracranial pressure the following Monday morning? I kind of did!

We’re excited to see you all on the lake this summer. Join the CIM community as we paddle the Barron Canyon of Algonquin for this year’s 5.5er and Annual Trips or take it to the next level and paddle the Boundary Loop of Killarney on CIM’s Extended Trip. Registration is open!

CIM’s Annual and Extended Trip are supported by Insulindependence. Insulindependence members recieve a discount on their Annual and Extended registration fees. You can find out more about Insulindependence and their membership program here.