1
MEDICAL SUITABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS
FOR WILDERNESS VENTURES
©
Physicians are often asked to advise individuals regarding participation in
wilderness activities. Not only is this process important for health, safety, and even
survival of the individual, but also to the success of the mission and the safety of others
involved in the activity.
Matching the individual with the task is aided by classifying each. Wilderness
ventures, classified by physical demands and environmental exposure, can include
(Table 1):
1)
Extreme performance ventures (e.g. Mount Everest or Mount McKinley climb)
2)
High performance ventures (e.g. remote hunting activities, jungle trekking)
3)
Recreational activities (e.g. Alpine hiking, National Park trail walking)
4)
Therapeutic activities for those with illness or disability.
Individuals interested in wilderness ventures can be classified according to their
health and functional capacity to include (Table 2):
A)
Demonstrated high performance individuals
B)
Healthy, vigorous individuals
C)
Healthy, "deconditioned" individuals
D)
Those with risk factors
E)
Those who are manifestly ill
Armed with these classifications, a physician can approach a prospective candidate with
an examination appropriate for the individual for the venture.
In the process of developing the content of such an examination, we sought the
opinion of wilderness leaders who were experienced in the selection process. The
