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Middlebury Outdoor Programs

Wilderness Medicine Courses

A picture of the solo schoiol buiding on green background
(Credit: SOLO Schools )

Wilderness First Aid skills are essential knowledge for all outdoor leaders, as well as those interested in personal adventures.

MOP sponsors both Wilderness First Aid (WFA) and Wilderness First Responder (WFR) courses taught by SOLO.

A student is warpped in a blue sleeping bag.
(Credit: Bowen Liz )

Wilderness First Aid (WFA)

Accidents happen. People get hurt, sick, or lost. The temperature drops, the wind picks up, and it starts to rain. Would you know what to do? Many backcountry emergencies are preventable, and even when bad things happen, sometimes the wrong care can make things worse. By learning a few basic skills, you can make the difference between a good outcome and a bad one-and maybe even save a life.

The WFA is the perfect course for the outdoor enthusiast or trip leader who wants a basic level of first aid training for short trips with family, friends, and outdoor groups. It also meets the American Camping Association (ACA) guidelines.

The WFA is 16 hours long (two days), and focuses on the basic skills of: Response and Assessment, Musculoskeletal Injuries, Environmental Emergencies, Survival Skills, Soft Tissue Injuries, and Medical Emergencies.

Spring 2025 Wildernerss First Aid

  • Wilderness First Aid

    Learn how to handle outdoor emergency situations in this two-day Wilderness First Aid certification course, SOLO’s most popular class. You will learn how to stabilize emergencies, dress exposed wounds, treat weather exposure and practice other common survival skills. Like all SOLO courses, students learn both in a classroom setting and through structured scenarios. WFA is a 2-year certification and, for an additional fee, will also recertify a soon-to-expire WFR or AWFA qualification.

    Adirondack Coltrane Lounge

Wilderness First Responder (WFR)

SOLO’s Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course is the recognized industry standard for those who work as backcountry trip leaders, camp counselors, mountain guides, river guides, and ski patrollers.

The WFR is the perfect course for anyone working in a position of leadership in an outdoor setting or for individuals who want a high level of wilderness medical training for extended personal backcountry trips or expeditions.

The WFR is 72+ hours long (8 to 10 days), and is a comprehensive and in-depth look at the standards and skills of dealing with: Response and Assessment, Musculoskeletal Injuries, Environmental Emergencies and Survival Skills, Soft Tissue Injuries, and Medical Emergencies. Although these appear to be the same basic topics covered in our two-day WFA course, they are covered far more extensively, and there is much more hands-on practice. Additional topics, such as CPR, are also included.

Spring 2025 WFR Infomation

Date Sunday, February 2, 2025 to February 8, 2025
Time 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location

Coltrane Lounge

Back of the Adirondack House

534 College St, Middlebury, VT 05753
Cost $500

This training is open to the public. Register through Ideal-Logic. 

Spring 2025 Wilderness First Responder

  • A student is thermo wrapped.

    Wilderness First Responder

    Wilderness First Responder (WFR) is the industry standard for outdoor leaders. This 80-hour certification course covers everything in the WFA curriculum, then exceeds and expands upon these fundamentals in both depth and scope. Patient assessment, traumatic injuries, medical emergencies, environmental injuries, bites and stings, long term care protocols, evacuation procedures, and much more are all addressed. The format integrates classroom sessions with significant practical and scenario-based learning time.

    Adirondack Coltrane Lounge

Middlebury Outdoor Programs

Freeman International Center
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753

802-443-5223
mop@middlebury.edu