The 16-hour Wilderness First Aid training course is recommended as the minimum level of training desired for people traveling further than 1 hour from “definitive care”, that is, when professional emergency services are an hour or more away. The course covers immediate life-threatening injuries, and the most common medical issues one might face on a short-term wilderness trip.

November 16-17, 2024

8 AM to 5 PM each day

Prerequisites: Current CPR training (CPR may be offered on November 15. If this is of interest, please email dale@adventureleader.org.)

Course cost is $200. Register and pay today.

This 16-hour course meets the WFA requirements for BSA group leaders and is designed with leaders of youth adventures in mind.

• Day one will provide classroom instruction and hands-on practice of first aid skills.

• Day two will take place mostly outside, rain or shine, with a focus on practice scenarios of situations a trip leader with youth is likely to face.

Each participant will receive a compact first aid field guide as part of the course. 

Questions? Email Dale Rae at dale@adventureleader.org.

The course helps build the confidence that the WFA-trained adventurer will do the right thing in a medical urgency or emergency and will not make matters worse. Additionally, the course covers how to improvise to keep a patient stable and comfortable until they can move or be evacuated, and how to observe and record the most vital information needed when the patient is transferred to higher level medical providers. 

The Center for Adventure Leadership Wilderness First Aid courses are further tuned to:

• Focus on the specific concerns of youth leaders

• Have an activity-specific focus, i.e., climbing, rafting, kayaking, cycling

• Prepare the learner to work effectively in a team environment

• Provide follow-on urgency management activities such as scenario days

Since the 16-hour WFA course is a recommended minimum of adventurer emergency preparedness, our course includes discussions on why and how to obtain additional training. 

Importantly, participants in CAL WFA course join a community of adventurers who continue to support each other in their development as adventure leaders, particularly of youth. While most first aid training is a "one and done" experience, ours is part of a continuum of leadership development.