Wilderness Medicine Case Study 26

You are partway through the morning of the third consecutive day in a snow cave at 8,000 feet in the Central Cascades waiting out a surprise spring storm. Your skis and poles are inside with you yearning for fresh powder. At last count, you owe your friend a few hundred dollars from losing too-many-to-count hands of nickel poker and your supply of peanut M&M "poker" chips is almost gone. The atmosphere inside the cave is cold but bearable and you are down to your last candle. Both you and Jim have mild but steadily worsening headaches. Drifting and falling snow covered the most of the entrance to the cave during the night.

What's wrong and what should you do about it? Click here to find out.
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Don't know where to begin or what to do? Take one of our wilderness medicine courses. Guides and expedition leaders should consider taking our Wilderness First Responder course.

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