Wilderness First Responder

Tuesdays and Thursdays, March 2 - April 27, 7 - 10 pm;
Saturday, March 25; April 15, 22, 29, 9 am - 5 pm, Piedmont Adult School.

WFR is a professional-level course that trains you to understand and avoid wilderness hazards and cope with emergencies in both wilderness and disaster situations. Sponsored by the Sierra Club Bay Chapter Activities Committee, the course more than satisfies first-aid training requirements for all trip leaders, and is great preparation for anyone doing serious wilderness activities far from medical care. You will learn how to assess injuries, deal with medical or environmental problems, and do emergency care with both standard and improvised equipment. Skills practice is intensive.

Steve Donelan (the lead instructor) is national chair of the Wilderness Emergency Care program he developed for the American Safety & Health Institute which publishes his textbook. ASHI certification in WFR, valid three years, is recognized throughout the United States and in many other countries. Steve has been designing and teaching courses in wilderness emergency care, and training instructors, for over 20 years. For more information, see Steve's web site

Register with the San Francisco Paramedic Association or (415) 543-1161. Fee: $220. Buy the textbook in class from the instructor ($20). CE's available at no extra cost: one unit for every hour of class attendance.

Realistic simulated accidents help you put your skills together and develop your leadership abilities.

He is also an instructor and instructor trainer for the National Ski Patrol, section editor on education for Wilderness & Environmental Medicine and a peer reviewer of several standard textbooks. He has published many articles on emergency care and how to teach it, as well as his textbook and instructor guide.

All of our instructors have many years of both wilderness and teaching experience, and several are physicians recognized as wilderness-medicine experts.

We use vivid slides and interactive teaching methods to bring the topics to life.

Our many experienced instructors work with you individually and in small groups.