Welcome to all of you planning to participate in our tenth course at the University of New Mexico! The 2009 New Year is providing us here with lots of snow for great skiing in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado, and nice sunny days to even go for a great mountain bike ride. I have been practicing survival skills as well-last week drove from Taos to Silverton and got benighted in a snowdrift, but it was all good! We hope you are also preparing for a fantastic course in March!We have some new classes for you, always geared toward personal and group preparation. You see, true wilderness medicine is more preventative medicine...you really want to avoid doing ACLS in the field, for instance! With our wilderness and international emergency medicine fellowship looming next year, our excitement for the March course (which will be a part of the fellowship) is bigger than ever. In the meanwhile, if you are not on an exercise plan, start now! If you get the chance to be outdoors in the next couple of months, do it! And keep up to date on the events relevant to wilderness and austere medicine-the news and popular press is doing a good job of that (see our regular Mountain and Marine Medicine blogs for some of those press releases). On behalf of the faculty here, we can't wait to meet you. So, have a safe New Year, a prosperous New Year, and a well prepared New Year! If you're in the area, say "Hi" to us at the Ouray Ice Festival (Jan 10-14, 2009).
Dario
