Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature


  • Lowest New Price: $2.61
  • Lowest Used Price: $0.01
  • Lowest Collectible Price: $10.00
  • Total New: 17
  • Total Used: 34
  • Total Collectible: 3
  • Total Refurbished: 0
    • Author : Christopher Van Tilburg
    • Binding : Hardcover
    • Dewey Decimal Number : 616.0252
    • EAN : 9780312358877
    • Edition : 1
    • ISBN : 0312358873
    • Label : St. Martin's Press
    • List Price : $24.95 (USD)
    • Manufacturer : St. Martin's Press
    • Number Of Items : 1
    • Number Of Pages : 304
    • Package Dimensions : 1.10 inches (Height) x 8.30 inches (Length) x 0.90 pounds (Weight) x 5.80 inches (Width)
    • Publication Date : 2007-11-13
    • Publisher : St. Martin's Press
    • Release Date : 2007-11-13
    • Studio : St. Martin's Press

    “A fast-paced account of Mt. Hood. For readers who are unfamiliar with the rugged and beautiful Hood River area, [Van Tilburg] balances its undeniable perils with the joys of its scenic wonders . . .”--Publisher’s Weekly “Van Tilburg’s dogged spadework in translating to the page the intricate essentials of his unique trade makes each breathtaking rescue literally come to life. Exhilarating take on the daily life of a unique brand of doctor.”--Kirkus “As a medical doctor, a previously published author (Backcountry Snowboarding; Introducing Your Kids to the Outdoors), and an adventure-sports devotee himself, Van Tilburg is uniquely qualified to describe the fears, excitement, frustration, and rewards of these searches. He examines the high costs of search-and-rescue operations and provides an interesting overview of the debate on whether victims should be held responsible for some of these costs. Young adults will likely enjoy this introduction to the field of wilderness medicine. Filled with adventure and good advice.”--Library Journal "Outdoors folk in Oregon have long benefited from Dr. Chris Van Tilburg’s skills as an emergency doctor and his selfless devotion to rescuing injured hikers and climbers as a volunteer for his local mountain rescue service. Now his other great skill--as a writer--has brought these exciting tales to the country at large. Chris captures the excitement of a rescue with the passion of a true mountaineer, and does so in highly readable prose."--John Harlin III, Editor of The American Alpine Journal and author of The Eiger Obsession, Mount Rainier and The Climber's Guide to North AmericaChristopher Van Tilburg, MD is an emergency room physician, a ski patrol doctor, an emergency wilderness physician, and a member of the Hood River Crag Rats, the oldest mountain rescue team in the country. When Dr. Van Tilburg's beeper goes off, the call may take him racing up a mountain peak to rescue an injured hiker, scaling a rocky ledge to intubate a hiker who has fallen over a cliff, into a blizzard to search for missing skiers, or to a mountain airplane crash scene for body recovery. Dr. Van Tilburg's work requires a unique combination of emergency medicine, survival skills, agility, and extreme sports. In Mountain Rescue Doctor, Van Tilburg shares personal stories of harrowing and suspenseful rescues and recoveries, including the recent Mount Hood disaster, which claimed the lives of three climbers. We learn about the tools and techniques of emergency wilderness medicine, as well as the feats of human strength and delicacy required to treat patients under extreme conditions. And finally, we confront some of the ethical challenges a wilderness physician faces in making tough choices about who can be saved and at what cost. Mountain Rescue Doctor is an exhilarating tour through the perils of nature and medicine.

    - Product Description

    Customer Reviews:

    Rated 5.0 stars Customers rated Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature 5.0 stars out of 5.0 based on 22 reviews:

    • True stories of men and women who really make a difference

      by Nina M. Osier (Augusta, ME USA) - 2010-08-11  Rated 4 stars
      The Crag Rats are the oldest volunteer rescue organization in the United States. They operate in the Cascades, responding whenever they're able to the call for help in finding lost hikers - getting injured waterfall jumpers into the hands of emergency transport - even recovering bodies after those they might have rescued are past the need for that. They do this at more personal cost than providing their own equipment. For emergency room doctor Chris van Tilburg, his volunteer rescue activities create marital tension and take away family time even though he sets careful limits on that loss. Yet this is how he has always wanted to live his life, and he makes a tremendous difference for those who need him. The chapters of this book take the reader through rescues in all four seasons, some of them hearteningly successful and others heartbreakingly futile. The author describes nature honestly and with love even when nature is being anything else but kind. He is just as frank about humans and their interactions. This makes for an exciting read most of the time, although some chapters do bog down into excessive detail. My only other quibble is St. Martin's surprisingly inept copy editing. I don't expect any publisher to catch all of a book's typos and other mistakes these days, but this one's numerous errors pulled me out of the story far too often. --Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of "Love, Jimmy: A Maine Veteran's Longest Battle"

    • Suspenseful and interesting

      by Debbie (Alpena, AR United States) - 2010-06-09  Rated 5 stars
      "Mountain Rescue Doctor" is a memoir describing what it's like to be a part of a mountain "search and rescue" team. The author told many vivid, suspenseful stories about a variety of different rescues--some easy, others hard--over a particularly active year. The author is a doctor and often had to do emergency medical care under some extreme circumstances, but it was easy to follow what he was doing and the descriptions of the injuries weren't gory. He also included information about the dangers of mountain hiking, biking, and climbing; a brief history of rescue teams in general and his group in particular; how the different types of searches are handled; the mundane aspects of being a SAR (Search and Rescue) member--like meetings and training; how being a on-call SAR member effects his family; why he picked this job and how he got training for it; and some stories about his recreational mountain climbing trips. There were also several pages of impressive, full-color photos from several of the rescues that he described. Overall, I found this memoir well-written, very interesting, and hard to put down. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes extreme sports or who thinks the topic sounds interesting.

    • Kept my interest cover to cover

      by Debra Lauman (Flagstaff, Arizona) - 2009-06-04  Rated 5 stars
      Imagine sticking a breathing tube down someone's throat. And imagine having to do that without accidentally inserting the tube into the person's esophogus or breaking the patient's teeth. Then imagine doing this while kneeling on sharp rocks while perched on a narrow ledge, as a hovering rescue helicopter sprays you and your patient with dirt and debris. That's what Dr. Christopher Van Tillburg had to do during one of the many wilderness Search & Rescue missions he's been on as a member of the Crag Rats, the oldest SAR team in the U.S. As a Search & Rescue volunteer myself, I'm hooked on true stories about wilderness rescue and survival, written by both rescuers and those they help, or by those who made it out of difficult situations on their own. Having read many, this one is still near the top of my list of favorites. My only disappointment when I finished the book was that, in certain cases, I was left wondering what happened to some of the victims Dr. Tillman had worked so hard to save. Did they survive? Then I happened across a blog post by the author, in which he states, "Yes, several chapters don't really say what happens to the patient. That's part of the deal with mountain rescue missions: we hand off the patients to a helicopter or ground ambulance crew and sometimes we never find out the end result." As any member of a SAR unit knows, that statement is very true. The last we sometimes see or hear of a patient is when they're whisked into the sky in a litter, spinning at the end of a 200-foot rope.

    • Excellent Read

      by Christopher W. Moore (Portland, OR) - 2009-01-22  Rated 5 stars
      Thursday, January 22, 2009 Mountain Rescue Doctor I just finished reading the book "Mountain Rescue Doctor" by Christopher Van Tilburg and I have to say it was a great read. I literally could not put it down. He gives multiple perspectives of mountain rescue and addresses many of the debatable topics when it comes to who should bear the financial costs of rescue, etc. This book is great for both the outdoor enthusiast or anyone who just enjoys getting up to the mountain every now and then for some leisurely riding. There are great lessons to be learned from Van Tilburg's accounts and his writing makes you respect both the mountain and those that serve to aid in the rescue of the lost, injured and deceased

    • Equal Amounts of Exciting Reading and Essential Wilderness First Aid Education

      by D. Campbell (Tacoma, Wa) - 2009-01-06  Rated 5 stars
      This book provides an honest description of how SAR calls are organized and carried out. Essential reading for any wilderness first responder and outdoor enthusiast, because it unveils the reality of wilderness rescues. Well written using easily understandable language and concepts. Helps bridge the gap between first responder and trained rescuer without being a "how to" guide. A great read, exciting action, the author's style holds your interest. I will absolutely make it part of my mountaineering oriented first aid classes!

    Your Opinion Counts:

    Copyright © 1999-2010 Data Growth Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.
    Privacy Policy | Terms of Use |