Semester
Costa Rica and Montana
Feb 1, 2027 - Apr 10, 2027
Course Details:
Aerie's Spring Semester provides unparalleled opportunities to learn and practice wilderness medicine and rescue skills in both the lush Costa Rican rainforest and the snowy Montana Rockies.
The program begins with 4 weeks of immersive training in Costa Rica, beginning at the beautiful
Rancho Mastatal, where you will complete most of your EMT training and then immediately use that training to help organize and run
a series of free health clinics in rural Costa Rican villages. These clinics give you experience practicing with real patients under the eye of our US based team of doctors, nurses, and paramedics.
The program will have a brief recess to allow students to travel back to the United States and make their way to Montana. Lodging and food are not provided in Missoula during the recess.
Upon your return to Missoula, you and your fellow teammates will travel to the stunning Flathead Valley, about 60 miles north of Missoula, to begin 5 days of avalanche rescue. During this time, you will earn your Recreation Avalanche 1 and Avalanche Rescue certification. When digging in the snow, it may be hard to remember that just a week before you were rescuing patients out of a warm Costa Rican river, but that is the essence of the Spring Semester. Environments do not change medicine, but the opportunities and obstacles provided by each environment are unique and require specialized training and preparation.
After completing avalanche training, you will travel to
Rich Ranch, near Seeley Lake and continue with your wilderness EMT training. At this lower elevation, as the snow recedes, you will complete your Red Card Wildland Firefighting training with
Aerie's professional wildlands firefighting instructors. The program culminates with you putting your route-finding, wilderness medical treatment skills, and team work to the test in a RATRACE (Reach And Treat Review And Comprehensive Exam) adventure race, where you will be evaluated on all skills learned in the program. At the conclusion of the RATRACE, you will have truly earned every certification, credit and experience you have gained.
Finish the semester on a high note at the
WRI (Whitewater Rescue Institute) in Alberton Gorge. You will learn to access patients in high angle terrain in our REMS (Rapid Extraction Module Support) course. Learn to build rescue anchors, belay rescue technicians, lower yourself, and use mechanical advantage to raise injured patients. At this training you will learn how to drive a UTV for Fire Line Operations. To wrap up our time at WRI, take to the river and finish off the program while earning your Swiftwater Rescue Technician certification. You will be one tired camper at the end of this section. Complete this program with a robust certification portfolio, and find your dream job. Aerie Backcountry Medicine is here to support you every step of the way.
