Joint Symposium on Mountain Medicine and Avalanche Rescue - JOSMAR 2008
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Günther Sumann

Dr. Günther Sumann is Anesthesiologist and Critical Care physician. He is staff physician of the Trauma Intensive Care Unit of the University hospital of Innsbruck, Austria, and Medical Director of a HEMS base in the Tyrolean Alps. He is a board member of the Austrian Society for Mountain and High Altitude Medicine and faculty member of the International Mountain Medicine Courses. As a delegate in ICAR MEDCOM he contributes in the invention of guidelines and recommendations for mountain emergency medicine.

Bruno Durrer

Bruno Durrer lives in Lauterbrunnen, in the Eiger region, and works as general practitioner, with emphasis on sports-medicine and traumatology. He is also an air rescue emergency physician and a diplomed Swiss mountainguide with the experience of over 2500 helicopter rescue missions and of a few cave rescues. His climbing experience includes different expeditions in the Himalayas and Andes and many classical mixed and rock climbs in the Alps. He served as president of MedCom UIAA, was the founding president of the Swiss Society of Mountain Medicine and was in charge of the Swiss doctor`s courses of Mountain Medicine 1990-2004.

Urs Hefti

Urs Hefti lives and works in Switzerland as a surgeon, especially in trauma surgery, and as an Emergency physician for the Swiss Air Ambulance (REGA). He was the leader of two scientific expeditions to Shisha Pangma and Muztagh Ata, worked for the Himalayan Rescue Association in the Everest Region and climbed many mountains in South America. He is the Past President of the Swiss Society of Mountain Medicine and the delegate of the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) in the Medical Commission of the UIAA.

Markus Landrø

Born 1970 started climbing at the age of 14, UIAGM guide since 1994, cand scient from the Norwegian university of sports, has worked as guide for different guide companies in Norway and abroad, teacher at the Steep-course at Hallingdal folkehøgskule, runs a guide company called Snowhow. Has written “Skredfare”, a book about avalanches in Norwegian. wants to help people master different activities in nature.

Are Løset

Are Løset is a PhD-student of High Altitude Medicine in the group of Exercise and Extreme Environments at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). He finished seven years at medical school with one year at medical research programme at NTNU spring 2007.

He is the leader and founder of the Norwegian High Altitude Medicine Research Group (NARG). Are has been working as lieutenant and instructor doing selection of paratroopers at the Norwegian Special Operation Commando (NORSOC) for eight years after one year as paratrooper. He was 2nddirector national board of the youth group Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT-U) and leader for Norwegian High Altitude Medicine Expedition to Aconcagua 2003, 2007 and 2008. He is an avid skier, trekker and climber, and remains an active researcher, glacier instructor and organizer in many aspects of mountain medicine.

Guttorm Brattebø

Guttorm Brattebø is a consulting anaesthetist, working as the medical director of the prehospital emergency services, at Dept. og Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. His responsibilities include a helicopter air ambulance service, the emergency dispatch center in Bergen, and ground ambulance services. He graduated from University of Bergen in 1987, and spent a year of studying epidemiology at School of Public Health, UCLA. He has special interest in patient safety and team work, and the provision of high quality emergency services under special conditions and demanding environments. Skiing is the preferred leisure activity.

Jon-Kenneth Heltne

Jon-Kenneth Heltne is 43 years old and anesthesiologist with a particular interest in emergency medicine. Has been working as an emergency physician within the military helicopter service, primarily search and rescue (SAR) missions since 1994  and in the Norwegian Air Ambulance (NLA) since 1997. Additionally he serves as senior consultant in the emergency dept. at the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. Ph.D in 2002 on hypothermia and fluid balance. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons and international instructor for Advanced Pediatric Life Support Courses, also a collaborator to several medical societies. Active interest in mountain medicine since being a scout, skiing, sailing and scuba-diving.

Øyvind Thomassen

Øyvind works at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen. He is a senior registrar in anaesthesiology with a particular interest in acute care medicine and mountain medicine.  He is working on a PhD in Patient Safety and is a member of The Acute Care Medicine Research Network. He also works in the Norwegian Search and Rescue Services and the Norwegian Air Ambulance. Øyvind has an active interest in, and has done some research in, toxicology, hypothermia, avalanche-issues and suspension trauma.  He has done several expeditions in kayak, cross-country skiing and climbing.

Johan Kofstad

Johan Kofstad (JK) was educated medical doctor in 1959. He specialized  in  medical physiology and biochemistry and was approved specialist in this field in 1967. Since  1970  JK  has been working centrally in the Norwegian Red Cross Rescue Team (about 18000 members)  and was the leader for this organisation 1978-1984. His special interest has been mountain rescue. In  1982  the Norwegian Mountain Medical  Forum was founded.  JK  was the chair 1982- 2006. JK  has been to many courses and  seminars in mountain medicine in both Central Europe  and Canada. Since  2000 JK  has been very interested in high altitude medicine. He has been participant in world congresses in high altitude medicine,  in Chile  (2000)  and  in China/Tibet  (2004).

Sven Christjar Skaiaa

Sven Christjar is 34 years old and a GP, currently working in Hemsedal, with emphasis on sports medicine and pre-hospital medical care. His main interest is mountain medicine and mountain rescue, with emphasis on high altitude and expedition medicine. SC’s experience includes member of alpine mountain rescue team, expedition doctor in the Pamir region, 3 months for the Himalayan Rescue Association in the Annapurna region. He is a UIAGM mountain guide, co-owner of Norgesguidene AS, and has worked app. 12 years with all aspects of mountaineering a mountain rescue. SC is currently the chairman of the Norwegian Society of Mountain Medicine and is member of UIAA MedCom.

David Hillebrandt

David Hillebrandt started mountaineering 44 years ago and eventually got accepted by a Medical School 34 years ago, having spent too much time in the hills. The day he officially qualified he was on a plane to Pakistan for his first Himalayan Expedition. He eventually settled in General Practice in Devon which gave him a whole coastline of relatively unclimbed rock and his practice arrangements permitted six months sabbatical leave every three years. Being a slow acclimatizer most of his thirteen expeditions have been to Chilean Patagonia. He does part time work advising a commercial expedition company, is Hon Medical Advisor to the British Mountaineering Council, Vice president of the UIAA Medical Committee and helps run the UK Diploma of Mountain Medicine.

Manuel Genswein

Manuel Genswein has been working for 15 years in over 20 different countries as an independent instructor for avalanche rescue and prevention. He developed many of today’s most advanced avalanche rescue search technologies as well as search and excavation strategies. As a consultant and trainer for many of the largest players in the industry, Heli-Skiing, mountain guide organizations, police forces, fire brigades, civil defense and armed forces of several nations, development aid agencies, educational institutions, avalanche centers and organized rescue groups he has gathered a broad scale knowledge within the field of avalanches, avalanche rescue, development projects and teaching participants with very different backgrounds.

Jim Milledge

Dr Jim Milledge is a consultant respiratory physician and altitude physiologist. He is President of the International Society for Mountain Medicine. He was on the Silver Hut expedition in Nepal in 1960/61 and made the first ascent of Puma Dablam (6400m). He then worked in Vellore, South India. He went on to become consultant physician and later Medical Director at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow. He has been on numerous further expeditions including AMREE 1981 and Kongur 1981. He is author of “High Altitude Medicine and Physiology” with John West and Robert Schoene.

Ragnhild Eide

Ragnhild Eide has been working as a NF mountain guide in Norway since 1997. She has, together with Manuel Genswein, been part of the development of the V-shaped snow conveyor technique for excavating avalanche victims.

Halvard Stave

Halvard is an anesthesiologist under specialization, working at Aker University Hospital in Oslo. He worked earlier, and still does occasionally, as a general practitioner. Halvard's expedition experience is from the Norwegian Himalaya Expedition 2001 when he descended from the summit of Cho Oyu on telemark skies. After this he had the medical responsibility for two other Norwegian Himalaya expeditions. He is medical consultant for high altitude climbs/treks to Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua. Halvard was a co-founder of Norsk Fjellmedisinsk Selskap in 2004 and a board member. He is a otherwise a keen mountaineer, and a member of the Norwegian Alpine Club.

Dan Halvorsen

Dan has been an active member of the mountain rescue service since he was 17 years old. He is an UIAGM mountain guide and is an avid climber. In addition is he is nurse with anesthesiology specialization and works as a HEMS crew member in the Norwegian Air Ambulance. He has  been a Norwegian delegate in IKAR Air Rescue commission since 1982. Dan is the leader of Langfjella Alpine Rescue Team, and is on the national board for Norwegian Alpine Mountain Rescue.

Haakon Nordseth

Haakon has worked as a HEMS crew member in Norsk Luftambulanse since 1987. He has been an active climber and active member of the Norwegian Red Cross since 1975. He has worked as an instructor on several emergency medical courses related to rescue, climbing and glacier travel, and has been a member of Alpine Rescue Team since 1987. Of particular interest is prevention and treatment of hypothermia.

Mats Hjelle

Tore Dahlberg

Tore works as an anesthesiologist at the Norwegian National Hospital (Rikshospitalet) and in the Norwegian Air Ambulance Service (NLA). He is also a registered GP and responsible doctor for the emergency central for Sykehuset Innlandet. He is member of IKAR MedCom, representing the Norwegian Red Cross. Tore has special interest in mountain medicine and mountain rescue, and owned and trained a rescue dog for 15 years. Previous experience includes 10 years as a senior doctor in Spitsbergen where he accumulated experience in mountain- and wilderness medicine. He has assisted on a number of arctic mountain accidents, amongst others during the biggest airplane crash in Norwegian history in Spitsbergen in 1996. He was a doctor for three months on a 100-man big scientific expedition to Antarctica, and co-authored a publication on a serious accident that happened during this expedition. He co-authored a publication on snowmobile accidents on Spitsbergen.

Jørgen Aamodt

Born in 1974, living in Hemsedal. Working as a teacher at Hallingdal Folkehøgskule, where he teaches the steep course. He has 10 years experience as a guide and instructor on snow, rock, ice and whitewater. In 2005 he climbed and skied Gasherbrum 2 (8035mtr) in Pakistan. Jørgen is now following the norwegian education to become a UIAGM moutain guide.

Mick Sheard

Mick Sheard, originally from England but he has lived in Norway for the last 30 odd years, mainly in the Jotunheimen region. Became a member of  the Norwegian Red Cross Mountain Rescue and the Norwegian Search and Rescue Dog Organisation in 1984.  Still an active field man  with 2 approved winter lavine dogs and 1 summer search and rescue dog. Instructor and assessor as well as executive committee member for the Norwegian Search and Rescue Dog Organisation.

Krister Kristensen

Krister Kristensen works as an avalanche specialist at the Natural Hazards division of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.  The main work tasks involve risk analyses, hazard zoning and avalanche forecasting.  He lives and works in Stryn.  Krister has also a long time involvment with mountain rescue and education. 

Albert Lunde

Albert Lunde has been engaged in voluntary mountain rescue since 1977, most of the time with the Norwegian Red Cross Rescue Corps (NRKH). He is also a dog handler in the Norwegian Rescue Dog Association and a member of a local alpine rescue team. Since 1996, he has been representing NRKH in the IKAR avalanche commission.

Harald Lystad

Dr. Harald Lystad has been working in Hemsedal since 1975 as a GP and Health Officer. He has major interests in trauma medicine, and in treating and preventing skiing injuries, and he has received awards for his efforts in this matter. He is the national secretary in ISSS –the International Society for Skiing Safety - and has participated in all ISSS congresses every second year from 1981. He is leading the registration of skiing injuries in Hemsedal, and the medical centre has a data base of more than 13.000 injuries the last 25 years.

David Durkan

Welshman who has lived in Norway for over 30 years. Mountain and travel enthusiast. Numerous solo trips in Indian and Nepal Himalaya. He has led over 20 groups, from trekking to climbing, during his 28 visits to Nepal. Coined the phrase "Creeping Hypothermia". He will look at hypothermia and high altitude illness as seen from the "customers" point of view and the part "Instant trekking" has, and is, playing in high mountain tourism today, the travel industry and medical facilities at altitude.

Marius Martenson

Marius Martenson currently serving an internship at Voss Hospital in western Norway. He comes from Tromsø where he also did his medical studies. He became a UIAGM Mountain Guide in 2007. Marius was born with skis on, and started climbing at the age of 15. He has most of his steep experience from northern part of Norway, especially from the Lyngen alps and on the granite on Kvaløya.

Sverre Hjelmeland

IFMGA/UIAGM Mountainguide. Works and lives all over Norway, but are stationed in Hemsedal. Works mostly as mountainguide with Norgesguidene. Been active in volunteer rescue service 13 years. Main interests: skiing, climbing and fly-fishing.