inReach/lighter for scale. For me, this first aid kit strikes a balance between well stocked and compact/lightweight.
First aid kit contents are one of the more varied/contested items among ski touring partners and communities. From the legendary French guide’s first aid kit: two cigarettes and a cell phone, to a seasoned guide/search and rescue member who has seen too much and prepares as such, there is a huge variety of kits that folks are carrying.
In this series, we will explore both extremes and more middle-of-the-road kits that various folks carry during their day-to-day skiing. The goal here isn’t to provide a definitive kit for a reader to copy for themselves but rather to give context and a framework for building a first aid kit that matches your location, risk tolerance, medical training, and personal needs.
The full spread: most of this fits in the Gore-Tex bag, then a few bulkier/multi-use items live elsewhere in my pack.
Perhaps the most critical component of any first aid kit is medical knowledge and training. Something like a nasopharyngeal airway device isn’t much use in your kit if you haven’t been trained on its proper use and application. Two points here. First, don’t carry things you don’t know how to use. Second, basic first aid training is worthwhile. Courses like a WFR or WFA will teach you the necessary framework for assessing a situation, identifying the necessary treatment/evacuation plan, and communicating the patient’s needs to rescuers. Feeling empowered by (some) knowledge in a scary situation is worth its weight in gold, in my experience.
With super professional Search and Rescue teams like Air Zermatt around, a first aid kit in the Alps can be pretty minimal. Photo: Air Zermatt Library
Below are the contents of my personal first aid kit. This is the kit I carry both while guiding and recreating here in the Tetons. I reassess my kit every 2-3 years, usually while recertifying my WFR. For me and my WFR training level, I find this kit strikes a good balance between well-prepared and lightweight. Here in the Tetons, we are very fortunate to have the excellent Teton County Search and Rescue, as well as Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers, ready to help when things go wrong. They are incredibly professional and have a generally quick response time, but given the remoteness and weather variability of the Tetons, we need to be prepared to bear down and deal, potentially for many hours or overnight. The access to highly trained mountain rescuers fits us, in my mind, somewhere in the middle between a mountain range like the Alps, where rescue is often minutes away, and an extremely remote range like the Beartooths, where Search and Rescue teams have minimal resources, and the weather can be incredibly harsh.
My personal backcountry first aid kit:
- Gore-Tex zipper pouch about 6”x 9”x 2”
- Small ziplock with SOAP note, mini pencil, emergency response plan
- 2x Body warmers, stick on 3×5” chemical warmers
- Extra WAG Bag
- Mini trauma shears
- A couple pairs of latex gloves
- Meds: Benadryl, ibuprofen, chewable baby aspirin (all in a little pill case from Amazon)
- NuMask CPR Mask
- Nasopharyngeal Airway device (NPA)
- CAT Tourniquet
- Cloth tape
- Coban/Vet wrap
- Triangular muslin bandage
- Abdominal gauze pad (Large absorbent gauze)
- Pressure dressing gauze roll
- Wound closure strips
- Band-aids
Packed kit weighs in at 512g.
All the first aid essential that go in the Gore-Tex bag.
Note: Not in this kit, but in my pack: foam pad for ground insulation/splinting, firestarter and lighter, guide tarp or rescue sled for shelter, 4 voile straps, a Garmin Inreach, and often an *extra* puffy layer such as an Arc’teryx Cerium LT.
I like to think of my kit in terms of likelihood of an event/injury and specific needs for said emergency. In some cases, there are low likelihood scenarios that also have a negligible weight penalty to be ready for – why not be prepared in that case? A few key points/thoughts on my kit:
Packaging the Patient
In any winter emergency, packaging and warming the patient is absolutely critical. Ground insulation, chemical warmers, extra layers (beyond what you may need to stay warm as the rescuer) and some sort of shelter are all part of this system. In a more remote area, an inflatable sleeping pad and more warm clothes like puffy pants and a true parka may be warranted.
Basic patient packaging: puffy vest, rescue sled/tarp, foam pad, and handwarmers.
Prepared for Trauma
As far as incidents, I view trauma and avalanche burial as the most likely events that I can be prepared for. Trauma can have a large range of mechanisms of injury—a fall, rockfall, avalanche, crampon puncture, etc. Generally, I want to be prepared to control bleeding and build basic splints: this should cover most traumatic injuries we encounter ski touring. In my last WFR recert, I was convinced to add a CAT tourniquet to my kit – many view a tourniquet as improvisable, but the width and pressure adjustability of a real tourniquet are hard to replicate and important for better outcomes when needed.
Trauma kit: splint materials, tourniquet, bandage supplies, mini trauma shears
- In the case of an avalanche burial, I carry a NuMask cpr mask and NPA to provide rescue breaths and to establish a reliable airway. Beyond resuscitation needs, trauma and packaging applies as above.
- Meds to treat some common medical emergencies are lightweight insurance. Obviously my med array isn’t robust – but a few basics could buy some time in a medical situation.
Pill case from Amazon, NPA, and CPR Mask.
I’m excited to dive into this topic more as the season progresses. I am well aware that I am not an expert on the subject, so I hope to learn some valuable information to add to my knowledge and kit. It will be interesting to see different takes on the kit, as well as to see what other folks “in the middle” with me are carrying.
