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BACKGROUND: Law enforcement is a profession of sedentary physical activity interspersed with physically demanding activity that requires high levels of fitness. It is imperative that agencies training law enforcement recruits maximise their fitness during their time at the academy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate changes in physical fitness during academy training. METHODS: Retrospective data for 10 academy recruit classes, totalling 715 participants, were collected from a US law enforcement agency. The change in performance on two standardised tests were used as outcome measures. Comparisons were made between percentiles utilising one-way ANOVA and a linear mixed model (LMM). RESULTS: Overall, higher percentiles were found to have smaller improvements in physical fitness than lower percentiles. The results of the LMM support this supposition, showing that lower physical fitness scores resulted in greater improvements in a generalised fitness assessment (value = –0.45, standard error 0.02, p < 0.001) and an occupational assessment (value = –0.49, standard error = 0.02, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that recruits with lower physical fitness will see greater improvements during academy training. This could be due to a ceiling effect for the more fit but may also be due to recruits of higher physical fitness being under trained during academy. Utilising ability-based training and prescribing an appropriate workload to recruits of higher fitness may improve overall recruit fitness upon graduation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: High-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) occurs as a result of rapid ascent to altitude faster than the acclimatization processes of the body. Symptoms can begin at an elevation of 2,500 meters above sea level. Our objective in this study was to determine the prevalence and trend of developing B-lines at 2,745 meters above sea level among healthy visitors over four consecutive days. Methods: We performed a prospective case series on healthy volunteers at Mammoth Mountain, CA, USA. Subjects underwent pulmonary ultrasound for B-lines over four consecutive days. Results: We enrolled 21 male and 21 female participants. There was an increase in the sum of B-lines at both lung bases from day 1 to day 3, with a subsequent decrease from day 3 to day 4 (P<0.001). By the third day at altitude, B-lines were detectable at base of lungs of all participants. Similarly, B-lines increased at apex of lungs from day 1 to day 3 and decreased on day 4 (P=0.004). Conclusion: By the third day at 2,745 meters altitude, B-lines were detectable in the bases of both lungs of all healthy participants in our study. We assume that increasing the number of B-lines could be considered an early sign of HAPE. Point-of-care ultrasound could be used to detect and monitor B-lines at altitude to facilitate early detection of HAPE, regardless of pre-existing risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests and similar types of landscapes offer a myriad of outcomes and benefits often associated with participation in outdoor adventure recreation (OAR) activities. Previous research has shown that OAR participants are able to identify, perceive, and accurately report the effects and benefits of their participation. The health benefits of outdoor experiences, both active and more passive, have received a growing research interest, both as a setting and as a setting/activity complex. Research has identified six primary forms of health and well-being from outdoor and forest-type landscapes, including emotional, environmental, intellectual, social, spiritual, and physical. The preponderance of research in the health and wellness field synthesizes these forms into two primary categories, physical/physiological and mental/psychological. This study considered the health outcomes attributed to highly active OAR participation using three popular OAR activities: mountain biking (MTB), rock climbing (RC) and whitewater paddling (WW; including whitewater kayaking, whitewater canoeing, and whitewater rafting). A survey presented in situ to OAR participants in various areas of the Midwestern and Southeastern United States yielded 288 respondents. Using health perceptions and outcomes instruments as well as semi-structured interviews, the researchers found health to be an important factor for OAR participation. These findings are congruent with previous research that suggest that OAR participants specifically recreate in forested and other natural areas for enhanced physical and psychological health outcomes. The findings in this study also support the efficacy of the participation in OAR activities toward supporting both health improvement and maintenance. With physical and psychological health continuing to be an area of concern in today's world, this study suggests that participation in OAR on forested and similar landscapes can be a successful health intervention strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing use on mountain summits has both social and ecological implications. High numbers of visitors climbing mountain summits can be a safety issue, particularly in areas where terrain or elevation leads to queueing that may cause time delays. Estimating visitor use levels at site specific locations en route to summits is needed to understand the potential benefits and impacts of visitor use in these locations. However, it can be difficult to obtain reliable and robust data to estimate use and develop statistical relationships because of the remote and harsh climates on mountain summits, as well as the financial and personnel requirements involved to collect the data in remote locations. In 2015, data were collected on the higher stretches of the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, USA (RMNP) to better understand use levels near the summit and to explore potential statistical relationships to trailhead use data that are relatively easy to collect. Strong statistical relationships from robust regression analyses were found between trailhead use counts and daily and hourly use totals on the "Homestretch" which is a final section of the Keyhole Route. Additionally, a strong statistical relationship was found between total daily use and maximum hourly use on the Homestretch. The results suggest that trailhead counts are an accurate and reliable means from which to estimate use levels on upper portions of the Keyhole route. Moreover, this research demonstrates the usefulness of an approach using proxy variables to estimate visitor use along remote peaks where data collection can be difficult. These types of data can elucidate various options and decisions for park management teams who are charged with deciding if and how to manage high use areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To gather epidemiologic data on injury type, treatment, and recovery from rock climbing injuries.Methods: Design: retrospective cross-sectional study.Setting: web-based survey.Participants: rock climbers who sustained a climbing-related injury during the prior 24 months. Criteria for inclusion: aged ≥18 years; participation in rock climbing at least 4 times per year in the United States.Interventions: none.Main Outcome Measures: percentage of injured climbers seeking medical care, providers seen, subspecialty referral, development of chronic problems, factors affecting return to climbing, injuries by climbing type, body region, and injury type.Results: Data were collected over a 60-day period using the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) survey system. Seven hundred and eight surveys were collected from 553 male and 155 female climbers. Thirteen hundred ninety seven injuries were reported, and 975 injuries were suitable for analysis. The most common provider initially seen was a primary care provider. Subspecialty referral was commonly obtained. Injury patterns differed by climbing type. The percentage of respondents that returned to climbing before their injury was fully healed was 51.1%, and 44.9% of respondents developed chronic problems related to their climbing injury. Twenty-eight percent of respondents were unable to return to their previous level of climbing performance. Several factors were associated with delayed recovery from climbing injury.Conclusions: A significant number of climbers sought healthcare after injury. A majority of climbers who sought treatment were referred to subspecialist providers. About one-half of climbers were symptomatic when they returned to climbing and developed chronic problems after injury. Factors associated with slower return to climbing included increasing age, smoking, fractures, and surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the U.S. judge Shirley Mount Hufstedler, and also mentions her love for climbing mountains. It also mentions her role as Secretary Hufstedler practiced law, professor, and chairperson of U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, her experience of climbing Himalayan mountain.

This article identifies the American philosophical antecedents that informed Woodrow Wilson Sayre's failed attempt to climb Mount Everest in 1962. Sayre, a philosophy professor at Tufts University, was an extreme proponent of individualism and saw the challenge of climbing Everest as a struggle of one man against cold, 'antiseptic' Nature. In his writings on the subject Sayre uses some of the same cultural notions about humanity and mountains that were current in American intellectual culture during the 19th century. The paper traces these notions from the Transcendentalists and American poetic descriptions of mountains through to Sayre's writings. The paper ends by describing the official response to Sayre's expedition as revealed in archival sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sport specialization has been shown to have negative effects on athletes but has not been studied within rock climbing. This study seeks to evaluate the proportion and impact of specialization in pediatric climbers., Methods: Climbers (ages 8-18 y) were recruited from throughout the United States to complete a 1-time survey regarding climbing experience, training patterns, and injury history. The main outcome of proportion of climbers suffering an injury was assessed within the last 12 mo and within their entire climbing experience (defined as "lifetime" injury). Early specialization was defined as exclusive participation in climbing, with training for >8 mo‧y -1 , prior to age 12 y (late specialization if after age 12 y)., Results: Participants (n=111, 14±3 y [mean±SD], 69 females) were high-level climbers. Fifty-five percent of participants specialized in climbing, and 69% of those specialized early. Hand and ankle injuries occurred most commonly. Seventy-eight percent of late specialized climbers had a lifetime injury. Late specialized climbers were 1.6 times (95% CI: 1.1-2.3) more likely than early specialized climbers to have had a lifetime injury and 1.8 times (95% CI: 1.1-2.8) more likely to have had an injury in the last 12 mo. No difference in overuse injuries was found between specialization groups., Conclusions: Early specialization is common among youth climbers but was not associated with an increase in injuries. Late specialization was associated with a higher likelihood of having had a climbing injury in the last 12 mo and during an entire climbing career., (Copyright © 2022 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

DeLoughery, Emma P. and Thomas G. DeLoughery. Review and Analysis of Mountaineering Accidents in the United States from 1947-2018. High Alt Med Biol . 23:114-118, 2022. Introduction: Given the popularity of mountaineering, it is important to better understand accidents related to this sport. We undertook this review of accidents to better understand the demographics and locations involved in mountaineering accidents over 71 years. Methods: Data collected from "Accidents in North American Mountaineering" booklets from 1947 to 2018 included the date, state and location of the accident, sex and age of the victim, type of accident, injuries sustained, and distance fallen if a fall occurred. If at least 10 accidents occurred in an individual state and/or location, these sites were separately analyzed. Results: From 1947 to 2018, 2,799 people were reported to be involved in mountaineering accidents, and 43% of these accidents resulted in death. Women were involved in 12% of cases. Falls were the most common accident (68% incidence, 45% fatal), followed by falling rock (7%, 26% fatal), avalanche (6%, 75% fatal), and falling into a crevasse (2%, 52% fatal). The average age of victims was 30 years. California had the most accidents (18%), followed by Washington (16%) and Alaska (15%). Denali had the greatest frequency of both accidents and deaths (11%, 8% of deaths), followed by Mount Rainier (6%, 7% of deaths) and Mount Hood (2%, 3% of deaths). Conclusions: Accident victims tend to be young and predominantly male, and the accidents themselves are most often falls. Avalanches were identified as an accident cause with a high fatality rate.

The article offers information on the study which tackles on the Singapore Women's Everest Team (SWET) in relation to feminist cultural-studies analysis in the U.S. It notes that Singaporean female mountaineers were interviewed as part of this study. It also states that the mountaineering team participated in the first women's Mount Everest summit.

The article discusses the exploits of Colorado mountaineer Henry A. Buchtel III (1906-1988). His family background is discussed, including the prominence of his grandfather, Colorado Governor Henry A. Buchtel, his training as a urologist, and his service in World War II. His climbing career is discussed in detail, including his ascents of all the tallest peaks in Colorado, and his charting with fellow U.S. mountaineer Bradford Washburn of a new route up Mount McKinley in Alaska in 1951. Also discussed is his long association with the Colorado Mountain Club and the American Alpine Club.

Abstract: As the literature on trail development suggests, recreational trail projects can generate conflicts and controversies, particularly when built on abandoned rail corridors through developed areas. These conflicts are often understood as “not in my back yard” (NIMBY) reactions, suggesting a spatial proximity to conflict which increases as one draws closer to the proposed trail. This research seeks to understand local residents’ perceptions and reactions to recreational trail development in the City of Delaware (Ohio, USA). It addresses two spatially infused questions: Does the potential for conflict related to trail development increase as people live closer to a potential trail (the NIMBY factor)? Can important qualitative factors about favorable and unfavorable land uses including potential recreational trail sites be defined using a participatory methodology and then represented in GIS? The study used a mixed-method approach to collect and analyze qualitative data from a group of local residents. Each participant was interviewed and asked to sort 19 pictures related to trail development. After each of the sorts, participants were asked to explain why they ranked the pictures the way they did. Results of the picture sorts were then analyzed using Q method and mapped with GIS. The results show that spatial proximity matters in the context of trail development and potential NIMBY reactions to trails. Significant differences were found in the picture sorts that reveal the importance of proximity and location, although in a manner contrary to the assumptions in the writings on rails-to-trails. Through combining qualitative methods, Q analysis and PPGIS analysis, the research shows that qualitative place-based studies are capable of generating insights about the complexities of situated geographic change such as recreational trail development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The study evaluates the knowledge of first aid in mountaineerers who climb routes of moderate difficulty in the western Alps. Additionally the mountaineer's ability to assess their own knowledge was investigated. An analysis of the mountain accidents in the same area showed the real need for knowledge.Design: An investigation of a cohort of mountaineers who reached Margherita Hut (4559 m, Monte Rosa; n=283; 17 questions with five answers each (11 themes)).Results: Knowledge in general is poor. Best results were obtained in relation to cardiac emergencies, altitude sickness, and hypovolaemic shock, and worst resulted with hypothermia, traumatic injuries, treatment of pain and management of emergencies. Although traumatic injuries represent about 50% of mountain accidents in the region, there was a general lack of basic knowledge on this subject. Self-assessment of the individuals level of knowledge and their need for further education was inadequate. Differences between sex, age, nationality, mountaineering professional experience (medical education) are discussed.Conclusion: First aid education of mountaineers must be improved. Adequate education should take into account the specific demands of alpine emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the geography of several Colorado Fourteeners, mountains with more 14,000 feet in elevation. Evolution of the fourteener concept; Description of their mountaineering trails and routes; Discussion on the iconography of the mountains; Features of their mountain peaks.

The purpose of this research was to verify that various segments of the rock climbing community have different attitudes toward resource management and to aid in the understanding of attitudinal differences that can affect rock-climbing management. Respondents were given an on-site questionnaire; 400 usable surveys were collected from 13 different locations in the United States. Respondents identified themselves according to the type of climbing they participated in (e.g., traditional climbing, sport climbing, and hybrid climbing). Factor analysis identified five usable factors: bolt placement/use, need for management, reservations about management, appropriateness of bolts, and climbers' self-perception. A repeated-measures analysis of variance identified significant differences among responses from traditional and sport climbers on four of the five scales used to measures attitudes. The variance among the climbing subgroups indicated that various climbing groups had significantly different attitudes toward management. All climbers surveyed had reservations about the management process. Results from the analysis indicated that climbers from all three groups (traditional, sport, and hybrid) felt that managers did not adequately understand the activity of climbing, climbers did not adequately understand the management process, climbing was not treated fairly in the management process in comparison to other activities, and climbing was micromanaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Popular climbing areas in the United States are frequently on public lands under administrative purview of land management entities. During climbing, climbers may be subject to injury. This study aimed to describe existing climbing risk mitigation tactics used to protect climbers by oversight agencies responsible for these public climbing areas and to identify strategies perceived by the oversight agency to be successful., Methods: We identified publicly managed US bouldering, sport, or traditional climbing areas through a state-by-state search of Mountain Project. We assessed climbing-related visitation, injury, rescue, and risk mitigation strategies using a 10-item survey targeting land-use managers, rangers, outdoor recreation planners, and park managers. Quantitative analysis included univariate and multivariate analysis. Qualitative analyses of survey responses with thematic grouping of mitigation interventions were performed., Results: One hundred fifty-seven publicly managed US climbing areas were contacted, and 76 (48%) provided data. Thirty-six (47%) of those that provided data stated that programs are in place to reduce climbing-related injury. There were no associations between demographic variables and the presence of risk mitigation strategies. Four themes of climbing risk mitigation strategies emerged: coordination with climbing coalitions (25% of respondents), permitting (22% of respondents), publication of accident reports (22% of respondents), and preventative search and rescue (17% of respondents)., Conclusions: Nearly half of survey respondents reported having climbing risk mitigation programs. There is opportunity to assess the efficacy of risk mitigation strategies through intra-area and inter-area assessments. A centralized climbing injury database may prove useful for assessing the efficacy of and need for risk mitigation techniques., (Copyright © 2021 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Discusses the findings of a study on the motivations for high-altitude mountaineering at Mount McKinley in Denali National Park, Alaska using a principal components factor analysis. Theoretical background of risk recreation; Motivational and level experience; Methods and instruments; Experience and skill index.

Relates the author's camping and mountain climbing experiences during the management training program of Outward Bound (OB) in Mount Elbert, Colorado. History of establishment of OB; OB member organizations and corporations; Goals of OB; Wildlife and environmental condition of Mount Elbert.