Search and Rescue

Christopher Van Tilburg studied science communication at University of Portland and medicine at University of Washington. He has worked for two decades as an emergency physician. He is currently staff physician at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital in Oregon, where he serves as medical director of Occupational and Travel Medicine, staff physician in the emergency department, and ski resort doctor at Mountain Emergency Services. He also works as a cruise ship doctor, a medical relief team leader in Haiti, a wilderness medicine instructor, an expert witness, and a mountain rescue doctor. A frequent contributor to medical and non-medical publications, Dr. Van Tilburg is Editor Emeritus of Wilderness Medicine and Editor-in-Chief of Travel Medicine News. He is an active member of Crag Rats mountain rescue team and serves as chair of Mountain Rescue Association Medical Committee. He has published eleven books. His memoir, Mountain Rescue Doctor: Wilderness Medicine in the Extremes of Nature, was a finalist for Oregon Book Awards and Banff Festival of Mountain Books and was a Reader’s Digest Editors’ Pick. Adrenaline Junkie’s Bucket List: 100 Extreme Outdoor Adventures to do Before You Die was awarded the Far West Ski Association’s Bill Berry Award. For his editing and volunteering, Dr. Van Tilburg has been honored by the Wilderness Medical Society with the Dian Simpkins Award for Service in 2011, the Haiti Humanitarian Research Award in 2013, and the Wilderness Medical Society Ice Axe Award for Service in 2014. For more information, visit www.christophervantilburg.com.