What desert mountain medicine does

Desert Mountain Medicine (DMM) is a Leadville, Colorado-based provider of wilderness and austere medicine training founded in 1998 by Nadia Kimmel. The company delivers certification courses — Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Wilderness Emergency Medical Services (WEMS), Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT), and Expedition Medicine — to three primary audiences: outdoor enthusiasts, outdoor professionals (guides, educators, ski patrol, search-and-rescue teams), and licensed medical personnel (EMTs, paramedics, nurses). Courses use a hybrid format built on the CANVAS learning management system (e.g., approximately 30 hours online plus 50 hours in-person for the flagship WFR course), supported by DMM's proprietary Field Manual.

The curriculum is backed by several third-party accreditations and technical integrations: CAPCE continuing-education credit, Colorado EMS Education Group recognition, Wilderness Medical Education Collaborative (WMEC) reciprocity, and ICAR avalanche burial resuscitation training. Specialty WFA courses target specific verticals (trail running, mountain biking, climbing, hunting, winter recreation). DMM operates long-running B2B relationships, notably with the Arizona Conservation Corps (since 2009), and runs community-facing programs including the High School Wild Med Initiative (reportedly reaching 20 districts and over 900 students), the Women's Wild Med Program (launched 2019), and the Spanish-language Aventura Más program (launched 2025).

DMM's business model is per-course tuition, with prices ranging from approximately $45 (WAT) to $2,500 (WEMT), supplemented by gift certificates, optional college-credit fees routed through University of Colorado Denver and LivedX partnerships, and risk-management consulting engagements. Distribution is multi-channel: direct open enrollment, a course-provider network, educational-institution partnerships, and custom enterprise training for law enforcement, military, and energy-sector clients. The company is founder-owned with no external funding history, operates across at least six U.S. states (CO, UT, WY, SD, CA, NV), and has incrementally expanded its leadership bench since 2022 with the addition of a COO and a Director of Instructor Operations.

Name

desert mountain medicine

Legal name

Desert Mountain Medicine

Website

https://desertmountainmedicine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Desert Mountain Medicine is a Colorado-based wilderness and austere medicine training provider founded in 1998, offering certification courses (WFA, WFR, WEMS, WEMT) for outdoor enthusiasts, professional guides, and EMS/medical professionals across multiple U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wilderness Medicine Training

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Adventure Therapy & Therapeutic Wilderness Programs (THAAAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mountain Safety & Patrol Services (Avalanche Training, Rescue, Medical) (THAAAJAI), Winter & Mountain Guides (Ski, Snowshoe, Avalanche, Ice Climbing) (THAAALAF)

Keywords

• Wilderness medicine training
• Wilderness first responder
• Wilderness first aid
• Emergency medical certification
• Outdoor rescue education

Headquarters

HQ city

Leadville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Course Tuition: Primary revenue stream from tuition fees for wilderness medicine courses including WFA, WAFA, WFR, WRC, WEMS, EMR, EMT, and Expedition Medicine courses. Prices range from $45 (WAT) to $2,500 (WEMT).
2. Gift Certificates: Electronic gift certificates available for specific course amounts or general denominations ($50-$1000) that can be applied to open enrollment courses.
3. College Credit Fees: Partnership with LivedX and University of Colorado Denver for college credit. Additional fees of approximately $224-$462 depending on course and credit hours.
4. Risk Management Consulting: Consulting services through Western Recreation Law Center providing incident management assessments, medical protocols, and legal document preparation for outdoor adventure companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Desert Mountain Medicine provides wilderness and austere medicine certification training courses (WFA, WAFA, WFR, WRC, WEMS, EMR, WEMT, Expedition Medicine) for outdoor enthusiasts, outdoor professionals, and medical/EMS providers. Courses are delivered via direct open enrollment at multiple U.S. venues, through partner course providers and educational institutions, and as custom on-site curricula for organizations operating in remote industries.

Product overview

Desert Mountain Medicine is a Colorado-based wilderness medicine training provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of courses for outdoor enthusiasts, outdoor professionals, and medical professionals. The core offerings include Wilderness First Aid (WFA), Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), and WFR Recertification (WRC) courses, supplemented by specialized tracks for specific activities (trail runners, mountain bikers, hunters/anglers, climbers, winter backcountry users). For medical professionals, the company provides Wilderness EMS Upgrade, Wilderness EMS Recertification, Wilderness EMR, Wilderness EMT, and Expedition Medicine courses. Additional programs include instructor training courses, the Women's Wild Med Program (WWMP), High School Wild Med Initiative for Colorado youth, risk management consulting services, and gift certificates. Courses follow WMEC certification standards and are delivered in traditional in-person, hybrid (online + in-person), and custom formats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Women's Wild Med Program (WWMP): All-women's wilderness medicine courses taught by women instructors, welcoming women, girls (transgender and cisgender), and non-binary people who identify with the women's community.
• High School Wild Med Initiative
• Aventura Más
• Just Wilderness BIPOC & LGBTQ+ Scholarship Program

Products and services

• Wilderness First Aid (WFA) 16-hour, 2-3 day foundational wilderness medicine course for outdoor enthusiasts covering prevention, assessment, and treatment of environmental illnesses and trauma, including CPR/AED and WAT certifications.
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR) 80-hour comprehensive course (30 hours online + 5 days in-person) for professional outdoor recreation industry field staff, covering patient assessment, trauma stabilization, and prolonged field care in remote environments.
• Wilderness First Responder Recertification Course (WRC) 24-hour refresh course for current WFR holders featuring 8 hours of self-paced online work plus 2 days in-person, updating skills with latest wilderness medicine research.
• Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) 40-hour, 4-5 day entry-level training for guides and outdoor educators covering prevention, assessment, treatment, and rescue of backcountry emergencies.
• Wilderness Anaphylaxis Training (WAT) Recertification course for outdoor professionals on understanding, recognizing, and treating anaphylaxis including epinephrine auto-injector administration in backcountry settings.
• Wilderness EMR 110-hour hybrid course (40 hrs online + 70 hrs in-person over 7 days) preparing participants for NREMT EMR examination and conveying WFR certification for prehospital care in austere environments.
• Wilderness EMS Upgrade (WEMS) 45-hour hybrid course (8 hrs online + 4 days in-person) for licensed prehospital care professionals to expand skills in wilderness and austere settings, covering trauma, pain management, and prolonged field care.
• Wilderness EMS Recertification (WEMS-R) 24-hour hybrid recertification course (8 hrs online + 2 days in-person) reviewing latest evidence-based science and best practices in wilderness EMS.
• Wilderness EMT (WEMT) Comprehensive 28-day course combining 120 hours urban EMT training with 38-hour wilderness EMS component, preparing participants for NREMT EMT-B certification.
• EMT Refresher 40-hour, 4-day course fulfilling Colorado state and NREMT recertification requirements with emphasis on latest EMS best practices.
• Expedition Medicine (EM) 54-hour, 5-6 day field-based course for licensed medical practitioners (MD, PA, RN, DNP, DO) aspiring to serve as primary medical personnel on wilderness expeditions.
• WFA for Trail Runners 24-hour, 3-day specialty WFA course focusing on traumatic injuries and environmental medicine specific to trail running, including nutrition and hydration management.
• WFA for Mountain Bikers 16-hour, 2-day WFA course focusing on prevention, assessment, and treatment of injuries and illnesses common to cross-country and downhill mountain biking.
• WFA for Hunters & Anglers Specialty WFA course focused on traumatic injuries and medical emergencies common to hunting and fishing activities in backcountry settings.
• WFA for Climbers Specialty WFA course focused on traumatic injuries and medical emergencies common to climbing activities in backcountry and mountaineering environments.
• WFA for Winter Backcountry Users Specialty WFA course bridging avalanche education with medical response, covering winter environmental medicine and treatment of avalanche victims.
• High School Wild Med Initiative Program bringing WFA certification to Colorado high schools through Health, Wellness, or Physical Education curricula at no extra cost to students, partnering with schools and nonprofits.
• Women's Wild Med Program (WWMP) All-women's wilderness medicine program offering courses taught by women, welcoming women, girls, and non-binary people who identify with the women's community.
• Aventura Más Spanish-language wilderness medicine courses partnership program with Latinx-serving organizations, developing bilingual instructors to deliver courses in Colorado.
• WFA Instructor Training Course (WFA-ITC) Instructor training course for qualified outdoor and medical professionals to teach WFA courses in their classrooms or for DMM at other venues.
• WFR Instructor Training Course (WFR-ITC) Instructor training course for qualified professionals to become credentialed WFR instructors.
• Risk Management Consulting Comprehensive risk management consultation services provided in partnership with Western Recreation Law Center, covering incident management, medical protocols, and crisis response for outdoor adventure companies.
• Gift Certificates Electronic gift certificates with no expiration that can be applied to open enrollment courses, available in preset amounts or for specific course types.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 school districts and 900+ high school students certified through High School Wild Med Initiative
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Aerie Backcountry Medicine: Wilderness medicine school operating in the Mountain West, offering WFA, WFR, and WEMT courses. Closely comparable regional competitor targeting the same instructor pools, outdoor guides, and college-credit-eligible students.
• Center for Wilderness Safety: Wilderness medicine certification provider offering WFA, WFR, and WEMT courses with both open enrollment and custom contract delivery. Direct competitor with overlapping enterprise/government and recreational course offerings.
• SOLO (Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities): One of the original wilderness medicine training schools, offering WFA, WFR, and EMT courses. Direct competitor to DMM with comparable curriculum, certification standards, and outdoor-professional target market.
• NOLS Wilderness Medicine: Wilderness medicine training program within NOLS offering WFR, WFA, and WEMT courses. Direct competitor with broader geographic reach and stronger institutional brand, competing for the same outdoor-professional and guide market.
• Wilderness Medical Associates International: International wilderness medicine training organization offering WFR, WAFA, and EMS upgrade courses. Direct competitor with global footprint and similar curriculum standards, competing for outdoor professionals and expedition leaders.
• Remote Medical International: Provides wilderness and remote medical training plus medical staffing for industrial, energy, and expedition clients. Direct competitor in the enterprise and austere-medicine training segment, with overlap on Expedition Medicine and remote-industry custom courses.

Broad incumbents

• Outward Bound: Large outdoor education nonprofit offering wilderness courses that often include first-aid components. Broad incumbent in outdoor education that overlaps with DMM's market on guide training, youth programs, and expedition preparation.
• National Ski Patrol: National organization providing ski patrol certification, training, and continuing education that overlaps with DMM's WFR, WEMS, and winter backcountry curricula. Broad incumbent with comparable EMS education mission and CE-hour accreditation.

Regional players

• International Alpine Guides: Channel partner that hosts DMM WFA/WFR courses. Comparable as a regional provider of mountain guiding and training services, sharing the Mountain West operating geography.

Others

• Adventure Medical Kits: Supplier of first-aid kits and medical supplies for outdoor recreation. Not a training competitor, but an ecosystem partner/adjacent brand frequently carried by DMM-trained guides and referenced in DMM course materials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/desertmountainmedicine
• Instagraminstagram.com/desertmountainmedicine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/desert-mountain-medicine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about desert mountain medicine