• Piersandro Sette, Mauro Carlini, Damiano Berti, Igor Rucci, Francesco Marchiori, Fausto Toffali, Alberto Schonsberg, Giorgio Ricci, and Stefano Tardivo.
• Intensive Care Unit (Dr Sette).
• Wilderness Environ Med. 2015 Jun 1; 26 (2): 180-4.

AbstractMountain sporting activities are an increasingly popular practice that exposes mountaineers to a high risk of adverse events. This report describes a unique case of recovery in an austere environment that involved explosives. In June 2012, a 52-year-old man ascended a cliff tower in the Eastern Alps, Italy. A landslide occurred, and a boulder crushed the climber against a large stone located farther down the cliff, causing compression of the lower limbs and the pelvis with consequent severe musculoskeletal trauma. The National Alpine and Cave Rescue Unit (NACRU) arrived and proceeded with stabilization of the injured climber, which took 6 hours and involved a difficult extrication supported by the Cave Rescue division of NACRU. Unfortunately, during transport to the trauma center of Borgo Trento, Verona, the patient exhibited signs of progressive traumatic shock because of crush syndrome, hypovolemia, and acidosis, which led to cardiac arrest and death. Based on an extensive literature review, this report was determined to be the only one of a mountain rescue using explosives for the extrication of a victim in the Northeast Italian Alps. This case describes how a rescue in austere environments can represent a high-risk situation, and it shows how improvisation and cooperation between rescue teams are crucial for a successful recovery. Copyright © 2015 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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