Seth began rocking climbing in Vermont in the 1980s, where he worked as a climbing instructor at Farm & Wilderness. He went on to become an emergency physician specializing in EMS and wilderness medicine. He is one of only a few American physicians holding dual board certification in both emergency medicine and EMS, and has worked for over twenty years in wilderness medicine and out-of-hospital emergency medical care. He is the executive editor of Wilderness Medicine magazine and the founder of the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine (ACWM), the first non-profit wilderness medicine organization of its kind. He is the medical director for Burke EMS (which provides emergency response to climbing areas in Linville Gorge, the deepest gorge in the eastern United States), Landmark Learning, Western Piedmont Community College, and the NC State Park system. He is the medical advisor for the North Carolina Outdoor Bound School and REI. He is also the co-founder and course director of the Wilderness EMS Medical Director Course and founder and course director of the Carolina Wilderness EMS Externship. He is the founder and current Chief of the Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team, currently in application to become the first fully Mountain Rescue Association-credentialed team in the southeastern USA. Seth was in the first cohort of providers awarded Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine in 2007, and in 2014, he became the first physician ever awarded the degree of Master Fellow by this Academy. He has been awarded numerous medical and technical rescue awards, including the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine’s Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award, Orange Technical Rescue Team’s Technical Excellence Award, the University of Pittsburgh Ron Stewart Excellence in Teaching Award, the WMS-BALL Wilderness Medicine Award, Hurst’s Green Cross, and ACWM’s lifetime achievement Mountain Laurel Award. He has been named a Hero of Emergency Medicine by the American College of Emergency Physicians and was named one of the Top Ten EMS Innovators of 2011 by the Journal of EMS. He is a co-founder and co-owner of Vertical Medicine Resources. When indoors, Dr. Hawkins is a full-time clinical emergency physician at Catawba Valley Medical Center in North Carolina and an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University.
R. Bryan Simon, a contract registered nurse, is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, a former U.S. Army infantry officer, and graduate of the US Army Ranger School. After an injury in 2003, he left the military to pursue other goals. He is also an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor (SPI), a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine, and holds a Diploma in Mountain Medicine from the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA). Bryan serves on the editorial board for the journal Nursing, is an associate editor for the American Alpine Club’s Accidents in North American Climbing, and is the climbing medicine columnist for Wilderness Medicine. He writes on a variety of subjects related to wilderness/climbing medicine, nursing, and adventure sports and his work has been featured in outdoor and climbing industry magazines such as Climbing and Dead Point Magazine (DPM). Bryan is also the author of Hiking and Biking in the New River Gorge: A Trail User’s Guide. Bryan has climbed and trekked around the world and has participated in rescues both here and abroad. He is a co-founder and co-owner of Vertical Medicine Resources, a founding member of the board of directors for the non-profit Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team (AMRT), a board member for the New River Alliance of Climbers (NRAC), and serves on the membership committee of the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS). Bryan is also the recipient of the Wilderness Medical Society’s 2014 Warren D. Bowman Award presented for contributions in service to wilderness medicine.
Pearce is a California native who mainly grew up along the East Coast. His first experiences “going vertical” were in the hills of western North Carolina and in New England. Along the way, he became a board certified physician assistant in orthopaedics and eventually transitioned his career into cardiothoracic surgery. His adventures continued and he is now an accomplished climber and alpinist with successful summits both within the United States and abroad. Whether in a gorge, gym, or on a Cascade volcano, he continues to explore climbing in the Pacific Northwest. Pearce is a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (WMS) and an AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor (SPI). In his early years, he served as a guide for L.L. Bean and on the board of directors for the Appalachian Center for Wilderness Medicine (ACWM), a non-profit organization promoting quality health care in limited resource environments. Pearce has dedicated many years of service to search and rescue teams and has participated in numerous mountain rescues both on the east and west coast. He is currently president of Portland Mountain Rescue (PMR) and co-chairman of their medical committee. Pearce also participates in mountain missionary work. He was a team member with Climbing for Christ (C4C) during their Mission-Nepal Expedition 2012 and most recently served as a medical guide with the 2014 and 2015 Equipping Saints for Ministry (ES4M) team during their Nepal mission trips. He is a co-founder and co-owner of Vertical Medicine Resources.
Deb Simon, originally from Ontario, Canada, is a registered nurse and avid climber and mountaineer, having summited peaks on five continents. She is certified as a Single Pitch Instructor (SPI) by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and guides regularly in the New River Gorge, WV. She is a Fellow in the Wilderness Medical Society’s Academy of Wilderness Medicine, holds a Diploma in Mountain Medicine (DiMM) through the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA), and she has submitted her thesis for the award of a master’s degree in Mountain Medicine through the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Deb is a member of the American Alpine Club, Medical Expeditions, and the Wilderness Medical Society. She is also a co-founder, co-owner, and trainer-in-chief at Vertical Medicine Resources. She has published multiple articles on wilderness medicine and altitude illness in peer-reviewed journals, and has worked in a variety of nursing specialties to include the Trauma and Cardiovascular ICU and the Cardiovascular Operating Room. She has been certified as a critical care registered nurse (CCRN) and is currently a certified Operating Room nurse (CNOR).