Aviemore Highland Resort is the chosen venue for this year’s joint Congress of the Wilderness Medical Society and the International Society for Mountain Medicine, which is the first time this prestigious four-yearly event has been hosted in the UK.

Stephen Venables, the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen, is to be guest of honour at the first combined world global conference on mountain and wilderness medicine to be held in Aviemore, Scotland from October 3 -7 2007. Stephen is President of The Alpine Club, currently celebrating its 150th anniversary.

The conference will bring together some of the world's leading medical professionals and researchers in a programme that informs and stimulates debate on current thinking and best practice in the prevention, recognition and treatment of medical problems encountered in wilderness situations.

The conference will include keynote speeches from Paul Auerbach, a founder of the Wilderness Medical Society and Editor of the textbook Wilderness Medicine. Paul serves as the national medical consultant on hazardous marine animals to the Divers Alert Network and is on the National Medical Committee for the National Ski Patrol. He is an avid trekker and diver, and remains an active researcher, teacher, author and organizer in many aspects of wilderness medicine. Dr Auerbach said: "This meeting will be a celebration of the remarkable progress made in the field of wilderness medicine over the past 25 years. It confirms the complementary relationship of the WMS and ISMM, and indeed, all organisations and individuals devoted to improving the science and clinical care that are crucial to the health and welfare of expeditioners and adventurers around the globe."

Congress Chairman, Dr Charles Clarke said, “We will be discussing many of the most controversial topics in mountain and wilderness medicine, but the programme will be much wider than this as we will be exploring issues surrounding the environmental impact of expeditions to wilderness areas, medical experimentation in remote and challenging locations and access to these areas by young people and people with disabilities. There will also be opportunities for informal discussion and sharing of experiences and lots of fun, culminating in a Congress Banquet and traditional Highland Ceilidh.'

The extensive programme includes a presentation from Nepalese doctor, Buddha Basnyat, who specialise in high altitude medicine; Peter Bartsch of the ISMM, who will deliver the latest findings of the effect of altitude on the brain and Aviemore GP, Mike Langren, who created and manages the successful ski-injury.com website.

Highland Council, Cairngorms National Park Authority and Aviemore and the Cairngorms Destination Management Organisation have signed up to provide local support for the Congress. There are many ways in which companies and organisations can sponsor the Congress, including participating in the Exhibition which will run on Thursday and Friday, 4th and 5th October.

Full details can be found on the website www.worldcongress2007.org.uk including the programme, call for abstracts, how to register and information on sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities. There are also links to local accommodation and the Congress Travel Agent.

Further information on WMS at www.wms.org and on ISMM at www.ismmed.org.