I’m a Bennie

KORINNE KRIEGER ’07

EXTREME NURSING

About 10 years ago, Korinne Krieger and her friend Andy McMurray (SJU ’06) were skiing at Mt. Hood Meadows in Oregon and happened to be first on the scene to an avalanche where a young man had been buried. “By the time we arrived, the victim had been buried for 20 minutes. The victim’s friend was in complete shock and unable to perform a rescue. Fortunately, we had backcountry gear with us and proceeded to dig the young man out. He was pulseless and apneic and we immediately started CPR while our third partner called for help. Ski patrol arrived about 15 minutes later and he was transferred to a local hospital and thankfully survived.

“That was the first time I had ever performed CPR on a person outside a hospital setting. I didn’t have drugs, machines, monitors or a physician giving orders. I had the people I was with, what was in my pack and my nursing training. While extremely intense for all involved, I also was immediately inspired and driven to learn more about treating patients in a backcountry setting.”

And so she did. By 2014 she was in Alaska working as an apprentice ski guide with Alaska Heliskiing and volunteering with Denali Rescue Volunteers. “Over the course of one month, our patrol skinned up the West Buttress, hiked over Denali Pass, skied out the Muldrow Glacier, hiked through the tundra and pack rafted across the McKinley River to reach Wonder Lake.”

Along the way, a friend convinced her to occasionally join the safety team for a number of Discovery Channel and National Geographic TV shows. That led to jungle adventures and swimming with sharks.

Eventually though, she found herself hoping for more of a home base. “I had some incredible experiences, but I also missed out on a lot of big events in the lives of my friends and family members.”

So this summer, Korinne accepted a position as the assistant program director at Desert Mountain Medicine in Leadville, Colorado. DMM trains wilderness medicine providers, and Korinne’s role will involve supporting the team with logistics, training and curriculum building. “I have an office!” she says, but acknowledges “you won’t find me sitting. I have a balance board at my standing desk.”

Major at CSB: Nursing

Favorite professor: I had many excellent professors, but S. Johanna Becker was my favorite. I actually was never her student, but she was my second cousin and I was fortunate to spend significant time with her and many of the other sisters.

Favorite Bennie memory: I can’t choose! Working for the Peer Resource Program’s Boundary Waters trips, Pinestock, climbing club, longboarding at SJU, Italy study abroad, South Africa study abroad, Maple Syrup Festival. …