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The Outdoor Magazine of the U

Wasatch Magazine

The Outdoor Magazine of the U

Wasatch Magazine

The Outdoor Magazine of the U

Wasatch Magazine

Kassie Amann

Kassie Amann, Writer

Kassie is a second year medical student at the U. She’s passionate about rural, emergency and wilderness medicine, and loves working hands-on in austere environments. She’s also passionate about land and environmental conservation, and thinks a lot about how wilderness connects to people’s health. She enjoys hiking, backpacking, skiing of all kinds, swimming, and anything else that gets her out of the classroom.

All content by Kassie Amann
Too Hot to Handle: A Primer on Heat-Related Illness

Too Hot to Handle: A Primer on Heat-Related Illness

Kassie Amann
March 4, 2021

Extreme heat is the natural enemy of any desert dweller. In Utah, as we make the transition into spring and summer, rising temperatures can quickly cause heat-related illnesses. As Utah sees greater temperature...

An Introduction to Avalanche Injuries

An Introduction to Avalanche Injuries

Kassie Amann
January 7, 2021

An avalanche is the worst nightmare of anyone in the backcountry during the winter. The whumpf, the low rumble, the shaking ground and the sudden wall of snow would turn a fun winter romp into a terrifying...

Trip Feature: Bike-packing the Western Wildlands and Great Divide Trail

Trip Feature: Bike-packing the Western Wildlands and Great Divide Trail

Kassie Amann, Staff Writer
December 27, 2020

There’s a saying commonly attributed to Lao-Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, that states, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” For Liam McDonald, a student at the University of Utah...

Nutrition for the Outdoorsy

Nutrition for the Outdoorsy

Kassie Amann
November 8, 2020

In the world of outdoor recreation, nutrition is something of a loaded word. Vegan, paleo, keto, gluten-free, raw, and intermittent-fasting are just a few of the diets outdoor athletes have been known...

Racial Disparities in Outdoor Communities and How More Equitable Wilderness Medicine Can Help

Racial Disparities in Outdoor Communities and How More Equitable Wilderness Medicine Can Help

Kassie Amann
September 12, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted many systemic inadequacies in the U. S. healthcare system, but perhaps the most critical discussion of the moment is that of racial disparities in healthcare outcomes....

Psychological Safety in Outdoor Groups

Psychological Safety in Outdoor Groups

Kassie Amann
August 25, 2020

When we are making decisions in the outdoors, there’s often a pivotal moment when our safety hangs in the balance. We’ll weigh risk and reward to decide whether to drop into a chute, hike through a...

Getting Outdoors in the Time of COVID-19

Getting Outdoors in the Time of COVID-19

Kassie Amann
April 27, 2020

COVID-19 has unquestionably changed the landscape of our lives in 2020. Simple daily tasks like going to work, the grocery store, or the gym are limited or altogether impossible. There is palpable grief...

First Aid for the First-Aid Kit

First Aid for the First-Aid Kit

Kassie Amann
April 25, 2020

Take a look inside your home first-aid kit and you’ll probably find lots of things you won’t ever use or that you may not even know what to do with. The same holds true for your recreation first-aid...

A Beginner's Guide to Wilderness Medicine

A Beginner’s Guide to Wilderness Medicine

Kassie Amann
April 20, 2020

What is wilderness medicine? Upon hearing the term, you might imagine a broken leg splinted with a tree branch or news accounts of helicopter rescues of lost and injured hikers. If you’re active in the...

The Humble Brain Bucket

The Humble Brain Bucket

Kassie Amann
February 17, 2020

Many changes have come to skiing and snowboarding over the years, but few have radically changed ski culture the way that the ski helmet did. Wearing a helmet has become so normal that when people choose...

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Kassie Amann
January 16, 2020

After a heavy snowfall, you and a few friends go post-holing up Grandeur Peak one weekend in January. Then, after taking in the grandeur from the top (the view to the valley is finally clear!), you start...

Photos by Kiffer Creveling

Be Bold, Start Cold

Kassie Amann
December 31, 2019

The seasonal transition to winter in Utah can be a tough one, especially as we alternate between warm fall days and snowfall. Besides undoing your dreams of squeezing in one last hike without your puffy...

Clinic In Yosemite National Park. Photos Courtesy of Kassaundra Amann.

Who Helps When You’re Hurt in a National Park?

Kassie Amann
December 27, 2019

Between the first and second years of medical school at the University of Utah, there’s a 12-week gap from mid-May to the beginning of August that demands to be optimally filled. It’s often framed...

Photo by Peter Creveling

Why are Utahns Still Breathing Bad Air?

Kassie Amann
October 19, 2019

One of my least favorite parts about skiing in Utah is going back to the valley. Yes, it’s hard to get off the slopes after a particularly good powder day, but even more than that, it’s hard to pass...

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