2025 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

Name: Unimaginable Disaster: Hurricane Helene's Impact on WNC
Start: 2025-10-02T10:30:00-0400
End: 2025-10-02T12:00:00-0400

Main Conference: Tuesday, September 30 - Thursday, October 2, 2025

Preconference: Monday September 29 - Tuesday, September 30, 2025

*Schedule subject to change.

Thursday October 2, 2025 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT

Connecticut / Rhode Island

At the end of September 2024, Western North Carolina experienced natural disaster on a scale that was literally unimaginable for the region prior to its occurrence. Approximately 60 staff and students were at a basecamp that lost all road access and virtually the entire administrative staff of the NC Outward Bound School lost all communication ability. All major roads to the region were severed, power was out for weeks, and the Asheville water system was out of commission for over two months. In this presentation we will attempt to give a sense of what it was like to experience the disaster, deal with the immediate aftermath for the organization, and begin the process of rebuilding and learning from the experience.

Speakers

Alex Schwartz

Safety Director, North Carolina Outward Bound

Alex has been working with groups in the outdoors for 25 years, at summer camps, universities, and Outward Bound. As a life-long troublemaker Alex is unsure how he ended up in charge of avoiding trouble for a large and well-established outdoor organization. Alex has thru-hiked the... Read More →

Thursday October 2, 2025 10:30am - 12:00pm EDT
Connecticut / Rhode Island Holiday Inn By the Bay:88 Spring St, Portland, ME 04119

Emergency Planning & Crisis Response, Breakout Session

Need help? View Support Guides
Event questions? Contact Event Planner

2025 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

Alex Schwartz

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!