TERRY O’CONNOR, MD
FOUNDER / DOCTOR / ADVENTURER / PODCAST HOST
Over the preceding decades Terry O’Connor’s passion for outside adventures has lead to a diverse set of roles: Ski Patroller. Rural Ambulance EMT. Bike guide. Expedition Manager. Emergency Physician. National Park Service Climbing Ranger. Expedition Doctor. High Altitude Researcher. His work has been featured with National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.
His athletic aspirations have led to ultra marathons, endurance bike adventures, ski mountaineering and high altitude expeditions. His notable accomplishments include circling the rigorous Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, riding the Leadville 100 MTB, enduring the Silver King 50/50, and even setting foot upon the summit of Everest. He has run 100 miles across Idaho to raise money for earthquake reconstruction efforts in Nepal. He recently logged another top ten finish on the 6 day long traverse of the the TransRockies Run, while raising money for Sherpa families suffering the loss of loved ones working in the climbing industry.
“If there is a guiding principle as to the way O’Connor’s life has unfurled, it is that he has continually followed his passions…”
Read more about Terry in Sun Valley Magazine
Terry's Projects
University of Colorado - Consortium for Climate Change & Health
Terry is Faculty with the Colorado Consortium on Climate Change – whose mission is to address current and future health issues affected by climate variability and change by bringing together a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, biomedical scientists, public health practitioners, epidemiologists, and anthropologists, along with atmospheric scientists
MTB Lao
MTB Lao – In early 2015, Rebecca Rusch had the opportunity to mountain bike the entire length of the Hồ Chí Minh Trail. This historic route was the main supply chain for the North Vietnamese during the war. Terry joined Rebecca in 2016 to see the incredible beauty and history in this undeveloped part of the world. The second purpose for this trip was to raise awareness and funding for UXO (unexploded ordnance) mitigation.
Diploma in Mountain Medicine
Terry is one of the course directors for the Diploma in Mountain Medicine. An exciting program designed to train the participant in the essentials of caring for patients in the technical mountain environment. The DiMM has set the standard over the past 10 years in Europe and other parts of the world for education of doctors, mid-level providers, nurses, and medics in mountain medicine and rescue. The DiMM is an internationally recognized course certifying that the participant has undergone rigorous training and testing. The medical commissions of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) and International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR), together with the International Society for Mountain Medicine (ISMM), established minimal requirements for these courses in 1997.
Terry's Partner Organizations
The Climate Reality Project
The Climate Reality Project – catalyzing a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society.
Assistant Clinical Professor - University of Colorado
Terry is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine for the University of Colorado – The Section of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine is a university-based enterprise to promote research, clinical best practice, education, and outreach to advance health and wellness in extreme or austere environments.
The Juniper Fund
The Juniper Fund provides Assistance to Individuals, Families and Communities in Underserved Countries Adversely Impacted by their work for the Mountain-based Adventure Industry.
JRM Foundation
The JRM family foundation seeks to provide funding with no discrimination to race, color, culture, religion, nationality, and social or ethnic background. It pursues to improve lives of people in general, with special emphasis on improving the quality of women and children’s health and education.