To those of you that missed this year’s MADiDEA event, I’ve got to say - you missed a good one. The aim of this recap is not to rub in all the climbing, biking, summits, lakes, waterfalls, expert medical information, product samples, great food and personal advice that we shared. Rather, it’s to make sure you don’t miss the next MADiDEA symposium!
 
First and foremost, this conference was elevated to this level by the generosity and support of Roche Global who recognized the unique power and scope of an international event like this. For that, we and all affected diabetics are most grateful.
 
The fact that certain attendees made it here at all is a story worth telling! IDEA2000 summit team member Katherine Brandt-Wells, coming from Victoria, BC, Canada certainly had a tough time. Two days before the conference started, while traveling with her husband Derek and 5-year-old daughter Amelia, Katherine started feeling bad. Really bad. After toughing it out as long as possible Derek checked her in to the Butte, MT emergency room. The attending doctors assumed her ills were diabetes-related. Not at all. It turns out Katherine was suffering through the excruciating pain of an ectopic pregnancy! Had she waited another day – maybe even a few hours longer – she would likely have died. Long story short, the day she was released, they drove to our camp and joined us for dinner, evening presentations and catching up with great friends before driving the 2 hours back to Butte (doctor’s orders…). 
 
Herbert Hausmann flew in from Wurzburg, German to Denver, then drove the 10 hours up to Bozeman. Along the way, in the black of night, a deer decided to butt heads with Herbert’s rental car. The result wasn’t pretty. Neither for the deer nor Herbert’s car which had to be towed to Billings, MT before being replaced with another car. An ordeal of another sort. 
 
By comparison, DP and Mauro had it relatively easy. After flying from Italy to Chicago, then working his way to Madison, Wisconsin, Mauro met up with David. Since the boys merely had to drive 20 hours to Bozeman, they packed in a few extras. They stopped in Badlands National Park and Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota (where they got in a few vertical pitches on granite) and raced to Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming, arriving well into the evening. Before dawn, they were on the approach to Devil’s Tower, which they ultimately summited (to the wild applause of star-struck tourists) via the Durrance/Bailey’s Direct Route. Mauro had never seen anything like this amazing stone monolith! After rapping this route, the boys jumped back into the car and motored another 7 hours through Wyoming and Montana, finally arriving in Bozeman at 6:30pm. Those of us already here were quite impressed with DP’s timeliness!
 
On to the pre-function activities! DP, Mauro, Lisa Seaman (another IDEA2000 summit team member), Nikki Wallis, Doug Bursnall and I left early Tuesday morning for the trailhead to Elbow Lake, our basecamp for an ascent of Mount Cowen, a stunning summit and the highpoint in the Absoraka range. It was agreed that Doug, DP, Mauro and Lisa would climb the NE Arete while Nikki & I would ascend the SW route. Since the SW is the descent for both routes, we thought it might be helpful for Nikki & I to know the return route, having just climbed it, thereby saving valuable time on the descent. All of this of course hinged on our meeting at the summit; something we knew was a long shot. It’s a big mountain and we were approaching it from opposite sides, starting at 5:00am. At 11:30am, when Nikki & I reached the final summit block, we thought we heard familiar voices in the distance. Amazingly, we had beaten the others by a mere 10 minutes! After the summit reunion, photos, many clicks of lancets and some snacks, we all downclimbed the SW side of Mt Cowen. For Lisa, DP, Doug & Mauro, a full traverse of the mountain was accomplished. At dinner that night we were exhausted but happy campers (and speaking for myself, quite hypo)! As we finished off Nikki’s dessert of Caramel Shortcake with fresh Whortleberries (unbelievably delicious), we wondered what happened to Herbert. He had planned to hike the 8 miles up to Elbow Lake and join us for dinner and overnight. Finally around 9:00pm, smiling as only Herbert can, up to camp he strolled! The apples and fresh foods he packed in were gobbled appreciatively! (Wilderness note: during the 3 days we were in the mountains, we saw a total of 3 other humans, none of which camped at this pristine lake). 
 
After some morning bouldering, the long hike out was followed by reunions with Philippa & Kurt at my house. A Mexican dinner at 18 Miles From The Border capped a great day. Later that night David Herman flew in from England and joined the group. At this point, six countries were already represented. 
 
Friday morning meant last-minute lunch shopping and driving up to the Hyalite Camp. With everyone pitching in to help, we were up to the Lodge and setting up for the first evening’s presentation by early afternoon. As attendees arrived, they were given carry bags and portfolios – courtesy of Roche Diabetic – containing this year’s selection of articles and information pertinent to managing diabetes effectively in the mountains. Dinners each night and breakfasts each morning were served by Montana State University’s Catering department. The food was exceptional. After dinner and various desserts, Jeff and David P introduced MADiDEA 2007’s first presenter, Welsh Search and Rescue Expert – Nikki Wallis. Nikki’s A/V presentation included images of her “office,” working the beautiful hills of Snowdonia National Park in Wales. Her wonderful talk concluded with a DVD flying us to the summit of Snowdon. 
 
Next, Sebastian White, a Bozeman Nurse Practitioner specializing in diabetes care, gave us considerable insight on the future of diabetes management with his presentation on various continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMS), their benefits and shortcomings. Some great technical information was shared. He and Dr. Michael Vlases, also from the Bozeman Diabetes Center, then fielded questions from the audience. 
 
As midnight approached, John Schroeder from Medtronic who brought 10 CGMS’s with him, trained and fitted some of us with these systems. Over the next 2 days, many attendees were able to watch/track the immediate glycemic effects of exercise, food and insulin on their monitor devices. This was a real bonus to those of us lucky enough to sample these monitors – Thanks to John and Medtronic!
 
Throughout the weekend attendees had full access to regional Roche representative Ed Garcia. Ed brought sample Accu-Chek monitors, test strips, promotional materials, travel guides, visors and informative books. More importantly, Ed – who hiked and even climbed with us – shared information on the diabetes health care industry today and where he sees it going in the future. We were also joined on Saturday by Roche’s local Disetronic team – Vince Gassensmith and Blake Tucker. Thanks to these experts from Roche for joining us!
 
On Saturday, some of our attendees (April & Dave Miller, Phil Eager, Nikki, John & Christian) made the 5 mile hike to Hyalite Lake while others (Herbert, Ed Garcia, Jared Sibbitt, David H, Philippa & Kurt, Keri Thorpe and me) continued another 2 ½ miles to the summit of Hyalite Peak. DP, Doug, Sean McKendrey, Lisa and Mauro went bigger still: Emerald Lake to Heather Lake to Overlook Mt to Mt Chisholm, then down the high ridge and back to the trailhead. Little did we know we wouldn’t see this group again until 9:30 Saturday night!
 
After dinner, while waiting for the late party to arrive, we decided to swap Saturday night’s presentation with Sunday’s. Consequently, after Nikki’s introduction, we were treated to Herbert Hausmann’s talk on the history of diabetes and its evolving care. As a man diagnosed 43 years ago who still competes in ultra marathons, Herbert’s words rang especially true. He embodies what all of us hope to live up to. Not only does Herbert set the bar extraordinarily high with his lifetime of quiet accomplishments, he is a stellar gentleman and it was a pleasure to finally meet him. 
 
With everyone feeling somewhat beat after Saturday’s adventures, Sunday's breakfast was a more relaxed affair. After breakfast, some ventured into Bozeman to call family and friends while others went rock climbing at nearby Practice Rock. Lisa and Dr. Michael Vlases mountain biked the trail to Emerald Lake and a few just licked their wounds from yesterday. When we returned from climbing, we were greeted at the camp by Katherine Brandt-Wells and her wonderful family! Despite her near-death experience days earlier, Katherine looked amazingly healthy. For me it was wonderful to finally catch up in person with someone I’d emailed years ago, searching for answers to my questions regarding diabetes in the mountains. Before we knew it, Katherine, Derek and Amelia were off swimming in the reservoir. 
 
On Sunday we were also joined by another MADiDEA 2005 presenter and a great friend – Susan Tucker, CDE. Susan now lives in Sand Point, Idaho but was able to make it over and spend the evening with us. Sunday's presentations began with Lisa Seaman, who demonstrated and talked about her OmniPod insulin delivery system, an insulin pump without the need for tubing. She then showed her beautiful images taken from the previous days in the mountains.  Sunday night’s main presenter was introduced by David Panofsky. Mauro Sormani, a quiet, unassuming but elite world-class athlete showed his DVD documenting his 3rd place finish in what’s widely considered the world’s most difficult cross country ski race – The Arctic Circle Race held in Greenland. His astounding success during this three day sufferfest proved once again what many of us already know – that diabetes (quoting Doug Bursnall) “is just another facet of our personality.” No liability and certainly no disability. Mauro’s athleticism, self-discipline and training methods just drive the point home. 
 
In retrospect, it’s quite interesting to note that amongst the obstacles our attendees have faced in the past year – heel bone spurs (Jeff), sprained ankles (DP), broken ankles (Nikki), foot injuries (Dave Miller), congenital foot problems (April Miller), serious blisters and utter exhaustion (Sean & Kurt), tendonitis (Mauro) – NONE have been diabetes related! 
 
As testament to the quality individuals who attended this year’s MADiDEA, we had these four Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association annual award winners among us:
-          David Panofsky
-          Nikki Wallis
-          Herbert Hausmann
-          Mauro Sormani
 
 
The comedic highpoint of the MADiDEA weekend was a very startled Mauro (unfamiliar with, but warned about the presence of grizzly bears in the area) who was left wide-eyed and convinced he’d just seen a polar bear after DP scared up a mountain goat!
 

Special thanks to David Herman who at age 20, took his first-ever plane ride from England to Montana and learned first hand from world class diabetes mountain experts about managing the disease in the harshest environs. I know he took home a renewed desire to follow his dream of competing at the highest levels in cross country skiing. 

 
Teri & I send a personal thank you to all that made the trip to Montana – we loved hosting and getting to know you. To those that missed it, we look forward to seeing you next year. After all, once you’ve attended your first MADiDEA Symposium, the next one is like coming home again.
 

Jeff
PS - Be sure to click the next posting for more photos!