Nepal Heights to Global Cycling: Meet AV's Adventurous ACO

Cobden Ambulance Community Officer (ACO) Samuel Eder is back on home soil after mountain biking one of the world's most renowned high-altitude treks, Nepal's Annapurna Circuit.

The trek through the mountain ranges of central Nepal hits a top altitude of almost 5,500 metres, with much of the journey above 4000 metres.

Samuel said he was inspired by an AV paramedic to embark on the trip.

"Earlier in the year, I saw a post about a paramedic who climbed Everest and ran some first aid training camps in the Nepali mountain regions," he said.

"I was inspired so I dusted off a plan I'd had a few years earlier to go to the Himalaya myself and do the Annapurna Circuit."

Normally a hiking journey, the circuit typically takes 12 to 22 days to complete.

But Samuel and his friend Dev didn't have that long in Nepal, and were facing challenges from the weather, so chose to attempt the trek in a week on mountain bikes.

"The only opportunity we had was during monsoon season, when weather conditions are unforgiving, relentless rain drowns trails and landslides wash away roads," Samuel said.

"This leaves the region isolated and results in fewer local resources in terms of accommodation, repairs and rescue if something goes wrong.

"We thought loading up mountain bikes might be a more effective way to cover ground and if the weather turned bad, we could get off the mountain a bit sooner.

"We just had ourselves and a map, our ingenuity and a sense of adventure to try and get us to the other side of the mountain range."

Samuel kept his First Responder skills in the back of his mind in case something went wrong, but luckily, they weren't required.

"Essentially, we ended up doing some 250 kilometres over the course of about seven moving days, climbing up to 1000 metres of altitude each day," he said.

"We carried a lot of medications in case we ran into issues with the altitude, and I'd chatted to some paramedics beforehand to make some emergency plans.

"But lucky for us, it all went off without a hitch."

Samuel is currently working as an ACO while completing his paramedicine degree, hoping to embark on a career as a paramedic in coming years.

ACOs are First Responders trained to provide advanced first aid and employed by AV on a casual basis to work on-call in rural and remote communities where the ambulance caseload is low.

Samuel said his active lifestyle is important to him, as an employee for AV.

"I think being active is a really great way of promoting the values of AV and practicing what we preach - being healthy, challenging ourselves and connecting with our community," he said.

"It's important to me to aspire to be the healthiest and most competent version of myself, and to try inspire my family, colleagues and community to do the same and live happy and fulfilled lives."

Before returning to Australia to study paramedicine in 2022, Samuel was working in Europe as a freelance journalist.

"I spent time working as a photojournalist on the frontline in Ukraine and that's actually what inspired me to get into healthcare," he said.

"I was pretty proud of a few stories I captured, but I felt like it wasn't actually impacting the people at the core of the issue - I found that the medics and nurses who were working on the frontline were having a real and tangible impact."

Samuel said he is loving the opportunity to start making an impact himself as an ACO and also getting to work in regional Victoria, where he hasn't spent much time after both working and growing up overseas.

"I became an ACO in Cobden about a year and a half ago and I'm usually out there every other week and really enjoying it," he said.

"It's great to be out in the community helping people and being able to support them or use a little bit of humour to brighten up their day.

"I'm enjoying learning more about what it means to be someone living in rural Australia as it's something I haven't grown up with and is really eye-opening - so much of our country is rural so I think it's really important to understand."

Before Samuel graduates with his paramedicine degree, he has his sights set on one more global adventure.

"Early next year, myself and another ACO are planning to cycle from Vietnam to Ireland," Samuel said.

"It will be about 30,000 kilometres, going through China, Russia, central Asia and the Middle East, then into Europe until we get to Ireland.

"I am deeply thankful for the wisdom and advice colleagues and mentors have imparted on me in preparation for the project - without their curiosity and enthusiasm for life, I don't think I would have taken the leap of faith to commit to an adventure of this scale.

"It's going to be a challenge unlike anything else I've tried, and I am excited to return with new skills and knowledge I can use throughout my career."