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4. Human Factors

Even with the best skills and years of experience under your belt, we all occasionally make poor decisions.

Studies into avalanche accidents have found that the victim often had the skills and knowledge to recognise the signs of unstable avalanche conditions but chose to go anyway. They ignored the facts and based their decisions on emotions.

How we feel on any given day can change. Some days we may be confident, cocky, bullish, self assured, be willing to take on more risk, and on other days we may be more reserved, sceptical and overly cautious. Who we travel with can also affect how we make decisions.

By understanding a little bit about these factors, you can assess whether they are affecting your decision making.

Familiarity: Are you feeling over confident because you’ve been there before? Always approach a slope as if you have never been there before.

Acceptance: Do you have a desire to be noticed and accepted or not wanting to speak out or communicate concerns for fear of conflict or embarrassment? Think of the respect gained from being the one that makes decisions that keeps everyone safe.

Commitment: Are you bound to a plan or the way you think you should act? Make the day’s goal to return safely and have good options that you would use.

Experts: Are you following someone because you think they know better? Question authority. Develop an atmosphere where everyone in the group has an opinion and voices it; use a team approach to decision making.

Tracks/Scarcity: Are you racing to get there first? Or get home? Remember that competition and danger go hand in hand.

Social Proof: Are you thinking, it must be ok because others are doing it? Ask yourself, would I do this alone, without a transceiver, or with no-one else watching?

Follow these links to find out more on how easy it is to miss, or turn a blind eye from obvious red flag clues that avalanche danger is eminent.

·         McCammon http://avtrainingadmin.org/pubs/McCammonHTraps.pdf

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·          Rogers Pass avy pros

·         Tunnel creek http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/#/?part=tunnel-creek

 

To have the discipline to make judgments based on facts and not emotion takes a systematic approach. The use of checklists is common when there are many factors to consider, and the consequences of a poor decision are high. Airline pilots and surgeons have used checklists to help them eliminate errors and the possibility of overlooking valuable clues. Get yourself into a good systematic way of planning and preparing for your backcountry trips. Below are two videos by world renown backcountry skier Greg Hill. These short clips give us an idea of the rules/system that he tries do stick to when out beyond the ropes.