IF YOU CAN’T SAY ‘HELL YES’, THEN SAY ‘HELL NO’
A few weeks ago, the 2021 Wyoming Snow and Avalanche Workshop (WYSAW) brought together a group of avalanche professionals, guides, and winter recreationists for a panel discussion mainly focused around the themes of risk and risk tolerance. Led by internationally certified guide Margaret Wheeler, the panel consisted of an MSU professor, a forecaster with Sawtooth Avalanche Center, and a representative from Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation.
Both forecaster and guide were in agreement that — generally — skiers and riders are taking on too much risk these days, and that our terrain selection strategies need to be modified and dialled back. Here are the two key points that came out of the discussion:
“We are taking too much risk.” The backcountry community’s relationship with risk has been slowly shifting in the last 15-20 years in a way that has coined the term ‘risk creep’. The lines that in previous years might have only been skied a handful of times as recreationists waited for ‘bomber’ conditions are now getting tracked up almost every powder day. People see tracks on a face a few times and begin to change their perception of its danger.
“We are probably looking at terrain wrong.” In the past, part of the day’s planning involved choosing a more conservative line to start, and collecting information along the way that might affirm snowpack stability and rule in bigger terrain. These days though, many skiers go straight to choosing the higher consequence line in avalanche terrain, expecting to collect data that would convince them not to go there, and rolling the dice with uncertainty.
What can we do about it?
Take an honest look at your backcountry culture (the people around you). Do they discourage talking about debriefing mistakes? Or admitting errors, or having conservative mindsets? The people we choose to ski with create the environment where we make these big decisions during our days out there. Ensuring the group mindset is self-reflective is key.
“When you can’t say, ‘Hell yes’ that a run is safe, you better say, ‘No way.’”
Check out the WYSAW livestream recordings here!
photo from 2019