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I had the pleasure and honor of joining Roman Dial, Deb Ajango, Joe Stock, and Clare Dallat on stage for a panel discussion about risk in the outdoors. The panel was part of a series of events at the Anchorage Museum featuring Roman and ranging from science to adventure.
You can watch the replay, but due to tech issues, the audio is hard to hear. I got a copy of the recording from the museum and boosted the audio levels to share it here. That said, the audio is still a bit rough.
Each speaker led a topic in an arc from prevention to incident aftermath, and came up with a list of priority points:
Roman Dial: Author, Professor Emeritus
- We are often wrong. What matters most is what we do when we learn that we are.
- Seek calm during the chemical storm. Overcoming powerful feelings unleashed by stress requires conscious work.
- Remember, our death will hurt loved ones far more than us.
Luc Mehl: Author, Triple Point Training
- We are going to make mistakes. The point is to minimize consequences.
- An invitation to make good planning part of the reward: “We made really good decisions today!”
Joe Stock: Author, Alaska Guide Collective
- Turn around: exercise your turning around muscle so it has quick reflexes.
- Prepare for the worst: be antifragile so you’re on the good side of the deep slab avalanche crown.
- Have a 100-year mindset: notch it down for the long haul because more quantity = more quality.
Deb Ajango: Author, Wilderness Medicine, SafetyEd
- Help people improve their hazard awareness skills (what can go wrong?) Beginners especially have limited ability to do this on their own. They can learn via classes, mentors, by having people point things out, by hearing educational case studies (story telling), by reading detailed accounts/case studies, by watching realistic events, etc. How the information is delivered matters when it comes to long-term retention. Ultimately, emergency skills should be practiced under pressure.
- Build good habits. Research consistently shows that people resort to habitual behaviors in emergency situations–for better or worse. Make sure that you learn good habits and don’t practice sloppy. It will be very helpful to enter any outdoor emergency with solid competency in things like shelter building, fire building, stove use, GPS, InReach, self arrest, throw rope use, avalanche rescue … any skill that might be needed in an emergency. Brain stress will be increased if people are asked to perform any skills that they only “kind of” know. If possible, make sure that people develop competency in all of these.
- Once an emergency mellows in the field, be prepared for a wait. Rescues in Alaska are often hours long, and it is important to prioritize things like food, heat sources, shelter, insulation, etc. This is true even if you expect transport in an hour or two. Injured and traumatized patients (and bystanders) do not do will sitting around in the cold with no shelter or heat. Anticipate people’s needs long-term (hours). In the meantime, focus on relaxing. Use breathing (or other) techniques to reduce stress and start problem solving.
Clare Dallat: PhD, Risk Resolve
- Serious and fatal incidents create multiple victims. This includes those who are directly harmed and their families, as well as people who witness the incident and, where relevant, those supporting the program from a distance, such as coordinators or directors. All of these individuals can experience significant and lasting impacts and require appropriate support. Planning for how this support will be provided, well before any incident occurs, leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.
- Those directly involved and their families will need a genuinely caring and human approach. This means a complete focus should be on them and their needs. It also includes provision of information, ongoing access to you (have a means for them to make quick contact with you) and support for families to be with their loved ones as soon as possible.
- Those indirectly involved (e.g., instructors, trip mates, others) will likely need to be able to talk about the incident safely with someone who ‘gets it’. Be the person who reaches out and offers support, a non-judgmental, listening ear. Don’t be put off if they say they’re ok. Keep reaching out and help them understand you are there, for them when they need.