e have structured this guide around the five main categories of risk, treating each one as a separate challenge to be overcome. A safe day out, however, requires a more holistic approach in which all aspects of risk, and all the small contributory factors that can lead to incident spiral are managed simultaneously.
We close therefore, with four parting thoughts for bringing it all together:
- Speed matters. Travelling slowly carries the dual risks of being out too late on an avalanche prone slope or being caught out after dark when temperatures fall dramatically and navigation becomes a real challenge. Speed is partly a matter of physical conditioning, but much more a matter of moving efficiently which means:
- Research the route: before setting off, spend some time working out where the danger points are, where the navigation might be tricky, and where the best snow is going to be!
- Start early: the earlier you start, the more time you have, the more relaxed and safe the day will be.
- Travel light: travelling fast means travelling light. We have some recommend pack lists but at all times, minimising weight should be your mantra.
- Don’t faff: amazing amounts of time can be frittered away if your group fails to be efficient in managing their gear. Water stops, stops to take skins on or off, map check stops, gear faffs and so on can easily fritter away an hour or more that you might desperately need later in the day.
- Keep moving: most important of all is to keep moving as much of the time as possible. The speed you travel at is much less important that just keeping going.
- Manage the group. Good group management needs to be thought through and discussed before your start out. This is a particular challenge amongst groups of friends or peers where a reluctance to seem forward can lead to a collective abrogation of responsibility and mistakes being made. At a minimum you should think through:
- Decision making: will you appoint or designate a leader, or will decision making be collective? Either can work, but be clear which path you are following. There is nothing worse than everyone thinking some-one else is or should be making the decisions - except perhaps when everyone thinks that they are in charge ...
- Role clarity: be clear about who is doing what. You may want to appoint some-one to navigate, some-one to back-mark, some-one to watch time-keeping and so forth. This is particularly important in a mixed ability group where the tendency otherwise is for one or two of the more competent people to do everything. You don’t learn much that way and can be horribly exposed if anything happens to the “experts”.
- Buddy system: use the buddy system to check each other’s kit, watch out for each other on traverses, through trees and so forth, and to keep an eye on everyone’s physical condition. Remember the team needs to get through not just one or two individuals.
- Be aware. We have covered the main categories of risk and the ways of managing them. Out off-piste, take the time to run through a mental check list to make sure you are aware of the potential risks and ready to take the necessary actions:
- Think avalanche: are the conditions dangerous, am I in a dangerous spot, what precautions should we be taking right now?
- Think security: is the ground steep, is the run-out dangerous, are we prepared for what happens next?
- Think cold: are the conditions dangerous, how am I feeling, how is my buddy looking?
- Think navigation: do I know where I am, do I know where I want to go, does the ground around me look like what I am expecting?
- Think glacier: am I on a glacier, are we kitted up, are we travelling in the proper fashion.
- Don't forget to have fun! We have spent a lot of time concentrating on what can go wrong and you do need to be aware of the risks to be safe. But you should never let them get out of context. We do the sport because we love it. Yes there are dangers, but the rewards are immense. You’re in the middle of a beautiful landscape, carving beautiful turns, with no-one around to bother you. Never forget to think what a great time you’re having!
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