https://writersontherange.org/backcountry-adventurers-know-theyre-taking-chances/ Syndicated Opinion for the American West Fri, 31 Mar 2023 01:37:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://writersontherange.org/backcountry-adventurers-know-theyre-taking-chances/#comment-253 Thu, 16 Feb 2023 19:35:15 +0000 https://writersontherange.org/?p=5412#comment-253 […] story is from WritersOnTheRange.org. Molly Absolon is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an independent nonprofit dedicated to […]

]]> https://writersontherange.org/backcountry-adventurers-know-theyre-taking-chances/#comment-251 Tue, 14 Feb 2023 23:19:36 +0000 https://writersontherange.org/?p=5412#comment-251 We can learn in so-called wicked environments, the trick is to learn differently. In avalanche terrain you are right that we don’t always know the “facts of the snowpack” but we can learn to negotiate terrain differently and safely in spite of those facts. Those who have a long and productive ski career are not lucky. Rather, they have adapted to the reality of snow. Oh, and they have set aside their ego as a decision making device. Egos don’t normally make good decisions.

]]> https://writersontherange.org/backcountry-adventurers-know-theyre-taking-chances/#comment-250 Tue, 14 Feb 2023 14:20:07 +0000 https://writersontherange.org/?p=5412#comment-250 I believe your use of statistics is misleading. You need to compare the mortality rate of those directly involved in avalanches with that of those involved in car accidents. If I don’t drive a car or ski in the back-country, my risk of death in either scenario is virtually zero. Am having a hard time believing that only one-half per 100,000 involved in avalanches are fatalities. One per 107 involved in car accidents sounds about right.

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