Personal Rules

Ok, so we are all familiar with the dangers of heuristics, but...

What about heuristics that are used effectively? Put another way, what are some effective uses of rule-based decision making? As people become more experienced, they develop and use intuition and analytic decision making and move away from rule-based decision making. However, it degree based decision making needs to be maintained.

Does anyone here have rules that they live by? What are things you "never" do (or try not to)? What are things you "always" do (or try to)? What are some rules of thumb you use when making weather observations? Snowpack observations?

Some examples:

-I don't ski with more than 3 people if the danger is Cons. or High. (I generally try to avoid skiing with more than 3 people on lower danger days as well)

- I eat as soon as I start feeling hungry.

- I don't trust stranger's beta.

- If I'm touring with new partners, I view them in a critical light until they give me a reason not to.

- Silence is a red flag.

There is a huge pool of experience on this website and it would be great to hear from folks so we can all learn.

• In unfamiliar terrain I look to learn the snowpack as I learn the terrain. I need to become comfortable with how the snow behaves in lower angle terrain, glades etc. before I consider steeper more technical objectives. I need to dig some pits in various aspects. I’d like to learn more in this arena about what the total snowpack depth structure can tell me, all the way to the ground.

• In familiar terrain I may already be following the snowpack as it builds from the ground up. I’m familiar with all the storm cycles since the start of winter… the rain crusts, the snow events, the layers. If I am considering a steeper, or more technical objective, I’m looking for signs of instability.

I’m still learning and value the experience I read from others in this forum, feel free to critique.

Koda,

I think it is a bit risky to evaluate the snow and then opt for more risky terrain because of a set of results. I think all of us do this to a degree, but one needs to be careful, here.

The way I look at it is I have to have all of my ducks in a row before I consider more risky terrain. Of course I still perform ski cuts, hand shears, pole tests, religiously, but I think my initial expectation has to be for no significant weak layers and for a limited amount of snow that can slide before I'll put my life on the line. For me, this is a somewhat rare occurrence.

Otter,

It's an interesting question that you pose. It is well known that many avalanche accidents involve if not one, then many heuristic traps. For those who want a refresher on the most common, read Ian McCammon's article on the subject. It's hard to think of a touring day I've had where at least one of these were not present.

There are, as you say, useful heuristics. The most prevalent one in my own life echoes your sentiments about partners. At times it is almost subconscious, but it seems that as I'm running through the shortlist of objectives, I'm also pairing a list of partners with each one. There are specific parameters including fitness, risk tolerance, and skill sets that figure into which ski bros (and brahs) will be best suited for the trip. I've found that if I make this decision in the most appropriate way, that the overall safety of the venture is greatly increased. Sometimes I solicit people that I feel make better decisions than I in certain circumstances. In these cases I'm grateful for their willingness to trade their experience for my motivation.

Other rules of thumb I go by:

1. Bring a map. I can't remember how many times I've eased my troubled mind with this one, even though "We're on Hwy 2, you don't need a map!."

2. Read the weather and avalanche forecast for your area. Just because conditions have been the same for several days does not preclude them from changing tomorrow.

3. Someone in the touring party should HAVE BEER IN THE CAR! Enough said.

* My default is usually "no".
* Never be afraid to turn around.
* You often learn more with your mouth shut.
* Observe the entire environment around you.