Recent avalanche accidents, Are the victims unlucky? Or were the accidents predictable?

Webinar 1730 GMT Wednesday 27th January

There have been quite a few fatal avalanche accidents in the alps this season despite the restrictions (or maybe because of the restrictions). In the aftermath of these tragic events. The victims are often referred to as “unlucky”. Yet many of the victims are also very experienced guides or off-piste enthusiasts with a lot of training. Should they have known better?

In this webinar, we will meet with Henry Schniewind and Rob Stewart to discuss the recent events and what we can learn from them. Register to join webinar click here. Webinar is 1730 GMT Wednesday 27th January

In particular, we will explore how the familiarity heuristic can lead us to misjudge the risks. Henry wrote about this here
https://henrysavalanchetalk.com/we-trust-our-intuitions-even-when-they-are-wrong/

We will also get an update on current conditions and the likely risks given there is a lot of snow in the forecast.

Safety is Freedom!

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There’s a long list of evidence that shows how applying simple frameworks, checklists and memory aids reduce risk in ‘high consequence, low feedback’ risk contexts prevalent in: aviation, military, finance, health care, avalanche terrain etc.

See our HAT quick reference ‘Safety is Freedom Framework’ for accident reduction in avalanche terrain. The Framework is aimed at all levels of off-piste and touring: for beginners: a point of departure; for experts: a guide for further learning; for pros: it’s a great framework for client training and quick memory aid.

The Framework is best if accompanied by training such as HAT events and on-snow courses, but it’s also a useful companion for all training as it focuses on the basic key points that all avalanche training courses address – it helps you to keep focused on the essential accident reduction points.

For more information on upcoming HAT events (including the *ORTOVOX Off-piste awareness Tour) : webinars, online talks and other useful announcements, see our HAT Facebook page.