They used to talk about developing "mountain sense" in my avalanche classes and training as a ski guide. My instructors got this term from the man, myth, and legend himself: Jean Pavillard (old school Swiss mountain badass, AIARE founder, etc. etc...).
I love this idea.
It embodies the intuition that is cultivated from years of traveling through the mountains, and it applies equally to all outdoor pros. The outdoor industry has been trying to explain it and figure out how to develop it for a long time. I think, perhaps, we're getting closer with newer frameworks for non-technical skills (like situational awareness, judgment, and cognitive readiness).
But, I have to admit, I’m secretly hopeful we never fully figure it out. I think there is something special and timeless about human intuition and nature.
Mountain sense is built on a set of assumptions about the weather and terrain you are "raised" in and work in. When that environment changes, intuition isn't as reliable a decision-making criterion as mythology would have.
Last winter’s avalanche tragedy in Tahoe is perhaps an example and a cautionary tale of the future for our field.
In the Sierra Nevada, the snowpack is traditionally characterized as maritime, meaning wet, heavy, and a deep snowpack. Increasingly, though, it’s been trending closer to its polar opposite, a continental snowpack characterized as drier and shallower.
The difference isn’t just in ski conditions, it’s in the typical avalanche problems recreationalists and professionals alike train for and the hazards for which they develop their intuition and judgment.
For about 4 years I was lucky to work two winters a calendar year; one in Tahoe and one in the Andes. They had very different snowpacks, and, for me, it definitely required some dialing in to change my thinking patterns and check my biases. Avalanche work is good like that :D
What does all of this mean for us now?
These are slow changes, and they’re not obvious, especially when you are in them. Zooming out, I think it means this:
It’s harder for the next generation to develop their own mountain sense. Perhaps more accurately, we shouldn’t model their reading of the mountains after our own. They need a broader sample size, and more clear signals…perhaps more decision making rules and structures.
And for us, the people now behind a desk, we should be cognizant that we might be drawing from our own intuition of nature, weather, and climate. When a staff member calls from the field, and you’re weighing their decisions and judgment, you’re putting yourself in their shoes with our own lens you developed from ‘back in the day’.
Judgment and mountain sense still matter...they will always be the cornerstone of good safety management in our field. But as climates continue to change, we're recognizing that more thoughtful structures are needed to support the development and exercise of that judgment.
Stu
P.S. The NPR piece on the Tahoe avalanche and climate is worth a read.