2024 Wilderness Risk Management Conference

The geographic spread of organizations in the outdoor industry has widened to attract talent and students, and while the tools at our disposal and the administrative capacity of organizations in our industry have grown, distributed organizations are faced with unique challenges when a critical incident occurs. In January 2023, the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE)—a permanently remote organization with “home office” staff spread across four time zones—responded to a critical incident in which a staff member suffered a medical emergency and ultimately passed away during a field course. While operational and organizational actions taken were unlikely to have changed the outcome, this presentation will focus on how critical incident response impacts administrative staff, both in the moment and long-term, in a distributed work environment. We will share key findings from the incident based on our utilization of a consensus review process, and how research rooted in organization management, critical response, and stress injury gives us a lens to improve organizational culture and systems while addressing individual staff needs. You will walk away from this presentation with tools and strategies to unveil things you didn't know you didn't know in order to improve immediate and long-term responses.

This workshop will provide program managers, rescue team leaders, and others with the tools needed to keep their staff's wilderness medical skills well-tuned and accessible. Wilderness Medicine training is an important part of risk management for outdoor programs and rescue teams. Regardless of the duration of a certification, wilderness medicine schools recommend that program managers and team leaders facilitate periodic review sessions with their team, equipment, and environment. This workshop will apply the concepts of spaced learning, in situ practice, and cognitive offloading to help program managers help their staff transfer lessons from their wilderness medical training courses to the parameters and scope of the program they serve. This workshop will serve Search and Rescue Teams, Ski Patrollers, outing clubs, college and professional outdoor programs, professional guide services, military recreation departments, summer camps with tripping programs, etc.

This presentation will be about how risk is communicated to participants pre-trip, media relations immediately following a critical incident, and overall crisis communications to participants, family members, and internal within the organization post-incident. There may be a false belief, reinforced by subtle choices of language, that an instructor/guide is there to keep clients safe. Dealing with the media after a critical incident is a fine line to walk balancing safety with residual risk and explaining risk management in 15-second soundbites. Lawyers have historically advised their clients – “Don’t apologize, it can be construed as an admission of guilt in litigation.” With the advent of apology laws, it is now possible. This presentation will argue, controversially to some, that communicating – rather than circling the wagons, building firewalls, and saying little if anything at all – with those affected helps in healing, resolving conflict, and restoring relationships.

As with all gravity sports, it is way too easy to equate an uneventful trip with being ready for the worst case scenario. We are fortunate that rivers are so forgiving but where are the gaps in our crews readiness for call to action when things go sideways. Join us in this interactive session to review trends in PPE, Rescue Gear, and Training Strategies.